Small Business Law Articles & Blog Posts
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Avoiding a Narcissistic Partner
I say this often, and it’s unfortunately true: About a third of this firm’s revenue comes from bad partnership breakups and disputes. The problem for most people, is they are...
Atari Sues Kit Kat for IP Infringement
Intellectual property is in the news again this week. Atari, an iconic video game company, sued Nestle, alleging that Nestle committed IP infringement on its classic “Breakout” video game by...
How to Create a Non-Profit Entity
We get a lot of calls from people with great ideas for charitable undertakings but often with little understanding of how to put those ideas into action. For many people,...
Law 4 Small Business Merges with Business Law Southwest
On July 1st, 2017, Law 4 Small Business, P.C. (L4SB) merged with Business Law Southwest, LLC (BLSW), forming one of the largest, more progressive, business-focused law firms in the southwest...
Can You Trademark a Surname?
Many people believe that they have the right to use their last name (i.e. surname) as part of their business name. This makes sense, as many people share the same...
Checklist: How to Deal with a Departing Business Partner
Way back in 2014, I wrote a blog article entitled Leaving a Partnership — How To Do It Right. Since that time, this firm has seen a lot of bad...
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...