In troubled times like these when we’re more aware of our own mortality, you may be wondering what will happen to your small business after your death. Now is a good time to begin the process of “succession planning.” Surveys show that while most small-business owners plan to sell their businesses to fund their retirement, few have written succession plans. [...]
It is believed that either Benjamin Franklin or Mark Twain said “Nothing is certain except for death and taxes.” Not having appropriate estate planning documents to address both of these certainties is a mistake. The fact is that we don't know when we're going to die. Nor do we know when we might become incapacitated due to an accident or [...]
Many small businesses start out as sole proprietorships or partnerships, usually because they’re the simplest to get up and running. For most businesses, though, the small amount of extra time and expense involved in setting up a corporation or limited liability company (LLC) will be well worth it. The most important benefit of doing business as a corporation or LLC [...]
Businesses often want to have a slogan that describes what they’re selling, but in order to be protectable as a trademark, the slogan has to be “distinctive.” That is, it must be used to identify the source of the product or service. If it does not, the slogan “fails to function” as a mark. The Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure [...]
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 [...]
Some of you may know you have common law rights in your protectable trademarks just by using those marks in interstate or foreign commerce, so you might wonder why you should pay for a trademark registration. Protection from Cybersquatters While there are numerous reasons to register your mark as soon as possible, one of the more significant is that it’s [...]
Informed Consent for Testing New guidance issued by the CDC last month states that employers should not conduct COVID-19 testing without the employee’s informed consent. This new guidance does not state that employers cannot continue to require testing as a condition of entering the workplace. Rather, the CDC indicates that when developing SARS-CoV-2 testing programs, employers should work to ensure [...]
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 [...]
Earlier this month, the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final rule simplifying the standards relating to the classification of workers as employees or independent contractors. Under the new DOL regulations, which are to take effect in March, “the ultimate inquiry is whether, as a matter of economic reality, the worker is dependent on a particular individual, business, or [...]
The coronavirus-relief and spending bill signed into law on December 27, 2020, includes numerous revisions to the intellectual property laws. Two of the most important relate to copyright and trademark laws. Copyright Small Claims Court The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act creates a Copyright Claims Board within the U.S. Copyright Office. This board, which will be similar to [...]
