Social media use is so common that most of us don’t give it a second thought, but there are certain legal restrictions that apply. For example, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has guidelines for social media influencers clarifying when and how influencers must disclose sponsorships to their followers. A social media influencer is someone with a dedicated group of followers [...]
You may have heard there’s no need to register your copyright, because it’s automatically protected. But this is only half the story—you can’t enforce your copyright without either a certificate of registration or a denial of registration from the Copyright Office. Plus, there are a lot of reasons to register all of your copyrights promptly. 1. If you register a [...]
Vaccine Mandates New Mandates Just yesterday, the Biden administration announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be issuing a new emergency rule for private sector employers. The new rule will require all businesses with 100 or more employees to make sure their workers are either vaccinated or tested once a week. Federal workers will not have the [...]
One of the most valuable assets a business has may be its trade secrets, and most businesses have them. A trade secret is anything that (i) gives a business a competitive advantage, (ii) has been and continues to be treated as a secret by that business, and (iii) is not generally known in the trade or readily discoverable through public [...]
Did you know that your failure to retain all relevant materials after litigation is “reasonably anticipated” could result in you being fined or sanctioned by the court? You may even lose the case as a result of failure to preserve evidence. In one cautionary example, a federal court imposed a $10,000 fine on defendants who failed to preserve relevant text [...]
New OSHA Guidelines for Non-Healthcare Workers In July 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance for those who are fully vaccinated, recommending that they wear masks in certain situations. In response, effective August 13, 2021, OSHA updated its guidance to reflect CDC’s July 27th guidance. That is, OSHA now says that all workers, including those [...]
We frequently get questions from our clients about requests for payment of registration, publication, or renewal fees for corporate, domain name and intellectual property filings. Requests may also be received for monitoring fees or the preparation of minutes. The scam requests typically look like invoices or letters, often containing false due dates or threats about loss of rights if you [...]
A lot of intellectual property lawsuits arise from the use of photographs on the internet. Many people think that the ease of copying them from another website means it’s legal to re-use them on their own website, blog, or social media post. Others know they can’t do that and rely on licensing photos through stock photo companies and Creative Commons. [...]
After extreme temperatures in the Pacific Northwest caused by the “heat dome” in June, Oregon OSHA adopted an emergency rule designed to protect workers from the dangers of extreme heat. The new requirements, which took effect on July 8, 2021, include access to shade and cool water, regular cool-down breaks, training, communication, emergency planning, and other measures. Similarly, Washington’s Department [...]
Businesses are understandably upset when they discover that someone is posting negative online reviews or other disparaging comments about their products, services or operations on social media. Some companies have tried to protect themselves against negative reviews by adding clauses to their terms of service and other contracts that prohibit customers from making disparaging comments. Other companies take a different [...]
