Original image from Everkinetic Cybersquatting is generally bad faith registration of another’s trademark in a domain name. Under section 43(d) of the Lanham Act (also known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act or ACPA), a person shall be liable to the owner of a trademark if that person has a bad faith intent to … Read more
A covenant not to compete is a contract, and as a contract, it needs an offer, acceptance and consideration to be enforceable. When presented at the offer of employment, as long as employment is conditioned upon signing, that is considered enough. In Star Direct v. Dal Pra, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that employers may … Read more
Let’s pretend that I am the owner of a hair salon. I want to keep my clients even as different hairdressers come and go. One problem though: My clients build a relationship with a hairdresser, and when he leaves to go to another salon, my clients follow. What to do? One answer might be a … Read more
Certification marks are special types of marks that shows that the mark owner certified that another’s goods or services met or exceeded specific standards as set by the mark owner. A certification mark can be a word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination of those. Some certification marks that you may recognize include: ROQUEFORT … Read more
A buy/sell agreement is an agreement that discusses how a member of an LLC or shareholder of a corporation can sell his or her ownership in the company. Often, it is its own separate agreement, but it doesn’t have to be. Just as often, it is a provision in another company document like an LLC’s … Read more
Indemnification is not only a big word, it is a concept a lot of people don’t understand. It isn’t their fault. Whenever someone encounters the word “indemnification,” it is usually in a contract provision that says something like: You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Company and its respective directors, officers, employees, service providers … Read more
We have a fabulous guest post from Jason Guttenberg of Ace Insurance Group. He helps explain how a company can use insurance to decrease risk related to death of a shareholder or LLC member. Don’t know much about buy/sell agreements or provisions? Don’t worry, I’ll explain them more in a soon to be coming post, … Read more
Contracts provide a lot of information: How payments are made, when deliveries are expected, and where lawsuits regarding the contract will be filed. But one of the most important things a contract can do is allocate risk and costs associated with those risks. Two provisions that help with that are limitation of liability and indemnification … Read more
Mission statements are a formal summary of the aims and values of an entity, whether that is a company, organization, or individual. What is it that makes you tick? Your touchstone? This should guide you when making decisions about your business. We have talked about strategic planning in the past (1, 2, 3 and 4). … Read more
A DUNS (or D-U-N-S®) Number is a unique nine-digit identifier for businesses. Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. (“D&B”) created the Data Universal Numbering System, or DUNS Number, in 1962 as a way to identify business entities on a location-specific basis. It is a proprietary system that is maintained solely by D&B including a registered trademark for D-U-N-S … Read more