Last year lawyer Michael J. Kline told two brand managers for Coca-Cola Classic that they could sue their company’s calorie-free soda brand, Coca-Cola Zero, for “taste infringement.” Really. And it’s all on camera, too. But lest you think Kline should be sent back to law school — where they teach that class about how it’s […]
Oracle accused arch-rival SAP of “corporate theft on a grand scale” in a lawsuit filed Thursday against the German software company. The Redwood City software maker said SAP used the log-ins of soon-to-be-ex-Oracle customers to download thousands of copyrighted software products and support materials from Oracle’s own customer support systems, according to the complaint. Oracle,
A 1998 law designed to block children from viewing pornographic Web sites violates free speech rights, a U.S. federal court ruled Thursday, in a blow to government efforts to restrict Internet smut. A 1998 law designed to block children from viewing pornography Web sites violates free speech rights, a U.S. federal court ruled Thursday, in
Her first-class hotel suite had to have windows that opened, the photos of her needed to be more flattering, the orchestra should be a particular pitch, and she would approach the stage from a certain direction. But despite making many detailed requests about a planned concert series with John Farnham, New Zealand diva Dame Kiri
The government got 10 months of J. Tony Serra’s freedom for his long-running tax boycott. This week, the rebel lawyer from San Francisco struck back with an attempt to get more money for the hours he worked behind bars. Standing in his office before a life-size painting of an orange-clad inmate and two shadowy guards
Mark Kipnis, the former Hollinger lawyer accused of helping Conrad Black and others engineer a $60m fraud at the newspaper publisher, relied heavily on the legal and accounting advice of a top law firm in Canada and KPMG, according to his attorney’s opening defence statement on Wednesday. While prosecutors this week painted Mr Kipnis as
A House Judiciary subcommittee today authorized subpoenas for Karl Rove, President Bush’s political adviser, and other senior White House officials in the investigation into the firing of eight United States attorneys. Democrats said the subpoenas, approved on a voice vote of the panel, would not be issued immediately but could provide leverage for Congress in
The search for a jury in the murder trial of legendary record producer Phil Spector focused immediately on the power of celebrities in Los Angeles and whether they have an advantage over other defendants. “Do you think that people of wealth or fame are treated differently in the court system?” asked a written questionnaire submitted
Wal-Mart asserted yesterday in a court filing that two of its former top marketing officials had engaged in a sexual relationship during the process of selecting new advertising agencies and had sought jobs with one of the agencies they ultimately recommended. The legal brief directly contradicted the statements the executives have made since they were
For all his wealth and influence, the fallen media mogul Conrad Black is little more than a common thief – except that he used arcane financial documents, rather than crowbars and guns, to seize his loot of $60m, according to US prosecutors. In an opening statement at Lord Black’s racketeering trial in Chicago, assistant US
