The Krav Maga Approach to Trials

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For several years now I have been a practitioner of Krav Maga, the official self-defense system of the Israeli Defense Force. In the Krav Maga system, students are taught to react to realistic threats with one or more simple and direct movements that hopefully will quickly end the encounter. The Krav Maga mantra: “No rules; no rituals; no nonsense; no excuses.”

Just after World War II, the fledgling Israeli nation asked Krav Maga founder Imi Licthenfeld to develop a system of self defense for its armed forces. Not satisfied with ancient forms of karate, still taught through centuries-old memorized rituals known as “katas,” Licthenfeld instead developed a simple and effective system of hand-to-hand combat that emphasizes instinctive movements, practical techniques and realistic training scenarios. read more

Plagiarism of Creative Works

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Courts in Los Angeles are frequently confronted with claims that an entertainment company has plagiarized a writer’s work. The word “plagiarize” means to use and pass off as one’s own the ideas or expressions of another. The legal rules that govern the dispute, the court in which the dispute will be fought and the success of the case will likely depend on whether the plaintiff claims that “ideas” on the one hand, or “expressions” on the other, were plagiarized.

When one writes a treatment or full teleplay or screenplay – technically, when that work is fixed in a tangible medium, such as on paper or saved on a drive – the copyright law protects unauthorized copying of the expressions in that work, but does not prevent independent creation of similar expressions. read more

Are Internet Service Providers Liable for Unlawful Conduct by their Customers?

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The Internet has afforded astonishing new channels to engage in lawful commerce as well as unlawful activities.  Previously in order to engage in widespread libel one needed access to print media.  Now, with a press of a button, a libelous communication can be uploaded to the Internet and instantly published worldwide.   Search sites such as Google and auction sites such as eBay have created new channels for ordinary citizens to search for, purchase and sell millions of goods, including those that may infringe the rights of third parties.

Aggrieved parties who want to assert legal claims for wrongs perpetrated through the Internet may be unable to identify the wrongdoer, or s/he may have no locatable assets.  read more

Online Privacy Issues Stretch Parameters of Existing Law

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A fresh story about the privacy of electronic data appears in the news each week.  People are justifiably concerned that online and mobile device companies not surreptitiously collect or use, without their knowledge and consent, personal information they voluntarily disclose to social media sites. See “Customers Stay Despite High-Profile Data Breaches,” https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=13503565

Not surprisingly, these concerns and stories are spawning lawsuits.  The challenge faced by attorneys filing or defending electronic privacy cases is to determine what legal principles will apply, and indeed whether the behavior complained of is actionable under existing law.  Congress and state legislatures have only begun to consider legislation governing management of electronic personal data in the modern world of social media and mobile devices.  read more