Thursday, July 28, 2011

Growth in software patents draws mixed reactions

A story from National Public Radio looks at the issue of patents in the software industry and the growing number of lawsuits being filed by so-called "patent trolls," which amass patents and then demand companies license the technology. Many of these patents are so broad, engineers say, that everyone's guilty of infringement. And computer programmers and enterpenuers say the practice is hindering innovation.

Read the full story here.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program

Latest News Release: February 1, 2011 – SBA Expands Access to Federal Contracting Opportunities for Women-Owned Small Businesses

Memo from the Administrator:

On October 7, 2010, the U.S. Small Business Administration published a final rule effective February 4, 2011, aimed at expanding federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses (WOSBs). The Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract program authorizes contracting officers to set aside certain federal contracts for eligible:

Women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) or
Economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs)

http://www.sba.gov/content/contracting-opportunities-women-owned-small-businesses

Court Reviews Whether an Employee Relinquished a Promised Ownership Interest When He Signed a Subsequent Employment Contract

STEPHEN BROWN v. COLUMBIA PRECAST, LLC, ET AL. (Tenn. Ct. App. July 22, 2011)

An employee was promised 10% ownership interest in the company he worked for if he stayed with the company for six years. When the time came to transfer the employee's 10% interest to him, however, the parties learned that the tax laws then in effect made the transfer impractical at that time. The parties therefore decided to delay the transfer.

The parties entered into a contract the following year which the employer interpreted to mean that the employee was giving up his 10% ownership interest in exchange for a raise in his salary plus 10% of the company's net profits each year. The employee claimed he did not give up his 10% ownership interest and sued the company and former majority owner for his 10% interest when the company was sold a few years later.

The trial court concluded the employee did not give up his 10% ownership interest by signing the later agreement and awarded the employee 10% of the company's net profits for the years following the employee's termination plus 10% of the ultimate purchase price. We affirm the trial court's judgment.

Opinion may be found at:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/brownss_072211.pdf

Friday, July 22, 2011

State Supreme Court remeasures height of discovery hurdle

Coming out of Habitat case, standard required to sue employer unchanged
Published July 22, 2011 by Philip Nannie

Employers take note.

The good news is the state's highest court didn't make it easier for an employee to sue a company. The bad news is it didn't make it any harder, either.

Tennessee Supreme Court judges on Thursday issued an important ruling clarifying the burden of proof for employees suing for retaliatory discharge. Representatives of the state's largest employers were anticipating this decision, the result of which won't make future firings any easier.

Complete article may be found at: http://nashvillepost.com/news/2011/7/22/state_supreme_court_remeasures_height_of_discovery_hurdle

Friday, July 15, 2011

Knoxville Region is #1 in Green Job Growth

Knoxville is the nation’s fastest growing area for green jobs according to a report, “Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment,” released by the Brookings Institute. Knoxville saw green jobs grow by 14.6 percent annually between 2003 and 2010. During that period the region added 10,000 green jobs, and now clean economy jobs account for 4.9 percent of all jobs in the Innovation Valley. The measure of the concentration of green jobs ranks Knoxville 2nd in the nation.

Complete article may be found at:
http://www.knoxvilleoakridge.com/news-releases/knoxville-region-1-green-job-growth

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Forbes Ranks Nashville #6, Knoxville #26, and Clarksville #87 “Best Places For Business and Careers”

Forbes: The Best Places for Business and Careers

Forbes recently issued a list of the Top 100 best cities for businesses and careers, and several Tennessee cities made the list:

6 – Nashville
26 – Knoxville
87 – Clarksville

According to their methodology, they looked at the 200 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. They considered 12 metrics relating to job growth (both past and projected), costs (business and living), income growth, educational attainment and projected economic growth. They also factored in quality of life elements such as crime rates, cultural and recreational opportunities, and net migration patterns. Finally, they included the number of highly-ranked colleges in an area according to their annual college rankings.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Court Reviews Whether an Implied Partnership Existed Between Two Parties and Whether Certain Property was Subject to Divestiture

REBECCA GRIBBLE WADDELL v. GREGORY C. RUSTIN (Tenn. Ct. App. July 7, 2011)

This case stems from a lawsuit over an alleged implied partnership. Rebecca Gribble Waddell ("Waddell") and Gregory C. Rustin ("Rustin") were involved romantically for a number of years. After the couple separated, Waddell sued Rustin in the Chancery Court for Jefferson County ("the Trial Court"), alleging, among other things, that a partnership existed between Waddell and Rustin.

The Trial Court held, inter alia, that there was no partnership between Waddell and Rustin and ordered divestiture of certain property from Waddell to Rustin. Waddell appeals to this Court, and both parties raise multiple issues. Rustin also argues that this appeal is frivolous. We affirm the judgment of the Trial Court on all issues except for that concerning divestiture of certain property from Waddell, which we reverse. We decline to hold this appeal frivolous. We affirm, in part, and, reverse, in part.

Full opinion available at:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/waddellr_070711.pdf

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Attorney General: Amazon can be pushed on taxes

TN Attorney General Issues Opinion Upholding a Bill that would Require Amazon to Pay State Sales Taxes (Nashville Business Journal)

Tennessee's Attorney General issued an opinion upholding the constitutionality of a proposed bill that would require Amazon to pay state sales taxes. The opinion supports the argument that the building of distribution centers in Tennessee creates a physical presence, or “nexus,” which can trigger sales-tax requirements; however, the Attorney General declined to explicitly state that Amazon, which is building several distribution centers in Tennessee, has a sales-tax obligation to the state.

You can read the full text of the opinion here:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2011/ag_11_52.pdf