There are several types of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. There are different levels of protection for each type. Intellectual property protection Patents protect inventions and are granted to inventors for a...
Unexpected events are now anticipated in business. To avoid contract disputes, agreements should contain force majeure clauses that address extraordinary events. Force majeure clause A force majeure clause identifies seriously unusual events that make contract...
One of the most common causes of corporate lawsuits is the decision by the founder of a company to retire or pursue a different professional opportunity. Corporate founders often possess significant knowledge about the business and intellectual property of their...
When a company has a trademark on a word, this doesn't necessarily mean it has exclusive rights to the word. It means it has exclusive rights to the word in certain contexts in the marketplace. This may seem like just a matter of semantics, but it has important...
Commercial real estate transactions are complex and often involve significant risks and liabilities for the parties involved. Whether you are buying, selling, leasing or developing commercial property in New York, New York, you need to protect your legal interests and...
Let’s be honest. It’s frustrating when something interrupts the progress of a project right in the middle of it. That frustration is far more significant when the project is halted due to a contract dispute with a contractor. Contract disputes can be difficult to...
When it comes to relations between minority and majority shareholders in a close corporation, sometimes business gets personal. In what may be an unexpected move to the minority shareholder, the majority shareholders may amend bylaws in a way that “freezes out” the...
Peer-to-peer (P2P) software such as BitTorrent is becoming increasingly popular, especially among college students looking for a cost-effective way to share music, computer software and movies with one another. But P2P file sharing is not without risks. Wrongful use...
The estate of the late music legend Rick James is facing a lawsuit regarding unpaid royalties. The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement and breach of contract. The defendants claim James’ estate is profiting off their work. The lawsuit The alleged problem began when...
When two or more entrepreneurs decide to form a business, their heads are usually filled with optimistic fantasies about future profits. Rarely do the founders of a company presume that the business will fail or that an intractable dispute will threaten the existence...