In an important employment and labor law decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that employment agreements waiving class action claims and requiring employees to arbitrate claims on an individual basis are enforceable. Justice Gorsuch, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Thomas and Alito, wrote for the majority...
By Deena R. Merlen and Allison M. Grein As the #MeToo movement sweeps the nation, a number of new laws in New York State and New York City have recently been enacted to provide greater protection against workplace sexual harassment. The “Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act” was signed into...
Last November, Sold Magazine published an article about graffiti as artwork and the 5Pointz art space and trial. Sold had asked RPJ Partner Mark H. Moore to explain the application of the Visual Artists Rights Act to graffiti art and, more specifically, developments in the Cohen et al v. G&M Realty...
In a closely watched case involving New York’s statutory right of privacy, New York’s highest court shot down Lindsay Lohan’s claim that she was featured in the “Grand Theft Auto V” (“GTAV”) video game without permission. The former child star, now 31, argued that “Lacey Jonas,” a “really famous” “actress...
On March 21, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a jury verdict that found that Robin Thicke’s and Pharrell Williams's “Blurred Lines,” the number one song in the world in 2013, infringed the copyright in Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up.” Although the Ninth...
The Second Circuit issued a decision on March 16, 2018, that will make recovery of punitive damages by people suing for discrimination under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) easier than under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Law. The decision, Chauca v. Abraham, involved an appeal...
In an important employment discrimination case, the en banc Second Circuit held that “sexual orientation discrimination constitutes a form of discrimination ‘because of…sex,’ in violation of Title VII.” This decision overturns prior Second Circuit precedent and now allows claimants to assert sexual discrimination claims based on sexual orientation under federal...
Copyright Alert: Supreme Court may clarify copyright “Registration/Application” split A question often presented in my copyright practice is whether an infringement claim can be brought after a copyright applicant has filed its application, made its deposit and paid its fees, or whether the PTO must issue a registration. The answer...
The past few months have been the among the most thought-provoking of my career. I am a litigator and employment lawyer who started practicing in the early 1980s when, for the first time in American history, women were entering the legal profession in large numbers. In law school, feminism was...
RPL Client Watched Film, LLC has been gearing up for the 2018 release of its feature-length documentary, The Feeling of Being Watched, directed by Algerian-American journalist and filmmaker Assia Boundaoui. The film tells the story of Ms. Boundaoui's investigation into the rumors of government surveillance in her childhood neighborhood outside...