Operations
Businesses often are faced with the choice of whether to register a trademark or service mark with a state or the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It is well known that state registrations tend to be less expensive and often take less time to apply for and receive confirmation that the mark has been registered. However, there are key benefits to registering your trademark with the USPTO. Today’s post highlights those key benefits of federally registered trademarks and service marks, and provides helpful resources for registering your trademark at… Read the rest
“By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.” This quote by the great Benjamin Franklin is a helpful point of reference for understanding why due diligence is so important in the purchase and sale of a business. The buyer needs to make sure he or she knows exactly what he or she is purchasing. Due diligence offers the purchaser an opportunity to get to know the seller’s company and avoid being caught off guard by an undisclosed issue after the company is acquired. If the buyer fails to take advantage of the due diligence process it is very likely… Read the rest
I recently came across an article that made a call for a reform to the laws that govern copyrights, namely a return to the copyright laws in effect prior to 1978. I found the article especially interesting because it isn’t often that you come across people advocating for restoring laws from pre-1978. We’re a society of forward-looking individuals (or at least that’s what many of us claim) that rarely look to our past for the “best” answers. But this article makes a few strong points in advocating for restoring the prior copyright… Read the rest
Yesterday the Washington Court of Appeals released an opinion providing a good example of how you can position yourself to win a contract dispute. The opinion affirmed a summary judgment awarding more than $300,000 plus fees and interest to GLV International, Inc. against American Rodsmiths, Inc. and its president Robert Scherer.
The Facts of the Case
American Rodsmiths purchased more than $300,000 in goods from GLV. American Rodsmiths then failed to pay its outstanding balance. GLV extended credit to American Rodsmiths based on a personal guaranty from the company president, Mr. Scherer.… Read the rest
Six states have now prohibited employers from requesting social media passwords during the hiring process. Bill Carleton, at his blog Counselor @ Law, had a number of attorneys (including myself) grade the various legislative attempts to statutorily define employment law. Take a few minutes to check out Bill’s post, which you can find here.
Thanks to Bill for first compiling the definitions and links in a single document and then compiling the opinions and posting the results on his blog!
Here are the full grades… Read the rest
Securities Regulation
UBS Settles for $1.5 Billion
We reported last week about the Swiss banking giant’s proposed settlement with global authorities. Well, the settlement is now final. UBS agreed to pay $1.5 billion in fines to settle claims against it for a multi-year scheme to manipulate interest rates, so called “rate-rigging.”
This settlement is the largest to date related to rate-rigging. The fine is one of the biggest sanctions ever levied by both American and British authorities, falling just below the $1.9 billion settlement levied against HSBC last week over money laundering claims.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Knight… Read the rest
It’s important to keep up-to-date on state and local regulations that govern the purchase and sale of goods within Washington state, including which sales taxes may affect your business. Washington no longer uses resale certificates; instead, it requires every business that sells goods at wholesale to apply for a reseller permit to present to vendors. Reseller permits allow you to purchase goods (or services) that you intend to resell without having to pay retail sales tax on the original purchase. If you run a business that purchases items that you are intending to resell, you… Read the rest
Regional News
Whistleblower Receives Multi-Million Dollar Settlement
The former CFO of Seattle-based biopharmaceutical company Omeros Corp., Richard Klein, received nearly $4 million in settlement to resolve a wrongful termination and whistleblower lawsuit. According to Klein’s attorney, the former CFO alleged that Omeros falsified timekeeping records on a National Institute of Health research grant. Klein alerted Omeros’ audit committee and was subsequently fired from Omeros.
Omeros denies any wrongdoing, and stated its reason for settling as, “given a ruling by the court that deprived Omeros of evidence that Omeros would have… Read the rest
Two close friends decide to start a company. They agree on just about every issue, including how the business should be formed and managed. They are ready to launch, make money, and grow their idea into a sustainable business. Each partner has an equal stake in the company, and they’ve decided that each will receive equal compensation as well. They want it to be simple, no lawyers, no accountants, no additional partners, etc. You get the picture, right?
Both partners trust each other, and neither has any reason to believe that their relationship will deteriorate. What they haven’t taken into… Read the rest
Recent Cases
Class Action against Mobile App developer Path
In early 2012, Path was sued for alleged surreptitious collecting of mobile device address books and installation of tracking software. Path moved to dismiss the claims for lack of standing and for failure to state a claim. The court ruled that there was proper standing, but Path was successful in dismissing some of the claims. The court dismissed for failure to state a claim the plaintiff’s claims under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Stored Communications Act, California wiretapping statute, and state common law privacy, conversion and trespass.
However, plaintiff’s claims for… Read the rest
