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When Being The Best Is Not Enough . . .
Dunkin’ Donuts has found the hard way that being the self-styled best isn’t good enough. The United States Patent & Trademark Office has refused to register its slogan “Best Coffee in America,” as being merely descriptive and not having a secondary meaning to consumers. Dunkin’s prime claim to trademark registration is that the slogan became distinctive over the […]
January 9, 2013 Posted in Articles, Business, Business Counseling, Intellectual Property, Trademarks Tagged Best Coffee in America, Dunkin' Donuts, trademark registration, USPTO Leave a comment
Sins of Wages
Both employers and employees need to review their wage statements for the new year, because California has amended Labor Code 226 to identify nine types of information that has to be on each wage statement: (1) gross wages earned, (2) total hours worked by the employee, except for any employee whose compensation is solely based on […]
January 8, 2013 Posted in Articles, Business, Business Counseling, Employment, High Technology Law Tagged Attorneys' Fees, Labor Code 226, Penalties, Wage Statements Leave a comment
More Online Services Fall Under the COPPA Cabana
Online content providers – including websites and apps – need to add something to their 2013 To-Do list. Beginning July 1st, the Federal Trade Commission’s new rules under the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) will apply covering more online services. While the new rules have been criticized as “a mess,” they still apply. Most […]
January 7, 2013 Posted in Articles, Business, Business Counseling, Employment, High Technology Law, Intellectual Property Tagged Child Online Privacy Protection, COPPA, Rules Leave a comment
Limits on Civil Torture
It is easy to feel smug when we look back on our ancestors 1000 years ago. They had donkeys — we have 400 horsepower, 4 wheel drive vehicles. They had the Black Death — we have vaccines for all types of illness, even cancer. For a justice system, they had trial by ordeal — we […]
October 2, 2012 Posted in Articles, Business, Business Counseling, Employment, High Technology Law, Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets, Trademarks Tagged 2023.290, Deposition, FRCP 30, time limits Leave a comment
How Much for an Attorney-to-Be?
Lawyers love Latin — it makes the sordid sound sophisticated. After reading the below, ask yourself cui bono? Who benefits? Judge William Pauley recently knocked down an attorneys’ fee request: “”Astonishingly, Kramer Levin attorneys, paralegals, and staff amassed 5536.4 billable hours on this matter, employing four partners, three special counsel, ten associates, eight paralegals and a […]
September 20, 2012 Posted in Articles, Business, Business Counseling Leave a comment
Sad Trolls, Happy Humanity
The copyright trolls had a bad day at the beginning of September, as Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the Northern District of California found that wireless router owners do not have a duty to secure Internet connections from outsiders. The issue in AF Holdings v. Doe (Hatfield), US Dist Court, ND Cal. C12-2049 (PJH) is negligence. […]
September 13, 2012 Posted in Articles, BitTorrent, Business, Copyright, High Technology Law, Intellectual Property Tagged AF Holdings, Hatfield copyright infringement, Judge Hamilton, negligence, wireless routers Leave a comment
Time to Get Commission Agreements in Writing
We’ve said it before, about the need to get things in writing, but now getting commission schedules in writing will be the law here in California starting next year: “By January 1, 2013, whenever an employer enters into a contract of employment with an employee for services to be rendered within this state and the contemplated […]
September 12, 2012 Posted in Articles, Business Counseling, Employment Tagged commissions writing Labor Code 2751 Leave a comment
Return of the Scammers
A few years ago, we warned about scammers who were sending official-looking notices from the “Business Filings Division,” asking for $239 for statement of information filings. It was all a scam — but I remember spending fifteen minutes looking at one, trying to verify that it wasn’t official. It seems that these scammers are back, only […]
September 6, 2012 Posted in Articles, Business Counseling, Intellectual Property, Trademarks Leave a comment
Resist the Torrent
If you had any doubts, the New Scientist has published a report that says that most torrent downloaders have their internet protocol (“IP”) addresses logged within three hours of the download. The article wonders whether the information will be reliable enough to be admitted in a court of law, but another legitimate question is whether there are […]
September 4, 2012 Posted in Articles, BitTorrent, Copyright, High Technology Law, Intellectual Property Tagged bittorrent, IP Address Leave a comment
Unemployment Benefits: The Greased Pig
Sometimes being an employer is like being in a greased pig contest: you just can’t get your arms around it. An employee does something that amply justifies firing him. He admits what he did, but seeks and (eventually) is awarded unemployment, thereby costing the employer’s account. What gives? A recent court decision, Robles v. EDD […]
July 26, 2012 Posted in Articles, Business Counseling, Employment Tagged Amador, benefits, Robles, unemployment Leave a comment
