Los Angeles Leads California With Proposed Commercial Cannabis Regulations

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On June 8, 2017, the Los Angeles’ City Council released its proposed regulations to govern commercial cannabis activity in the city. Simultaneously, the city’s Planning Department released a draft ordinance that proposes land use and sensitive use requirements for commercial cannabis activity in Los Angeles. These releases mark the next step in the city’s effort …Read more

Protect Your Company from Copyright Infringement Claims – Register Your DMCA Designated Agent

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If your company has a website that allows users to post any kind of content, you may be at risk for copyright infringement under U.S. copyright law if any of the content is not original to the party posting it. With most companies now leveraging multiple social media platforms, in addition to their traditional websites, …Read more

5 Keys to Understanding Copyright Protection

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Despite the advent of many new forms of digital technology, artists, authors, actors and architects still look to federal copyright law to protect their creative works. While copyright law is quite broad, you can’t copyright everything. Keep these five points in mind as you consider copyrighting your original works of authorship. 1. You Can’t Copyright …Read more

Drafting Your Employment Application? Avoid These Common Employer Mistakes.

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Almost every employer in the country uses a form of employment application to screen prospective hires.  While they may seem innocuous, these forms often contain a minefield of traps employers must be aware of or risk legal liability. A general theme of federal and state laws is that employers should avoid asking an applicant questions …Read more

Why Register Trademarks With the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

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If you’ve just launched a technology start-up and you’re preparing to bring your goods or services to market nationally or globally it’s important that you take steps to protect and register trademarks you’ll need to grow your company into a national or global brand. Trademarks and service marks identify the source of goods and services, …Read more

Defend Trade Secrets in Federal Court – DTSA Anniversary

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In May 2016, the United States Congress enacted the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) taking steps to make a “federal case” out of an area of the law that has been the domain of state law since the founding of the Republic. Whether that decision was a good one or not is yet to be …Read more

Downloading Pirated Software Without Installing It is Still Copyright Infringement

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If your business creates software or simply uses it to perform work – let’s face it, what business doesn’t use software in one way or another – we encourage you to take note of a recent ruling made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The case – Design Data Corp. v. …Read more

Avoiding Common Pitfalls When Hiring an Employee from a Competitor

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When you seek to hire new staff you may immediately see the benefit of hiring an employee from a competitor. After all, he or she may already have the skills or knowledge to “hit the ground running” in your company or even bring with her valuable relationships with potential customers or partners. As you can …Read more

How to Block Registration of a Troublesome Trademark with a Letter of Protest

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We are often contacted by clients who want to block registration of a competitor’s trademark because it’s too similar to their own. In some cases, the method we use to accomplish the client’s objective is to file a letter of protest with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) on behalf of the client. These …Read more

How Agreements Help Avoid Conflict Among Business Partners

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Many business people fail to enter into appropriate ownership agreements that could protect them if the business fails, a partner dies, or the owners decide to part ways. Many entrepreneurs believe the legal fees and hassle needed to obtain properly drafted ownership agreements outweigh any potential benefits. When a new venture is launched, and money …Read more