The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit — the appellate court responsible for hearing patent cases — recently issued an opinion, In re Bilski, S45 F.3d 943 (Fed. Cir. 2008), which casts doubt on the validity of certain so-called “business method” patents. As the name implies, business method patents are directed toward innovative methods or processes for performing certain business tasks. Such patents often recite computer software for automating the particular business method. In the last decade, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued numerous business method and software patents to companies and individuals. Examples… Read more

In its 2005 session, the Georgia General Assembly passed several bills that significantly reshaped the landscape of Georgia business taxation. [See Trust The Leaders, Issue 13, p. 8] One of those laws provides for the phase-in of a reshaped apportionment formula for corporations doing business in more than one state. Beginning in 2008, gross receipts now make up 100 percent of the Georgia apportionment factor. The amount of payroll paid to Georgia-based employees and the amount of company property located in Georgia are no longer relevant for Georgia income tax apportionment computations. If a corporation transacts business only in Georgia, its corporate… Read more

On September 25, 2008, then-President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAA or the “Act”). The Act, which took effect on January 1, 2009, significantly broadens the number of employees who are subject to the protections of the original Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADAA retains the original definition of “disability” to include: (1) an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) a record of such an impairment; or (3) being regarded as having such an impairment. However, the ADAA instructs the court system to interpret this definition much more broadly. For… Read more

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the “Act”), passed by Congress and signed into law in 2008, is aimed at strengthening and broadening consumer product safety laws within the United States. The Act, which is administered and enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (the “Commission”), is a complex piece of legislation requiring manufacturers, importers and retailers of a wide variety of consumer products to comply with new requirements, standards and restrictions. In addition to strengthening the Commission’s ability to enforce consumer safety regulations, the Act also increases the maximum civil and criminal penalties for violations of those… Read more

The corporate jet has fast become one of the key strategic business tools in this country, allowing, for example, a company with a single aircraft to visit multiple locations, customers and prospective customers on the same day, giving the user a decidedly competitive advantage in the market. Not surprisingly, demand for business jets tends to rise as corporate profits and markets grow and expand — assuming, of course, that aircraft financing remains available at reasonable rates and that aircraft operating costs (particularly the cost of fuel) remain at reasonable levels. The economies of the U.S. and other developed countries have… Read more

The 2008 Georgia legislature has thrown the construction industry a curveball in the form of significant changes to the lien law. The revised lien statute does not go into effect until March 31, 2009, but some of the changes affect projects that begin before that date, so those who deal with lien issues need to be familiar with the changes or risk a loss of rights. Lien Waivers and Releases Perhaps one of the most significant changes to the law involves revisions to the “Interim Waiver and Release Upon Payment” and the “Waiver and Release Upon Final Payment” forms. Both… Read more

Contrary to McLaughlin’s statement, a big change in the federal estate tax arena has arrived that will make it possible to leave a bit more behind than in previous years. This change, part of the 2001 Tax Act, may make it advisable for you to review and perhaps revise your estate plan. As of January 1 of this year, the Applicable Credit Amount (sometimes called the “Unified Credit”) almost doubled, from $2 million to $3.5 million. The Applicable Credit Amount is the amount of property that can pass from your estate to your beneficiaries without estate tax. While that is… Read more

Throughout this country’s relatively short history of regulating the environment, most of the major programs have focused on a model of forced compliance to achieve the desired goal: a cleaner environment. Over the years, as our natural resources have continued their inevitable slide toward exhaustion, federally and locally mandated compliance programs have begun the logical shift toward the notion of sustainability. Common use of the term “sustainability” began with the 1987 publication of the World Commission on Environment and Development Report, Our Common Future. Also known as the Brundtland Report, this document defines sustainable development as “development that meets the… Read more

In parts of the central United States, far from the population centers of the Eastern and Western seaboards, certain “winds of change” have been blowing for a quarter-century. What was little more than a whisper in the early 1980s has become a brisk breeze. Wind energy became the nation’s fastest-growing energy source in the 1990s, driven by technological improvements, favorable economics and public demand, particularly on the West Coast. The remarkable growth of wind energy production continues at an accelerated pace today. Wind power, like solar, geothermal and other renewable energy sources, rose in popularity initially as a reaction to… Read more

The market has changed, turning the traditional business model on its head. Whether due to increasing knowledge of the economic costs of environmental degradation, rising oil and food costs, or simple greenwashing, businesses around the world are reacting to customers and shareholders who are becoming more informed and more vocal in insisting upon corporate sustainability. No longer can corporations justify a wasteful business model with a temporarily strong bottom line. Facing shareholder and market demands, and sometimes legal and compliance standards, full environmental, social and fiscal accountability has become the yardstick, not the exception, in the market. Moreover, what currently… Read more