A copyright is generally owned by the creator of a work. If you write it, you own it. However, there is an exception to the rule. Under the “work for hire” doctrine, any work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment belongs to the employer who commissioned it. For example, Read more about Protect Your Interests With A Work-For-Hire Agreement[…]
When working in a competitive industry, it becomes essential to protect a business’ confidential information. If Coca-Cola® let its famously secret beverage formula slip to the public years ago, would it have had enjoyed the same success in the marketplace? Maybe not. Intellectual property law allows a variety of different means for protecting information. For Read more about Friday Grab Bag: To Catch a Trade Secrets Thief[…]
A new bill has been introduced in the New Jersey Legislature regarding contracts with employees relating to their inventions. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman David C. Russo and Assemblyman Craig J. Coughlin, is intended to protect employee common law rights to ownership and usage of employee inventions that are totally unrelated to the job functions Read more about Are your employee contracts up to par? New legislation regarding intellectual property rights pending in New Jersey.[…]
Over the years, The McHattie Law Firm, LLC has received many requests from our clients to review their existing employment manuals and handbooks, paying particular attention to the intellectual property (“IP”) provisions. Invariably, not one of those manuals provided thorough, and in many cases even adequate, guidelines for employees on the company’s intellectual property “Dos Read more about Does your employee handbook adequately cover intellectual property issues? *ATTORNEY ADVERTISING*[…]
The Wage Theft Prevention Act took effect in New York State on April 9, 2011 and affects every employer who has at least one employee located in New York. This new law, among other things, provides enhanced rules against retaliation of employees who make complaints, makes payroll record requirements part of the law, requires employers Read more about Are you in compliance with the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act? Do you need to be?[…]
With the proliferation of illegal immigration into the United States and the condition of the U.S. economy of late, the impact that illegal workers have on the U.S. job market has become increasingly important. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act was enacted as one measure to help combat that impact, and with it, Read more about I-9: Uh-Oh, You Sunk My Battleship[…]