Astrachan Gunst Thomas

08/20/2019

http://www.agtlawyers.com/restatements-of-the-law/

In October 2007, I was elected to membership in the American Law Institute. Since then, I have been actively involved in several ALI projects, including participating in Members Consultative Group meetings and speaking at the ALI Annual Meeting. As the ALI’s website not-so-modestly states: “The ...

08/13/2019

http://www.agtlawyers.com/supreme-court-to-decide-if-states-are-immune-from-liability-for-copyright-infringement/

On June 3, 2019, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear the claim of filmmaker Frederick Allen and his video production company, Nautilus Productions, LLC that the Fourth Circuit erred when it held that the State of North Carolina is immune from suit for copyright infringement despite the enac...

08/13/2019

http://www.agtlawyers.com/campus-disciplinary-procedures-cases-involving-sexual-misconduct-allegations-part-2/

In Doe v. Baum, 903 F.3d 575 (6th Cir. 2018), the Sixth Circuit held that due process required that a student accused of sexual misconduct must be given a hearing before a college or university imposes sanctions as serious as expulsion or suspension and, when the institution’s determination depend...

06/17/2019

Donna Thomas' presentation at the MSBA Conference was featured in the Daily Record. Check it out here:

OCEAN CITY -- The reason there aren't tourists walking around with shirts advertising "Shorebilly" beer is because of a contentious trademark case that could be a cautionary tale for new businesses. Donna Thomas, an attorney with Astrachan Gunst Thomas P.A. in Baltimore, discussed the lawsuit at the...

05/30/2019

http://www.agtlawyers.com/rejection-of-a-trademark-license-in-bankruptcy-does-not-terminate-the-licensees-right-to-use-the-trademark/

On May 20, 2019, the Supreme Court answered the longstanding question of what happens to a licensee’s right to use a trademark under a license agreement if a bankrupt licensor rejects the license agreement. The Court held that a licensor’s ability to reject a license agreement does not extinguis...

05/30/2019

http://www.agtlawyers.com/political-campaigns-and-employment-laws/

Political campaigns are labor intensive efforts. Campaign workers can be volunteers, paid independent contractors or employees. Campaigns may also contract with other entities, such as another campaign committee or party committee, to provide labor. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FSLA”) ...

03/27/2019

On behalf of the Maryland State Bar Association's Intellectual Property Section, Kaitlin Corey helped organize the Bright Ideas Baltimore event that will take place on April 10 from 5:30 - 8 pm at the 13th Floor of the Belvedere featuring Keynote Speaker, Aaron Panner, counsel for Petitioner in the recent Supreme Court decision Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street. Please e-mail Kaitlin at [email protected] to RSVP.

03/19/2019

http://www.agtlawyers.com/the-supreme-court-defines-full-costs-recoverable-in-a-copyright-infringement-suit/

03/19/2019

http://www.agtlawyers.com/registration-is-required-before-suing-for-copyright-infringement/

The United States Supreme Court held in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v. Wallstreet.com, LLC, that the Copyright Office must either issue a (1) copyright registration certificate or (2) refuse to register a copyright before a copyright owner can sue for copyright infringement. Prior to this deci...

09/24/2018

http://www.agtlawyers.com/campus-disciplinary-procedures-cases-involving-sexual-misconduct-allegations-a-changing-landscape/

The procedures for adjudicating claims of sexual misconduct by college and university students have been and continue to be the subject of great controversy. The ways in which claims of sexual misconduct are addressed by colleges and universities vary greatly among institutions and often vary from t...

09/13/2018

http://www.agtlawyers.com/duped-by-goop/

Before making health and wellness claims about products, companies should make sure the claims they are asserting are accurate. Accurate does not mean that customers stand by the product and agree with the claims — the asserted claims must be backed by science. If companies are not careful, they c...

08/29/2018

http://www.agtlawyers.com/do-not-throw-out-that-old-dictionary/

Do not throw out that old dictionary. Or, if you must, make sure that you have access to a place that keeps old books. The law is written in words. Often disputes arise over the meaning of words in contracts or statutes or constitutions. Recently, the United States District Court for the District of...