Patterson Belknap is proud to announce that the firm has been recognized in The Legal 500’s United States guide as well as in its New York Elite and Private Client guides.    The following firm practices were recognized by The Legal 500: Advertising and Marketing: Litigation – United States Art and Cultural Property – Private Client Cybersecurity and Data Protection – New York Elite Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense – United States Not-For-Profit: Fortune 1000 Private Foundations, National Trade Associations, and Charities – United States In addition, the following firm attorneys received recognition: Anne-Laure Alléhaut in Art and Cultural Property – Private Client H. Gregory Baker in Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense – United States Michael F. Buchanan in Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and...

In our January 2026 post, Supreme Court to Clarify the SEC’s Disgorgement Powers, we previewed the Supreme Court’s decision to take up Sripetch v. Securities & Exchange Commission,[1] a case in which defendants sought to pare back the SEC’s authority to seek disgorgement. The case resolves a circuit split that arose in the wake of Liu v. SEC.[2]  In Liu, the Court sought to clarify the SEC’s ability to impose the penalty of disgorgement, ruling that disgorgement was available as equitable relief, but to avoid transforming an equitable remedy into a punitive one, “the remedy [is restricted] to an individual wrongdoer’s net profits to be awarded for victims.” In response to Liu’s requirement that disgorgement be “awarded for victims,” the Second Circuit...

On Monday, June 29, Partner Julie Simeone will speak on a World Services Group webinar titled "The Invisible Asset: Trade Secrets in US and Canada." Ms. Simeone will join Chantal Desjardins (Partner and Trademark Agent, Lavery) and James Duffy (Patent Agent and Senior Associate, Lavery) for a practical panel on trade secret protection enforcement examining how businesses identify and safeguard confidential information across the commercial lifecycle. To learn more, please click here.

Introduction On April 30, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order (the “Order”) designed to expand access to retirement savings for the tens of millions of American workers who currently lack employer-sponsored retirement plans, including many small-business employees, part-time workers, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals facing barriers to saving for retirement. The Order is designed to complement the Federal Saver's Match enacted under the SECURE 2.0 Act, which provides eligible workers with a federal matching contribution of up to $1,000 for retirement savings, and to promote high-quality, low-cost individual retirement account (“IRA”) access. Key Provisions and Implications The Order directs the Secretary of the Treasury (the “Secretary”) to establish, by January 1, 2027, an informational website (TrumpIRA.gov) that will serve as a...

On June 7, 2026, District Judge Brian Cogan (E.D.N.Y.) granted Plaintiff Hit Notion LLC’s (Hit Notion’s) summary judgment motion on patent inventorship, on-sale bar, and obviousness, denying a summary judgment motion by Defendant Digitalprints USA Corporation d/b/a Cheer Collection (Cheer Collection) for invalidity based on similar issues and indefiniteness. Hit Notion LLC v. Digitalprints USA Corp., No. 24-cv-7986, 2026 BL 219173 (E.D.N.Y. June 7, 2026). This dispute arose in March 2017 when the parties, both pillow retailers, requested custom pillow designs from the same Chinese pillow manufacturer, MJ Textile. MJ Textile sent the same photo of a sample pillow to both parties, and the parties unknowingly purchased and began selling similar pillows. Id. at *1-2. Hit Notion filed a patent application for...

Before you press "go" to launch your next business idea, as a founder and entrepreneur of a start-up company you should address an important (if uninspiring) step: employment law compliance. Complacency now can turn into an expensive distraction later, with the potential to create surprise liabilities and maybe even scuttle future deals. This alert flags core employment law issues every start-up should tackle now so they don't snowball later. Onboarding Compliance Checklist Before work can begin, employers must check an ever-growing number of compliance boxes: Register to Do Business: Register your company in each state where you have employees (e.g., the local departments of tax, labor, state, etc.). Workers' Compensation and Unemployment Insurance: Obtain both in each state where you have employees. New Hire Reporting:...

On June 15, 2026, Patterson Belknap filed a false advertising lawsuit on behalf of Danone US, LLC against rival Chobani LLC. To read a copy of the complaint, please click here.

On Tuesday, June 30, Partner Justin Zaremby will speak on a panel at the National Association of College and University Attorneys 2026 Annual Conference titled "Gifts and Endowments 101: Balancing Long-Term Planning with Short-Term Pressure." Mr. Zaremby will join Quinn Williams (General Counsel, University of Wisconsin) and Brittany Cvetanovich (Counsel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to explore the challenges of accepting and documenting charitable gifts and share considerations for managing complex gifting scenarios. To learn more, please click here.

From sports betting to prediction markets, the phenomenon some call "the casino-ification of America" has captured the American zeitgeist. Sports betting in particular has become ubiquitous since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Murphy v. NCAA, which opened the door for states to legalize sports gambling. Fans can now regularly bet on games and player performances directly from their smartphones. And, as several recent criminal indictments have alleged, some bettors are capitalizing on their access to inside information to obtain an unfair advantage on their wagers. This article will discuss how, because sports-related inside information continues to become more valuable, organizations including professional sports leagues, governing bodies, college athletic conferences, athletic departments and teams are playing an increasingly prominent role in...

When a debtor that is a landlord rejects a real property lease in bankruptcy, the tenant has a choice. Either the tenant can treat the lease as terminated or retain its rights under the lease. These rights include the use, possession, quiet enjoyment, subletting, and hypothecation of the property. In a recent case, the parties and the court grappled with this question: when does the tenant need to make that decision? When the lease is rejected, or by some other date? Interestingly, neither the court nor the parties found case law on this issue. It was one of first impression. In re All Star Props., LLC, No. 25-41314, 2026 Bankr. LEXIS 1461 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. June 15, 2026). The debtor owns...

Patterson Belknap is proud to announce that the firm has been recognized in The Legal 500’s United States guide as well as in its New York Elite and Private Client guides.    The following firm practices were recognized by The Legal 500: Advertising and Marketing: Litigation – United States Art and Cultural Property – Private Client Cybersecurity and Data Protection – New York Elite Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense – United States Not-For-Profit: Fortune 1000 Private Foundations, National Trade Associations, and Charities – United States In addition, the following firm attorneys received recognition: Anne-Laure Alléhaut in Art and Cultural Property – Private Client H. Gregory Baker in Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense – United States Michael F. Buchanan in Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and...

In our January 2026 post, Supreme Court to Clarify the SEC’s Disgorgement Powers, we previewed the Supreme Court’s decision to take up Sripetch v. Securities & Exchange Commission,[1] a case in which defendants sought to pare back the SEC’s authority to seek disgorgement. The case resolves a circuit split that arose in the wake of Liu v. SEC.[2]  In Liu, the Court sought to clarify the SEC’s ability to impose the penalty of disgorgement, ruling that disgorgement was available as equitable relief, but to avoid transforming an equitable remedy into a punitive one, “the remedy [is restricted] to an individual wrongdoer’s net profits to be awarded for victims.” In response to Liu’s requirement that disgorgement be “awarded for victims,” the Second Circuit...

On Monday, June 29, Partner Julie Simeone will speak on a World Services Group webinar titled "The Invisible Asset: Trade Secrets in US and Canada." Ms. Simeone will join Chantal Desjardins (Partner and Trademark Agent, Lavery) and James Duffy (Patent Agent and Senior Associate, Lavery) for a practical panel on trade secret protection enforcement examining how businesses identify and safeguard confidential information across the commercial lifecycle. To learn more, please click here.

Introduction On April 30, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order (the “Order”) designed to expand access to retirement savings for the tens of millions of American workers who currently lack employer-sponsored retirement plans, including many small-business employees, part-time workers, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals facing barriers to saving for retirement. The Order is designed to complement the Federal Saver's Match enacted under the SECURE 2.0 Act, which provides eligible workers with a federal matching contribution of up to $1,000 for retirement savings, and to promote high-quality, low-cost individual retirement account (“IRA”) access. Key Provisions and Implications The Order directs the Secretary of the Treasury (the “Secretary”) to establish, by January 1, 2027, an informational website (TrumpIRA.gov) that will serve as a...

On June 7, 2026, District Judge Brian Cogan (E.D.N.Y.) granted Plaintiff Hit Notion LLC’s (Hit Notion’s) summary judgment motion on patent inventorship, on-sale bar, and obviousness, denying a summary judgment motion by Defendant Digitalprints USA Corporation d/b/a Cheer Collection (Cheer Collection) for invalidity based on similar issues and indefiniteness. Hit Notion LLC v. Digitalprints USA Corp., No. 24-cv-7986, 2026 BL 219173 (E.D.N.Y. June 7, 2026). This dispute arose in March 2017 when the parties, both pillow retailers, requested custom pillow designs from the same Chinese pillow manufacturer, MJ Textile. MJ Textile sent the same photo of a sample pillow to both parties, and the parties unknowingly purchased and began selling similar pillows. Id. at *1-2. Hit Notion filed a patent application for...

Before you press "go" to launch your next business idea, as a founder and entrepreneur of a start-up company you should address an important (if uninspiring) step: employment law compliance. Complacency now can turn into an expensive distraction later, with the potential to create surprise liabilities and maybe even scuttle future deals. This alert flags core employment law issues every start-up should tackle now so they don't snowball later. Onboarding Compliance Checklist Before work can begin, employers must check an ever-growing number of compliance boxes: Register to Do Business: Register your company in each state where you have employees (e.g., the local departments of tax, labor, state, etc.). Workers' Compensation and Unemployment Insurance: Obtain both in each state where you have employees. New Hire Reporting:...