A third-party beneficiary, in contract law, is a person who may have the right to sue on a contract, despite not having originally been a party to the contract.  Think, for example, of the homeowner who hires a contractor who then hires a subcontractor.  If the subcontractor fails to perform, under certain circumstances, the homeowner may be a third-party beneficiary of the subcontract between the contractor and the sub, and have the right to sue the sub directly.

In order to obtain that right, however, under Michigan law, the homeowner must be an intended beneficiary of the contract, as opposed to an incidental beneficiary.  A homeowner is an intended beneficiary only where there’s an express promise by the subcontractor to act …read more

Safford & Baker PLLC is pleased to be a sponsor of Ann Arbor’s first TECH cocktail event TONIGHT, Friday, March 27, 2009, starting at 6 p.m. at Live at PJ’s.  The event is being hosted by a2geeks (previously written about here).

Originated in Chicago, TECH cocktail is a community-building startup founded in May 2006 by Frank Gruber and Eric Olson (who will be in attendance).  TECH cocktail looks to help the Ann Arbor area and other technology communities like Chicago, Boston, Boulder, Champaign and DC amplify the technology signal while having fun doing it.  This TECH cocktail will offer a handful of startups an opportunity to showoff in an expo-style to the rest …read more

Jake Sigal and his company Myine Electronics continue to receive positive buzz.  Check out this article from Great Lakes IT Report about the company’s new Internet radio.

–Matt

Just a friendly reminder of a couple of upcoming events this week.  I’ll be on the “Fair Use” panel.  I hope you can make it.

–Matt

FREE PANEL DISCUSSIONS

The Arts, Communications, Entertainment & Sports (“ACES”) Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan is co-hosting with the Ann Arbor Film Festival (“AAFF”) two free educational panels during the 47^th Ann Arbor Film Festival.

The “Michigan in Motion” panel discussion is taking place on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, from 1 – 2:30 p.m. at the WORK Gallery in Ann Arbor.  The new film tax incentives in Michigan created a national buzz in the past year, with Hollywood film projects receiving …read more

The so-called “notice-and-takedown” procedure in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) – previously referenced here and here – provides copyright holders with the means to remove allegedly infringing material from websites.  When users post such material, the copyright holder provides notice to the website operator, and the operator is charged with the taking it down.  Increasingly, however, the users posting these materials are fighting back when takedown notices are used illegally.

In a recent case, the animal rights group Showing Animals Respect & Kindness (aka SHARK) shot video footage of a rodeo which depicted, according to SHARK, animal abuse.  SHARK then posted the footage to its YouTube channel accompanied with provocative commentary and as …read more