Thursday, November 05, 2009

A Federal District judge recently sided with Daniel A. Moore, a sports artist, and reaffirmed his capacity to create paintings of University of Alabama football players in action.  The University of Alabama had apparently been contending that Moore’s paintings violated trademark law because of their similarity to the trade dress and trademarks of the University.  The judge held that neither the University uniforms or their crimson color are protected by trademark law.  Some laud this as a victory for First Amendment rights, others fear the loss of lucrative profits many Universities may find in marketing their signature colors.

Posted by Blog Admin in
Permalink

Kroll Inc. recently settled a lawsuit involving the National Electrical Contractor’s Association’s allegations that Kroll mislead the company into believing that accused Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford’s business dealings were above board, causing them to invest and lose millions.

The current climate of investing, with Ponzi schemes and frauds abounding, has caused many investors to obtain due diligence services relative to potential investment firms and opportunities prior to investing.  An employee of Kroll was apparently found to be an associate of the accused fraudster, and the employee abruptly left the company shortly following the lawsuit.

Investors should be forewarned that before obtaining the services of a corporate investigations for any purpose, including due diligence, that it is essential to determine the key players, and obtain information on references, possible conflicts of interest, and previous successes.  For more information on a Ponzi scheme due diligence investigative effort that was effective, you can check out press releases here: http://www.investigation.com/articles/library/2008articles/articles20.htm/and here: http://www.investigation.com/articles/library/2008articles/articles18.htm .

Posted by Blog Admin in
Permalink

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, announced on Friday that Internet addresses containing non-latin characters from start to finish will be available soon.  Starting November 16, 2009, ICANN has indicated that nations and territories may apply for Internet extensions in their native languages.  ICANN’s President & CEO, Rod Beckstrom, indicates that this is only the first step.  An Internationalized Domain Name, or IDN, has been touted to be a historic move by many, and one of the largest changes to the current Internet landscape in recent history.  Detractors have indicated that the change could open the door for fraudulent activity, as there is potential for confusion and for fraudsters to use domains close to those of legitimate business. 

Posted by Blog Admin in
Permalink