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Patent infringement expert James Bessen, a lecturer at Boston University School of Law, commented this week on the increase in patent litigation, specifically the $1.1B sale of AOL patents to Microsoft. Bessen studies the economics of innovation and patents. His book, Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats, and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk, highlights the problems caused by poorly defined property rights (“patent notice”).

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Antitrust expert witnesses may provide reports concerning unfair trade practices, the free market, and the Clayton Act. In the news, the Justice Department and several states have sued Apple Inc. and major book publishers in an antitrust lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to raise the price of electronic books. US Attorney General Eric Holder says the pricing practice has added $2 to $5 to the cost of each e-book.

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Parties in the case against Heartstone Management Inc., Texas City Assisted Living Ltd., IPH Health Care Services Inc. and Dr. Folasade M. Ojo are asking for more time for discovery and to hire medical and nursing home expert witnesses. Christopher Murphy died of acute renal failure and had infected wounds after a fall at the Texas City Heartstone assisted living facility.

The motion was filed before Judge Barbara Roberts, Galveston County Court.

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Robert Hambright will serve as an attorney’s fees expert witness in the age discrimination case against Motiva Enterprises. Kurt Floersheim alleges he was terminated in order for younger engineers to be hired.

Motiva Enterprises LLC operations include nearly 7,700 Shell-branded gasoline stations, three refineries with a combined capacity of 740,000 barrels per day, and ownership interest in 41 refined product storage terminals with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 19.8 million barrels.

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In Security for Bars, Taverns and Nightclubs, night club security expert witness Ralph Witherspoon, CPP, CSC, writes:

The goal of most bars, taverns and nightclubs is to provide a hospitable gathering place where patrons can have a good time, often by listening to entertainment and/or dancing, while purchasing and consuming the establishment’s primary product – alcoholic beverages. However, it is the latter item, the consumption of alcoholic beverages that tends to lessen or remove inhibitions in many people, which is the frequent cause of problems and, increasingly, litigation for tavern and club operators.

While potentially applicable to all types of establishments as their circumstances and clientele dictate, this article is primarily targeted toward larger bars and nightclubs, including dance clubs and adult entertainment aka. gentlemen’s clubs.

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New Mexico Attorney General Gary King filed a case in 2009 against the lender FastBucks for charging interest rates of more than 650 percent a year. Now, finance expert witnesses are expected to testify that FastBucks preys on the poor, minorities, and financially inexperienced who sign up for “payday loans” from high-interest lenders rather than established banks.

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The city of Anchorage, AK, has hired a former deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Lou Reiter, as a police procedures expert witness in the case against former Anchorage police officer and convicted serial rapist Anthony Rollins.

Reiter is with the Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute which offers training and services for law enforcement, jails and corrections, and risk managers.

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The DNA Initiative is offering a 13 module training course entitled Introduction to Law 101: Legal Guide for the Forensic Expert. The course was produced by the National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law (NCSTL) at Stetson University College of Law with funding from the National Institute of Justice.

More info: http://www.dna.gov/training/law101.

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Michigan Lawyer blog author Ed Wesoloski writes that expert witnesses can testify at criminal and civil trials via two-way interactive video under 2012 PA 68, signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder. The law takes effect June 1 and is expected to reduce travel expenses for experts.

Read more: http://michiganlawyerblog.wordpress.com/author/milw/.