SuperConference 2011 Session Highlights: Day 1
SuperConference 2011 kicked off May 23 with a keynote speech by former White House deputy counsel Daniel Meltzer and a keynote panel, “Managing Up—Ways on Managing the Board, CEO & CFO," before participants broke out for sessions on various legal topics. Below are some highlights of the sessions conducted on...
May 23, 2011 at 09:13 AM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
SuperConference 2011 kicked off May 23 with a keynote speech by former White House deputy counsel Daniel Meltzer and a keynote panel, “Managing Up—Ways on Managing the Board, CEO & CFO,” before participants broke out for sessions on various legal topics. Below are some highlights of the sessions conducted on day 1 of the conference.
IP Enforcement: Protecting Your Brand & Content Within New Media
The Internet provides ample opportunity for innovative brand promotion. For every opportunity, however, there is a risk. Online, intellectual property has become more difficult than ever to protect. As technology progresses, in-house counsel should be aware of the IP liabilities that exist and how to defend against them. In his talk on “rogue” websites, Monster Cable Products General Counsel David Tognotti explained the growing problem of counterfeiters creating websites designed to look almost identical to those legitimately run by companies whose trademarks they are infringing.
Though there are many defenses available, including litigation, UDRP actions and involving law enforcement, Tognotti says Monster has focused its efforts on consumer awareness, relying on customers to help proctect themselves – with the right guidance and information from Monster, that is. He suggests that companies take a step back to evaluate what course of action is right for them.
“For every company, you have to analyze 'what's the return on investment?'” he said.
Jennifer Wolfe, managing attorney of Wolfe LPA, spoke on the subject of new Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). These new domains would allow companies to create a new channel on the Internet. Instead of owning a tradtional dot-com, such as www.nike.com, a company would be able to purchase a channel, such as .nike, to which they could add a host of websites using the personalized domain extension. While purchasing these new channels would come with benefits – such as increased search engine optimization – the hefty price tag ($185,000 just to apply) could be a deterrent. Still, companies will be forced to approach this issue defensively if others with their trademark (in other jurisdictions, for example) apply for the channel. If two companies own the same trademark in different jurisdictions and clash over ownership of the channel, it would come down to a bidding war, Wolfe said.
Finally, Michael Wu and Alisa Key, general counsel and associate general counsel of Rosetta Stone, respectively, addressed issues such as brand protection from improper use of adwords. Increasingly, Wu says, Rosetta Stone has been forced to outbid infringers who purchase sponsored advertising positions in search engines based on keywords that contain the company's trademarks. Defending against this issue can be thorny, as search engines are sometimes less-than-cooperative in helping to police the activity.
Proactive Techniques for Defending Government Investigations
One of the afternoon sessions on Day 1, “Proactive Techniques for Defending Government Investigations,” walked SuperConference attendees through the top concerns in-house counsel run into during government investigations.
The general consensus among the panelists was that in the past 10 years, the government has significantly boosted the enforcement of federal securities laws.
“The government's position is that they have to send messages,” said David Dumouchel, shareholder at Butzel Long.
Claudius Sokenu, a partner at Arnold and Porter, noted that in light of the recent GlaxoSmithKline case, in which the associate general counsel was indicted for obstruction of justice, in-house counsel must be diligent in records keeping. “You need to document all the conversations you have with the government and have a running file,” he said.
As in-house counsel grapple with the immense cost companies can accrue during the discovery phase of an investigation, it is helpful to communicate to regulators the need to narrow the scope. However, “there's not a lot of empathy for the cost of document collection and review,” warns Maureen Aidasani, senior counsel at Grant Thornton LLP.
As for ethical concerns, panelists reminded attendees of a few important points to keep in mind during employee interviews during investigations. “You have to give Upjohn warnings when you interview employees,” said Linda Miller, senior counsel at General Electric Company.
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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