In fiscal year 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) collected $164.6 million in back wages for employees that it determined were not paid in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That law, as well as the laws of most—if not all—states, classifies employees as either "exempt" or "nonexempt" from minimum wage and overtime provisions. Nonexempt employees are [...]
Nearly every business has some form of intellectual property (IP). While it is an intangible asset, in many cases intellectual property is more valuable than tangible assets such as equipment and inventory. Copyrights Copyright protects original creative works, such as artwork, literary works, musical and dramatic works, software, sound recordings and motion pictures. Although a protectible work is automatically copyrighted [...]
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 [...]
Have you conducted an intellectual property (IP) audit in the last year? If not, now is the time to get started. IP includes copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, patents, trade secrets and the like. In fact, it's called intellectual property since it involves products of the mind. An IP audit involves a systematic review of all IP you own, control, or [...]
Last month, the Guns N’ Roses rock band sued Jersey Village Florist, LLC over its website, TexasGunsandRoses.com, which sells—you guessed it—guns and roses, as well as gun accessories, knives, binoculars, body armor, and other equipment and supplies related to hunting and shooting. Jersey Village Florist registered the TEXAS GUNS AND ROSES.COM logo, consisting of a white star on a blue [...]
Once again, New Year’s Day brought us more than resolutions, football games and hangovers: on January 1st, works first published in 1927 that were previously protected by copyright entered the public domain. Once a work becomes part of the public domain, anyone can reproduce it or create derivative works based on it, and then sell those reproductions or derivative works. [...]
Employers and employees alike should be aware of a number of new laws relating to employment. Federal Laws The Speak Out Act prohibits enforcement of nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements related to sexual harassment or sexual assault that are signed prior to an actual dispute. The Act took effect on December 7, 2022. If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget [...]
Happy Holidays from all of us here at The DuBoff Law Group!
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 [...]
Although the estate and gift tax exemption for 2022 is $12.06 million per person, meaning a married couple can pass $24.12 million tax-free, this is only temporary. The exemption will automatically revert to $5 million (adjusted for inflation) in 2026 if Congress doesn’t make any changes before then. While there’s no way to know now what revisions (if any) will [...]
