The LACBA Student Lounge Blog

An RIAA File Sharing Win: Obama Adminstration Supports Damages Up to $150K

The Obama administration has chimed in on the hot button issue of file sharing online. In its relentless efforts to curb illegal file sharing online, the Recording Industry Association of America has tackled several music download players, including some electronic forums that appear to have accommodated illegal file sharing and some individuals who benefit from the activity.

For the first time, the Obama administration  spoke out in support of fines between $750 and a whopping $150,000 for each illegally acquired music track (violation of The Copy Right Act). This position is the same as that of the Bush administration.

Some critics of the Obama administration's position here note that two top lawyers in the Obama administration are former RIAA lawyers and that the government's brief seemed coincidentally in line with the RIAA's position on the issue of damages in illegal file sharing cases.

More on this story at Wired.com.

Managing Law School Outlines

Your approach to outlines in law school and whether you can find your perfect outline fit could make law school that much easier or that much more difficult.

An excellent blog post on outline issues at the Law School Academic Support Blog, which factors in learning styles and time considerations.

Asian Pacific American Bar Association (APABA) Summer Followship: $5,000

APABA has announced its 2009 Fellowship Award in the amount of $5,000. This is a great opportunity for a law student planning to take a position in a nonprofit organization or governmental organization and work substantially in a unit that serves the Asian Pacific American community in Los Angeles County for at least a 10 week period during the summer. Working for a public defender, district attorney, or a judge does not qualify.

To apply for and be eligible for the APABA Fellowship, potential applicants must be enrolled and in good standing at an ABA accredited law school during the 2008-2009 academic year. Applicants must secure a position with a non-profit organization of their choice in the greater Los Angeles area with an emphasis on assisting the Asian Pacific American community at the submission of their application.

Finalists may be interviewed by one or more members of the APABA Fellowship Committee (if determined to be necessary). The Fellowship award will be announced in April of 2009. Please send all inquiries to edmond.sung@gmail.com or derek.ishikawa@gmail.com.

More details here.

Deadline: April 17, 2009.

Budweiser Loses 100 Year Trademark Battle: The War Goes On

On March 25, the American brewery behind Budweiser lost its latest match with the very small state owned Czech company, Budejovicky Budvar.

An EU court has ruled, by rejecting a trademark application by Anheuser-Busch, that the commercial rights to use the term "Budweiser" as a Europe-wide trademark belongs to the small state owned Czech brewery. The court found that the Czech company adequately proved ownership through advertising and invoicing that used the valuable name years before Anheuser-Busch applied for an EU trademark

Thus far, the American giant, Anheuser-Busch, has successfully kept the Czech brewery from registering the "Budweiser" name in several countries.

More on this story at TimesOnline UK.

Strict Liability for Chimp Owner?

In a Connecticut case seeking $50M in damages, lawyers are arguing whether the defendant in the case can be strictly liable. The argument is that defendant, Sandra Herold, is strictly liable for owning a wild animal and that the defendant was negligent and reckless for doing so. Here, the chimp caused nearly fatal injuries to the plaintiff.

According to a Law.com article, Mathew Newman, lead counsel for the plaintiff in the case, characterized the activity as ultra-hazardous. On the other hand, a lawyer for the defendant points to the challenge that the plaintiff in the case faces, namely that in Connecticut tort law, there are no cases of strict liability.

Tort lawyers throughout the state are watching carefully for a potential change in Connecticut tort law.

Details on this story at Law.com.

LACBA Young Tax Lawyers: PLR - An Insider's Perspective

If tax law is on your radar, LACBA's Young Tax Lawyers have an upcoming event that will be of interest you.

Simplifying the PLR Process: An Insider's Perspective. March 31, 2009, 8:30 - 10:00 am. Location: 1055 West 7th Street 27th Floor, Los Angeles. Law students: $20.

Private Letter Rulings are written decisions by the IRS in response to taxpayer requests for guidance. A few more details about private letter rulings. At this event, Don Osteen Ex-Chief Counsel of IRS will explain the nuances of the Private Letter Ruling process from both the tax practitioner perspective and the perspective of IRS.

Register for this event online here or call LACBA Member Services at (213) 896-6560.

Vietnamese American Bar Association Scholarship: $1K

The Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California is accepting applications for its 2009 scholarship program.

Requirements: 1) must be a law student, 2) must be committed to serving the Vietnamese American community, and 3) must have funding need for the upcoming school year.

Three recipients will receive $1,000 each. The submission deadline is June 30, 2009.

Download VABANC_Scholarship_Information

2009 Diversity Scholarship: California Bar Foundation

Since 1991, the Foundation has awarded more than $2 million through its scholarship programs. Launched for the first time in 2008, the Diversity Scholarship seeks to support newly admitted law students from groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession who have committed to attend a California law school. Candidates apply for the Scholarship at the beginning of the summer prior to commencing their law school studies. The Scholarship helps pay the costs of obtaining a law school education, including tuition, fees, books, and related education expenses. Awards of up to $7,500 recognize incoming first year law students with financial need who demonstrate a desire to make a positive impact as a community leader.

Application deadline: June 17, 2009, 4:30 PM.

Download DiversityScholarshipApplication2009

2009-2010 Law School Tuition Up by 3-15%

Ronda Muire at the Law People Blog notes that most law schools are raising tuition in 2009-2010 by 3-15%. Cuts on the public law school front have forced discussions about increases there as well. Law schools may also be expecting a decrease in giving, which could pressure some schools to increase tuition.

The post specifically points to the following increases:

University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law: 3.8% increase (last year)
Saint Luis University School of Law: 3% increase
Stanford Law School: 3.75% increase

In the UK, the average law school tuition increase is 9%.

Merriam-Webster Redefines Marriage

Okay, how many of us used a well known dictionary as a persuasive authority in legal skills/writing? Enter the new definition of Marriage from the folks at Webster. In addition to same-sex unions, marriage is also defined as "the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage."

Surprised by all of the hubbub about the change, earlier this month Webster issued a press release making another definition, namely the dictionary's job as defining words according to their common meaning.

More on this at the Adjunct Law Prof Blog.

The definition of Marriage at Merriam-Webster.