Generally, the photographer owns the copyright in photographs he takes. Of course, if a photographer working for someone else, then the photographer’s employer may own the copyright in the photographs. A photographer may transfer or not receive a copyright if he agrees...

Congratulations to Robert Schultz and Ronald J. Eisenberg, who each recently received the "Missouri Lawyers 2018 Award" for obtaining one of the top 5 plaintiff’s verdicts statewide, recognizing their success in a robocall class action lawsuit under the Telephone Consu...

Plaintiffs do not always know the names of all defendants when the complaint is filed. They name “John Doe,” hoping to amend when the defendants become known. In Heglund v. City of Grand Rapids, No. 16-3063 (8th Cir. Sept. 7, 2017), Jennifer Heglund and her husband sue...

Most city officials serve because they are committed to public service and seek to improve or protect their neighborhoods and the broader community. Do city officials forfeit their right to speak out on, to participate in discussions or deliberations about, or to vote...

Local governments normally have many boards or commissions, for the most part comprised of appointed volunteers. For instance, a city with zoning must have a board of adjustment and a planning and zoning commission. A question local governments face, but may not give m...

With all of the rainfall that has hit Missouri lately, you might have a leaky basement. Sometimes sellers of homes know that the basement has leaked during heavy rainfall but hide that information from the buyers. Typical causes of action asserted in failure-to-disclos...

To be patentable as a utility patent, an invention must have three attributes: utility, novelty, and nonobivousness.

“Utility” means the invention must work and have value. False or misleading inventions such as perpetual motion machines are considered to lack utility (...