Archive for January, 2012

Jones Walker is pleased to publicize that Michael W. Magner has moved into the firm’s New Orleans agency of criminal law attorneys as special counsel. Mr. Magner practices in the firm’s Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group. His training centers on precautionary and Litigation services for businesses and individuals in corporate and white collar criminal law matters. He also represents people and businesses related to grand jury and several other investigations.

Mr. Magner’s particular expertise is in anti-corruption deference and Litigation matters on both a domestic and international level. He served as a federal prosecutor in New Orleans for 20 years where he was a key member of the team that successfully prosecuted former Louisiana Governor, Edwin Edwards, following a 5 month trial. He was also the lead prosecutor in the Department of Justice‘s long term investigation and prosecution of judicial and related public corruption in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana known as “Operation Wrinkled Robe.” In recognition of his work, Mike was awarded the Department of Justice‘s highest award for Litigation, the John Marshall Award, as well as the Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team.

Mr. Magner stated, “Joining Jones Walker and being able to work with the Jones Walker white collar team is an exciting opportunity. Their law firm has a number of former U.S. Attorneys and Assistant U.S. Attorneys, all of whom have a stellar reputation in representing clients in the defense of government investigations and prosecutions.”

Mr. Magner has additionally functioned as a director of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Anti-Terrorism/Crisis Response Unit, Organized Crime Strike Force, and Violent Crime Unit, and has tried over 40 jury trials to verdict, in virtually all sections of the United States District Court for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana. He specialized in long term, complex white collar investigations and trials, including export control, mail and wire fraud, government contract fraud, bribery, money laundering, police misconduct, civil rights violations, and RICO. In 2011, he served as the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Advisor to the Kenyan Anti-Corruption Commission (“KACC”) in Nairobi, Kenya, where he was embedded in the KACC’s principal headquarters for nearly two months, and provided training to KACC’s investigators, auditors, and attorneys on corruption compliance, investigative, and prosecution matters. He has also trained foreign judges and prosecutors in Central Asia and Africa and has regularly trained federal prosecutors through the Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute.

Prior to working with the KACC, Mr. Magner was with the Department of Justice‘s first Counsel for Emergency Management and Crisis Response in the Office of Director, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys in Washington, D.C. for 18 months, where he represented the DOJ at various White House level emergency exercises and planning meetings relating to the federal government’s response to major criminal events, natural disasters, and pandemics. While with DOJ, Mike was also selected as a trained evaluator of other U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country on various substantive legal areas as well as ethics and professionalism.

Mr. Magner acquired his juris doctor certification from Tulane University School of Law, cum laude; and was Managing Editor of The Maritime Lawyer. His Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/International Relations was earned from The George Washington University.



GS Battery Inc. only just stated it has started to provide its ECO R model SLC 70-4 and SLX246-12 batteries for use in Suniva’s Balance of System Solutions. Co-Branded with the Suniva and GS Battery logo, these superior capacity electric batteries supply endurance and remarkable cycling capacity supported by many years of expertise within Japan.

This collaboration allows Suniva and GS Battery to optimize their alternative energy products to improve the performance and reliability of the entire PV system, thus improving the Levelized Cost of Electricity. Custom engineering support to help meet individual project needs is also available. The ECO R batteries are a significant component to Suniva’s Balance of System Solutions.

“Market interest continues to be very positive for the ECO R batteries and has been aided by Suniva’s introduction of the Balance of System Solutions (BOSS) at Solar Power International,” said Jay Northey, Executive Vice-president and General Manager, GS Battery (USA) Inc. “We are excited to continue our collaboration with Suniva as our co-branded offerings expand globally.”

GS Battery Inc. is an American subsidiary of GS Yuasa Group of Japan, a world leader in automotive, motorcycle and standby storage batteries, which serves the power sports, telecommunications, UPS, and the emergency lighting markets. GS Battery Inc. recently announced that they will enter the renewable energy photovoltaic and storage market in North America.

Suniva® is an American manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon PV cells and high-power solar modules used in solar panels. The company uses patented, low-cost manufacturing techniques and industry-leading technology to produce its high-quality products and maintain competitive costs. Headquartered in metro-Atlanta, GA, Suniva sells its advanced PV cells and modules globally.



01 28th, 2012

The law firm of Lee Tran & Liang has picked up yet a new Ninth Circuit appeal; actually its fourth straight victory in the Ninth Circuit since 2009. On Jan twenty six, 2012, the 9th Circuit established a grant regarding summary judgment of which LTL achieved for its client, the opponent in a copyright laws and trade dress lawsuit. Firm teammate Enoch H. Liang – coupled with lawyer Daniel Taylor – defended Bedrosian’s (in Orange County) and Hirsch Glass Company (in New Jersey) both before the District Court and the Ninth Circuit. The plaintiff has been represented by renowned intellectual property specialist Christie Parker & Hale.

As reported in LTL’s June 2010 press release, the District Court granted LTL’s motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff’s trade dress claims in mid-2009. Then, in September 2009, less than 4 days before a jury trial was scheduled to begin, the District Court also dismissed Plaintiff’s 17 copyright claims. In July 2010, Plaintiff appealed to the Ninth Circuit, arguing that the District Court erred in both holding that the scope of Plaintiff’s copyrights were “thin,” and finding that “there is no substantial similarity (much less virtual identity) insofar as the protectable items are concerned as between Plaintiff’s copyrighted products and Defendants’ glass tiles.”

After extensive briefing, on January 13, 2012, LTL Partner Enoch Liang argued the case, defending the District Court’s ruling. Fewer than a couple of weeks following the oral assertion, the Ninth Circuit Judges W. Fletcher, Fisher, and Zouhary—issued their unpublished opinion. The Ninth Circuit held that “protection over designs is thin.” The Court further held that the defendants’ designs “are not ‘virtually identical’ to because the streaking effect, color blends, and appearance of randomness in designs are different…”

This conclusion reaffirms the need for a two-pronged plan of action in copyright infringement actions. Often, the issue of infringement is determined by the “scope” of the copyright that the court determines as a matter of law. Hence, in litigating copyright matters, plaintiffs should pay particular attention to avoid falling into various limiting doctrines that may limit the scope of their copyrights. Defendants should do the opposite.

Lee Tran & Liang, APLC is a California based law firm focusing exclusively on business litigation. The firm’s partners have practiced at prominent law firms, and are graduates of top law schools including Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and Michigan. Primary practice areas, as outlined by the firm itself and every attorney directory, include business disputes (breach of contract, aggrieved investors and professionals, and commercial disputes) intellectual property litigation (patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets), and employment litigation (defense). What sets the organization apart is its end goal of aligning itself with its customers’ needs, by offering a variety of imaginative fee plans in appropriate concerns.