12 Nov 2018
Many new and up-and-coming companies want to share their new goods, services, or technology with the world. However, there are mistakes that startups can make that can put their intellectual property at risk. For this reason, each startup should have a carefully considered intellectual property strategy tailored to your company’s goals and industry. Startup owners...
17 Oct 2018
While businesses in California can make employment decision at will and with little to no explanation, both state and federal laws prohibit an employer from discriminating against employees or applicants based on certain factors. Workplace discrimination comes in different forms, and each situation is unique. If you believe you were the victim of unlawful employment...
14 Aug 2018
What is Quid Pro Quo Harassment? Quid pro harassment is a specific type of workplace sexual harassment that occurs when an employer conditions certain employment-related decisions upon the performance of sexual favors. Quid pro quo harassment can only occur if the person suggesting the exchange is a supervisor of the employee at whom the harassment...
9 Aug 2018
There are different types of legal protections for the intellectual property (IP) of California business owners. Choosing the most effective protection for your IP is critical, as the very success of your business can be on the line if certain information is misappropriated. Many companies choose to protect sensitive information as trade secrets. California adopted...
12 Mar 2018
Congratulations! You’ve received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, a task which you appreciate is no easy feat. Now that you are someone who can proudly say, “I have a U.S. patent,” you should know there are other requirements for you to complete in order to fully maintain and...
12 Mar 2018
The most interesting application of the blockchain after cryptocurrencies lies in the idea of Smart Contracts, aka self-executing contracts, which are contracts between two or more parties, in which the terms and conditions of the smart contract can be set to trigger one clause if the pre-requisite for triggering that particular clause has been met....
1 Mar 2018
A statute of limitations is a legal “clock” dating back to Ancient Rome that creates a timeline within which an aggrieved party must initiate their lawsuit. Generally speaking, if the injured party attempts to commence their action after the statute of limitations has expired, the party may very well be without any remedies. Statutes of...
15 Aug 2014
I/P Engine brought a patent infringement lawsuit against Google and several other defendants for infringing on several of its patents. The patents at issue relate to a method for filtering Internet search results. The patents’ main operational features determine the relevance of an Internet search by, for example, extracting text from a web page (known...
6 Jun 2014
Generally, business owners who own and operate a business in California as a sole proprietorship or general partnership, may be considering establishing a more formal business entity, such as a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, or some other entity. Such owners initially ask themselves where, i.e. in which state should I create this legal entity? ...
4 Jun 2014
If you were browsing for watches or watch accessories and saw a watch brand, SWATCH, sitting aside another watch brand, SWAP, would it be plausible to think the two were in some way related? The District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia doesn’t think so, and the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit...