Business Law
COVID-19 and Commercial Frustration
With the COVID-19 wreaking havoc on California’s economy, many of the adversely affected businesses increasingly find themselves unable to perform their contractual obligations. Hardest hit are businesses declared non-essential and ordered to shut down, including movie theaters, cruise liners, sport stadiums, restaurants, convention centers, clothing outlets, barbers and beauty salons, etc. Other businesses such as…
“Dilbert” On Contracts
As those of you who know me well, or have caught my article or presentations on it, I’m evangelical about writing and revising contracts in understandable, conversational English. To me, a contract’s primary objective is to be a clear set of instructions. This puts the parties on the same page about its subject matter, and…
Retention of Clients After Law Firm Breakup
When a couple breaks up, they face the daunting task of dividing up their mutual assets. When a law firm breaks up, the division of tangible assets is relatively more straightforward, but who gets the profits from matters still pending? The Supreme Court of California weighed in on that question in a March 3, 2018…
What is the ‘Right of Publicity”?
Most people have heard of well-known categories of intellectual property law such as trademark or copyright, but there is another type that you might not know, and all of us own one – the right of publicity. Don’t be misled by the word “publicity”; this right does not require you to be a celebrity pursued…
Are Your Online Term of Use/Terms of Service Still a Binding Contract? Likely Not Anymore.
A website or app’s Terms of Use or Terms of Service (its “TOU”) is the contract between the site and its customers/users/visitors (“Users”). As with any type of contract, whether written (physically or digitally), oral or formed by conduct, mutual manifestation of assent is required for that TOU to be enforceable. A TOU governs such…
Homemade Inventions Deserve Patents, Too
In my many encounters with inventors around the country, I find that many believe that patents may only be issued for completely new inventions. However, U.S. patent law does not require that a new product or process to resemble something from a science fiction movie; a useful modification or improvement of an existing device or…
Employers Have a Strong New Weapon To Protect Against Theft of Their Trade Secrets —If They Know How to Qualify For It
Fact–the theft of trade secrets, much of it cyber-theft, annually costs American businesses approximately $320 billion, with over 75% of trade secret lawsuits over the last two decades being brought against employees. To aid employers, Congress in May passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (the “Act”). The Act adds a federal cause of action against…
That Sucks For You. But, it doesn’t have to if you’re aware of this.
The Internet Corporation of Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) is the international company that oversees what are called generic top-level domains (“TLD”). These are .com, .net, .org and the others we’re all familiar with and likely use for our businesses and brands. Recently, ICANN approved and delegated about 550 new TLDs. One of them is “.sucks”…