By: Christopher J. McHattie, Esq. and Christie McGuinness Ever wonder why other soda companies can never quite get their soda to taste like Coca Cola’s? Coca Cola has maintained its competitive edge by keeping its recipe for soda a very well protected ‘trade secret,’ which, legend has it, has been kept under lock and key Read more about Trade Secrets: New Legislation Makes It Easier to Enforce Your Rights[…]
By: Christopher McHattie, Esq. and Sean Sanders The verdict is in and Led Zeppelin is off the hook following a highly publicized copyright infringement lawsuit brought by the estate of Spirit’s Randy Wolfe (a.k.a., Randy California). Following a two-year legal battle, a Los Angeles jury found last week that Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” did Read more about The Song Remains the Same: Jury Shows a Whole Lotta Love for Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven[…]
By Christie McGuinness For many Americans, Amazon has become a saving grace. When someone forgets to buy a present and it is sold-out in stores, Amazon can have it delivered in two days. For city dwellers who can’t always find what they’re looking for in their neighborhood, Amazon can deliver it to their apartment. Amazon Read more about Amazon: Raising Concerns Over Its Price Listing[…]
By Winifred E. Campbell The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor has issued an update to the regulations defining who must be paid overtime wages and who is exempt from being paid overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Final Rule, as it is known, will become effective Read more about The Final Rule on Overtime Regulations[…]
By: Tara K. Quaglione, Esq. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), a landmark law in environmental protection, turns 40 years old this fall. As the principal federal law governing disposal of solid and hazardous waste, RCRA has been instrumental in shaping numerous environmental practices and principles over the past few decades. RCRA regulations notoriously Read more about “Sham” Recycling Guidelines Receive EPA Overhaul[…]
WILL THE REAL TIME WARNER PLEASE STAND UP? By Christie McGuinness. June 9, 2016 Time Warner Cable was bought recently for $60 billion dollars by Charter Communications Inc. Ideally, this sale will solve the many problems associated with Time Warner Cable, which is notorious for “[having] a reputation for poor customer service, consistently ranking Read more about Will The Real Time Warner Please Stand Up?[…]
So you’re heading to SXSW, and you hope to meet other like-minded people, people who you might want to talk to about your ideas and your business. How can you share proprietary information and find others who can help bring your vision to fruition while still protecting your ideas? This is where an understanding of Read more about Three Steps Businesses Can Take to Protect Their Ideas[…]
Who’s going to SXSW in March? Are you an artist, a musician, an inventor, an IT guru? You are the innovators, the people who have ideas and are enthusiastic to introduce the world to who you are and what you are about. At the same time, you need to protect your creativity and to learn Read more about Road Trip: South by Southwest 2016![…]
As predicted in our November 13, 2014 post, “Flag On The Play”, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has held that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) stuck its “subjective nose” so far into trademark owners’ choices of trademarks that the U.S. Constitution has been violated. In re Read more about Flag On The Play, Part Deux[…]
As an employer, you will naturally want ownership over the works you pay your employees to create. However, are you aware of the difference between works created by employees and those created by independent contractors? Employee-created works are considered “works made for hire” and are presumed to be owned by the employer. On the contrary, Read more about Employment Agreements – Better Safe than Sorry![…]