What do Yahoo, telecommuting and intellectual property legal services have in common? At first glance, the popular answer may be “Absolutely nothing.” But those three seemingly unrelated topics might actually have a profound effect on your business and the quality of your intellectual property legal representation. Yahoo made some waves last month by issuing an [...]
If you say “COPPA” to somebody who works in the business of providing online content to kids, they will instantly know exactly what you are talking about, and it might cause them to have a panic attack. Due to regulations promulgated by the FTC this past December, many more business owners will need to become familiar [...]
There is a well-known phrase known to businesses relying on the internet to help drive marketing and sales: “Content is king.” That phrase has expanded, in the wake of businesses turning to Facebook and YouTube and in the development and use of better consumer digital cameras and video. That new and improved phrase is this: [...]
This is about pain — the avoidable kind. Lawyers can get a bad rap for shark-ism and sometimes, that’s fair. In this case, however, the pain is shared across the board, by both the lawyers and the clients. No one, including a hard-working and ethical attorney, likes seeing people have to spend blood, time and [...]
The newest legal challenge on the horizon for businesses may be the rise of what is known as “The Copyright Troll.” Copyright Trolls are generally companies formed by attorneys whose sole purpose is to secure the enforcement rights from content providers (usually movies) and then find infringers (using a special software) — wherein those same [...]
Some of you may have noticed that our firm has not published a new column in a few weeks now. The reason for this is that we were engaged in a Major Office Move. You know the kind: anguished over for months, thought about repeatedly at 3 a.m. and again at 6 a.m. and over [...]
Since I counsel a lot of online businesses, including online retailers, I am often asked about the sales tax implications of online sales. Generally speaking, the answer is pretty easy: If you are a Colorado business and sell goods to individuals residing in Colorado, then you have to collect Colorado sales tax and the appropriate [...]
When launching a new company or adding a new product or service, a name must be determined to brand the company, product or service. In the legal field, we refer to brand names and logos identifying a good as a trademark; and brand names and logos referring to services as service marks. However, the [...]
Yeah, yeah, I know what you are going to say: there are no snow storms in San Diego. Well, may be not now but this occurred before global warming. And I will admit my recollection might be a bit fuzzy. The following is actually a post I wrote 6 long years ago back when the [...]
Policing how your trademark or business name appears on the Internet is important to insure it is being displayed in the manner you want. Even if your business’s online presence is minimal, recent changes in how generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) names are assigned could have significant impact on your company. These changes will affect how [...]