False Advertising Claim Cases Get a New Standard

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The ability of a plaintiff to bring false advertising claims and concerns over unfair competition under federal trademark law just got a bit easier. On March 25, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Lexmark International v. Static Control Components, ruling that Static Control may proceed with its false advertising counterclaim against Lexmark under …Read more

Ten Benefits of U.S. Trademark Registration

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Trademarks are highly valuable assets. According to one recent estimate trademarks can account for as much as one-third of corporate value. The world’s most valuable brand was recently estimated to be worth more than $180 billion. The cost of securing and protecting the benefits of U.S. trademark registration is not a mere cost of doing …Read more

Cybersecurity Protection for your California Business

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Just as the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) completes its version 1.0 National Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, California Attorney General Kamala Harris has made clear she intends a leadership role for California. With the just published guide entitled “Cybersecurity in the Golden State: How California Businesses Can …Read more

Copyright Owners Would Enjoy Greater Protections Under Legislation Pending in U.S. Congress

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Last week we discussed pending legislation working its way through the U.S. Congress that would strengthen several statutes to better protect protect IP owners from trade secret misappropriation and provide them with more sweeping and powerful remedies in the event their trade secrets are stolen. This week we discuss several pieces of legislation being proposed …Read more

Pending Trade Secret & Copyright Legislation Could Further Protect American IP Owners

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Several bills moving their way through the United States Congress would establish or substantially amend certain federal statutes pertaining to protecting, enforcing, and exploiting trade secrets and copyrights created in the United States. Some legislation is aimed at establishing a private right of action for trade secret theft under federal law and to prevent trade …Read more

Forum Selection Clause Enforceable in Federal Court

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Over the years we have had clients from time to time question the time and effort it takes our attorneys to prepare a clear, enforceable contract. Some of them belittle the provisions as nothing more than “boilerplate” that they could have found searching legal form on the Internet. Not only does it take quite a …Read more

Tax Issues to Consider When Forming a California Partnership

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Previous posts have discussed the many factors entrepreneurs should consider when forming and organizing a new business enterprise.  One of those factors is whether the business is initially expected to generate profits or losses and the tax consequences of those profits and losses on the founders and other investors.  The tax consequences of the profits …Read more

California Consumer Privacy Protections Expanded

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In 2002, California became the first state in the union to enact a data breach notification law.  The statute requires California businesses or businesses that own or license computerized data that includes personal information of California residents to disclose when there has been a breach of a security system used to protect that data.  Since …Read more