Our Blog

House Votes to Eliminate Estate Tax (the ubiquitous low hanging fruit) It seems that every new administration or Congress has something to say regarding the federal estate taxation. The main motivator is publicity, since this type of taxation affects few households, a measure in this area would make a great news story, but would have limited actual impact. As many of you probably heard, the Republican controlled House has approved a measure that would eliminate the federal estate tax, which currently kicks in after the exclusion amount of 5.43 million for individuals…

 April 17, 2015 (updated November 18, 2020) 

What: This initiative began on June 2nd and will begin for six months, or until 200 petitions are granted for participation in the program. Purpose: program is exploring different application drafting styles, and to provide information regarding the meaning of claim terms. Benefits of Participation: Applications accepted into this pilot program receive expedited examination AT NO ADDITIONAL COST!!! (think, a petition to make special is between $35 and $140, petition for expedited examination between $1000 and $4000) Eligibility: program is being offered to software-related technological fields and some business method inventions. Apps must include a glossary explaining claim…

 September 5, 2014 (updated November 18, 2020) 

Computer Enabled Method Patent: Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank International (US Supreme Court, June 19, 2014) At issue in this case were patent eligibility of claims drawn to a computer enabled business method. The Supreme Court held that the claims in this patent were not patent eligible. This decision does not spell the end to all business methods or computer based inventions. In fact, the decision in Alice Corp. does not change anything or introduce any new standards to the issue of what constitutes a patentable subject matter. The Alice Corp. patent…

 August 22, 2014 (updated November 18, 2020) 

New York Domestic Relations Law Section 236(B)(1)(d) defines separate property as:(1) property acquired before marriage or property acquired by bequest, devise, or descent, or gift from a party other than the spouse;(2) compensation for personal injuries;(3) property acquired in exchange for the increase in value of separate property, except to the extent that such appreciation is due in part to the contribution or efforts of the other spouse;(4) property described as separate property by written agreement pursuant to subdivision three of this part.The case law has qualified this exclusion to instances where…

 March 27, 2014 (updated November 18, 2020) 

Is a gift given to one spouse protected from future equitable distribution claims by the other spouse?The burden of establishing immunity from equitable distribution of a particular asset rests with the party who seeks to exclude an asset. Painter v. Painter, 65 N.J. 196, 214 (1974). Ultimately, the fashioning of an appropriate allocation of marital property is vested in the discretion of the trial judge. Savoie v. Savoie, 245 N.J. Super. 1, 5 (App. Div. 1990). Nevertheless, the findings of fact must be supported by substantial credible evidence. Cesare v. Cesare, 154…

 March 26, 2014 (updated November 18, 2020)