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Care enough to Speak Honestly;
Be Aware enough to Speak Kindly; and,
Be Wise enough to Speak Persuasively.
About KeganLaw
Since 1940, Kegan & Kegan, Ltd. has provided its clients personalized strategic advice, preventative guidance, and when needed crisis counseling and defense.
We identify, develop, and protect intangible business assets—trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, contracts, websites—and counsel other professionals on legal issues.
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Notice—Laws Change
The law is constantly changing. Moreover, no general discussion can incorporate all the specific facts of your particular situation. Consult an attorney for particular legal questions.
![New on the KeganLaw.com Website
KeganLaw, Counsel to Industries from A to Z
KeganLaw has counseled industries from A to Z: Academia, Art, Beauty, Clothing, Communications, Detective, Dessert, Energy, Food, Farm, Giftware, Health, Internet, Insurance, Inventors, Jewelry, Knowledge, Law, Manufacturing, Music, Management, Medical Devices, Macintosh, Nutritionals, Nonprofits, Organizations, Politics, Publishing, Psychology, Quixotics, Retail, Religious, Regulated Industries, Sports, Transport, Universities, Video, Wine, Xenophilous, Yachting, Zealots, and Zany.
20 Clipper- Winning Chances? Client Relations, Math & Ethics
Clients and others often ask attorneys for the chances of winning a dispute. Attorneys often answer, but they should not. Mathematically the wrong question is asked; numerical answers likely violate legal ethics by incompetently providing incorrect and often deceptive information. A better response provides both valid case evaluation and client emotional support without fabricating false certainty.
If Sanctioned Once, Try Again
Defendant's attempt under Fed.R.Civ.P 60 to set aside a 365-day old judgment for trademark infringement, issued after defendants were sanctioned under Rules 37 and 41 and the Court's inherent powers, was denied, both on the merits and also on purely procedural grounds.
On the deadline day, defendant moved the Court under Rule 60 for relief for judgment. Judge Chin had been appointed to the Second Circuit court and Judge Colleen McMahon was assigned the motion. Judge McMahon denied defendant's motion. Defendants had shown no basis for relieving them from the effects of a judgment that was entered because of their repeated failure to comply with court orders. The Court found "inescapable [the conclusion] that Defendants have resorted to this motion--at the last possible moment--because they failed or neglected to take a timely appeal from the judgment. Defendants may even have waited until Judge Chin was elevated to the Court of Appeals in the hope of shopping this case to a more sympathetic jurist. They will get no comfort from this court."
The Court found it "plain enough, from reading Judge Chin's thorough and measured opinion, that the only misrepresentations and misconduct used to procure the default judgment were [defendant's] misrepresentations and misconduct," and denied the Rule 60(b)(3) motion. In addition to denying the Rule 60(b)(5) motion on the merits, the Court also denied it on the purely procedural basis that it was not filed within a "reasonable time" after grounds therefor were discovered.
Ptak Bros. Jewelry, Inc. v Gary Ptak & G Ptak, LLC, 2011 WL 253424 (SD NY 25Jan11). Ptak-R60-Opn25Jan11.pdf
19 Clipper- Discovering ESI: Self Reliance and FRCivP 26
ESI—Electronically Stored Information. Three little letters for three words that should substantially change how attorneys think about and practice litigation. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure now require an early conference among attorneys to discuss and plan discovery, including ESI.
The Internet and ESI make some discovery easier, but may also increase the volume of materials to be reviewed. Some discovery costs may be reduced by active research by the party itself. However, uncontrolled lay discovery may create serious liabilities, including making illegally obtained evidence inadmissible. A party in litigation generally knows its industry and some relevant facts of the case better than its attorney initially will. Active participation in discovery by non-attorneys may more efficiently surface relevant information.
This article presents an efficient procedure for a small law firm to successfully manage the ESI discovery process. Large firms can also utilize these procedures, although they may feel less economic need. Guidelines are presented for both Macintosh and Windows computers.
17 Clipper- Dangerous Delusions: Do It Yourself, Or Don’t
Many once arcane intellectual property (IP) procedures are now accessible to lay businesspersons and citizens. The Internet provides instruction for almost everything, sometimes accurately. Widespread use of personal computers in many nations combined with cost-reduction pressures have encouraged government agencies to replace many paper forms by online applications, sometimes mandatory, or with higher fees for paper.
While many intellectual property activities can now be performed by laypersons, not all should. Not none should. Which tasks need experienced IP legal counsel and which can as efficiently be performed by lay persons and general legal practitioners depends on several factors, including the abilities and risk propensities of the layperson, the expected financial and emotional significance of the endeavor, and the projected competitive environment.
This article discusses the four main areas of intellectual property—trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secrets—as well as corporate, contract, insurance, and litigation matters, and offers some tips for those who lean toward Do-It-Yourself (“DIY”).
The New Lanham Trademark Law, 1946
By Albert & Esther Kegan, 1946 (click).
Litigation Oddments
Litigation Akin to 14th Century Siege
Nuremberg Trials
Trial by Jury, Gilbert & Sullivan
Salem Witach Trials, 1692
Ebook inventor Michael Stern Hart
Michael Stern Hart (1947-2011) was best known for his 1971 invention of electronic books, or eBooks. He founded Project Gutenberg, one of the earliest and longest-lasting online literary projects. He had been granted access to significant computing power at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On July 4 1971, after being inspired by a free printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, …
Intellectual Property Enriching Society
Wrong Way— Careless Trademark Selection
IP Oddments 3— Trademark Makeovers
Click for the Full article PDF and list of Clipper Newsletters.
Click for Memorial—Wham-O Founders
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