Small Business Law Articles & Blog Posts
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Supreme Court Says USPTO May Not Reject Disparaging Trademarks
It’s always exciting (at least for trademark lawyers) whenever the Supreme Court issues an opinion about trademark law. The court recently issued its opinion in Matal v. Tam, an appeal...

Has “Google” become a generic term?
If you are like most of our readers, you got to this page after you googled something trademark-related. And if you are like most people, you probably didn’t think twice...

When to Register as a Foreign LLC
Definition A foreign limited liability company, or foreign LLC, is defined as a LLC that was formed in one state (i.e. its domestic state) and registered (as a foreign entity)...

President Trump’s Tax Plan: Time to Form Pass-Through Entities?
This is not an endorsement for or against President Trump or his recently introduced 2017 Tax Proposal. It is simply a discussion of the effects of pass-through entities. We’ve been...

VARA: How Artists Can Protect Their Rights
As business attorneys, we frequently deal with copyright questions related to graphic arts and other commercial artwork. Usually this means putting agreements in place to make sure everyone owns the...

Avoiding Trademark Ownership Pitfalls
We help a lot of small businesses protect their trademarks and one issue that comes up frequently is identifying the correct owner. This is the very first entry you must...

Likelihood of Confusion — Don’t Be Confused by Trademark Law
One of the things I like about helping trademark clients is that I get to spend a lot of time educating them on how the law works. This is one...

Can non-US residents form an Anonymous LLC in the US?
We receive this question from many non-US residents interested in doing business in the US, but hoping for some level of anonymity. The answer to this question is the same...

How Much Anonymity do Anonymous LLC’s provide?
I’ve written in the past about anonymous LLC’s. See the list of blog articles here. What I’m often asked, is just how much anonymity is provided by Anonymous LLC’s, and...

Exhibiting Prudence May Save Your Business
Yesterday, the topic of prudence could not leave my mind. You see, my wife called me at work because she just had to pass on the shocking gossip she had...

Proper Copyright Licensing is Important
Driving to work the other day, I happened to find myself driving behind the truck you see above. Apparently owned (or contracted) by an exterminating company called Manzano Pest Management...

What Exactly is a Trust?
Legal websites are rampant with articles promoting the use of trusts and their value in avoiding the horrific, heinous probate process. In my experience as a trust officer, the overriding...