Category Archives: Uncategorized
AV Preeminent
This just in — Martindale-Hubbell has just given Andy Jacobson the “AV Preeminent” Rating for Business Law, Intellectual Property, and Labor and Employment. That is the highest rating available for both legal ability and ethics, and it was chosen by Andy’s peers. We very much appreciate everyone who provided a rating.
Congress Saves Social Media by Nixing the Non-Disparagement Clause
As it has exploded into prominence, social media is a regular fixture in the legal news. Entire generations live through their social media links, finding friends, products, and restaurants online. Instead of a single review from a newspaper or magazine, you get feedback from actual regular customers – sometimes in the hundreds. Non-Disparagement Clauses. As […]
Yelping About Yelp
Yelp and other business profile websites are a common sore spot for many businesses. At a minimum, it is a free service to advertise your business, showcasing your products or services and attracting customers. However, there are strings attached. Yelp also offers its subscribers the chance to review businesses online. Every once in a […]
PreIssuance Submissions
— Third Party Challenges to Pending Patent Applications — — New Procedure Under the America Invents Act — By: Sharon Adams November 14, 2014 One addition to U.S. patent law provided by the American Invents Act is the ability for a third party to challenge a pending patent application. See, 35 […]
Call of Duty — to Protect the Right of Publicity?
By: Sharon Adams Oct. 23, 2014 The recent case of Noriega v. Activision Blizzard presents the question: Does infamy give rise to the right of publicity? Manuel Noriega, the former Panamanian dictator, filed suit against Activision Blizzard, Inc. in July of this year, claiming that Activision’s use of his image […]
Is Bitcoin in Your Wallet?
By: Daniel Richardson Although virtual currencies are not new they have rapidly evolved in recent years and their use is entering the financial mainstream. Bitcoin is the most widely used of the virtual currencies and is accepted by over 10,000 online retailers including Overstock.com and Expedia.com. So, what is Bitcoin? Is it currency, property, a […]
License to Extort Stopped
by: Andrew K Jacobson One characteristic of mobsters is the threat of something bad happening if you don’t do what the mobster wants you to do. It is even an unforgettable part of The Godfather: when the Hollywood studio head wouldn’t let Johnny, Don Corleone’s godson, star in a movie, he wakes up with the […]
Employment Law Update – How up to date are you?
By Daniel Richardson Is your employee handbook up to date? An up to date employee handbook is important because it outlines for the employee the employer’s policies and procedures as well as establishing the expected standards. Using an employee handbook from the outset of the employment relationship to establish expected standards can be invaluable […]
Unclassy Action
By Andrew Jacobson The class action lawsuit that engineers brought against seven of the biggest Silicon Valley companies has been tentatively settled for about $324 million. Divided equally among the 64,000 class members after paying attorneys’ fees, each engineer would get about $3,500 – about one paycheck per engineer, hardly the mother lode some were […]
YogaGlo Patent Loses Its Shine
By: Sharon Adams YogaGlo Patent # 8,605,152, Figure 1 INTRODUCTION There has been much controversy in the yoga community about the recent issuance of a patent to YogaGlo. The YogaGlo patent contains claims for videoing a yoga instructor teaching students, with an unobstructed line of sight from video camera to the instructor. There are so […]
