In an age where technology continues to develop, liabilities for professionals and businesses evolve as well. Many businesses, such as Youtube content creators and other media and advertising professionals, are purchasing cyber liability insurance to protect themselves.
Media liability insurance is an insurance policy that protects media-related businesses. This includes publishers, broadcasters, advertising agencies, content creators, and video or film producers. It offers broad protection to help policyholders with the costly damages resulting from a variety of media-related claims.
The term “media” is a broad term. As such, media liability insurance should be customized to fit the content creators' needs. Media liability policies protect the insured from common media and entertainment-related liability risks, which may include, depending on the policy:
A media liability policy will usually cover the cost of any settlements and judgments against the insured, as well as necessary defense costs and other miscellaneous legal fees.
Other media liability insurance policies may also protect subsidiaries, directors, officers, and business employees. The cost of defending a liability claim can be financially devastating for any organization. Agents need to review all the nuances of their client’s organization(s) to ensure that the coverage they can offer is broad enough to cover all necessary entities without leaving any gaps in coverage.
Advertising agencies, social media companies, publishers, and other media and advertising professionals should also consider other covereages including:
If you are a content creator and have been served with a lawsuit for works that you have published, we invite you to contact our Los Angeles business litigation attorneys at (310) 943-1171 today.
With the rapid growth of digital content and the popularity of platforms such as:
Content creators and producers face increasing risks. Even unintentional mistakes can lead to costly lawsuits. For example, using an unauthorized music track can result in a claim from the copyright holder. This is why media liability insurance is an important step for anyone working in the digital media industry. In addition to protection against defamation or copyright infringement claims, the policy can also cover costs arising from:
This is especially important for bloggers, influencers and channel owners who do not have a full-fledged legal department.
The insurance process begins with an analysis of the specifics of the content creator's activity. The insurance company studies the type of content created, the platforms used, and the potential legal risks. The insurer then selects a policy with coverage that best meets the needs of a particular client. Some insurance companies offer additional options, including coverage for claims related to violations of advertising laws. It is important to note that standard general liability policies do not cover risks related to defamation or invasion of privacy. Therefore, the purchase of media liability insurance plays an important role.
The policy can be useful for:
If you are an independent developer working on a freelance basis, this insurance can not only protect you, but also increase your clients' confidence.
If you have received a subpoena related to your content, seeking help in a timely manner can make a difference in the outcome of the case. The team at KAASS LAW provides legal defense for writers, bloggers, producers, and others in the media industry in California. Contact us for a free consultation at 844-522-7752. https://youtu.be/WUVj8MxSD84
California civil litigation proceedings help resolve private conflicts between people, businesses, and/or the government in Government Tort Claims actions. Litigation is one of the most fundamental aspects of law. It refers to the formal process of resolving legal disputes by filing or responding to complaints through the public court system.
What most people tend to think of when they think about lawyers and courts is typically not very representative of what actually goes on. The classic Law and Order portrayal of law in Hollywood, albeit very immersive and dramatic, does not give a realistic overview of what the legal process entails, or how one goes about it.
A much more reasoned approach to understanding how the legal process works, would be to simply take a look at the process of taking legal action, or litigation. In any case, the process begins when someone files suit. Typically, the plaintiff begins this process when they file a formal complaint with the clerk of the court. At this point, the defendant must be notified that a lawsuit was filed against them, so as to give them the proper notice before a court date. The defendant must then figure out their strategy to deal with the lawsuit and so usually a lawyer or firm gets hired on to help with legal counsel and representation. Then, the court establishes personal jurisdiction and a location is finalized for the court that will have authority over the complaint.
Cybersecurity has never been as important as it is today for safeguarding crucial information. This includes information that can easily be used to identify and to compromise the personal details of our lives. Everything from bank account and transactional details to personal milestones, memories and life events are all available to access online. All of these trends are natural consequences of our increasing reliance on the internet and online activities. The sheer amount of personal data that can be retrieved online is staggering...which then begs the question: who or what is protecting all of it?
While an easy answer to the question of online security simply does not exist, we can determine the security protocols of many of the online services we use by doing some quick research. The main things to look out for are their terms of use and their privacy policy. These two together are what constitute the core ethos of the company with regards to their users’ privacy and the lengths they are willing to go through to protect it. Outside of that, it’s all about being conscious of what services you use and what information you give up in order to use it. However, despite being careful, there’s no much you can do if the service itself gets breached. In those cases, it’s all about how the company responds to and deals with online attacks.
California Non-Disclosure Agreements
In the modern, competitive workplace, maintaining an edge over your competitors’ ideas and innovations has never been more important to the success and longevity of your enterprise. For this reason alone, non-disclosure agreements have become ubiquitous and commonplace across many industries. The fear of secrets, designs, and upcoming ideas or trends leaking out is so prevalent that many companies struggle to contain their own in-house secrets and methods from their competitors without subjecting their own workers to intense scrutiny. However, this is where some of the advantages that come with non-disclosure agreements shine through.
Think of it this way: when a business hires a new employee, the very last thing they want out of their new member is for another company to swoop in with a more lucrative offer to steal the employee...especially if the new employee has had some time to learn about the company’s trade secrets and confidential information. Having a key employee or asset leave your company and work for a competitor can be disastrous because of the secret information the worker may have had access to while they worked for you. If they manage to share those secrets with a competitor, then you may very well risk losing your competitive edge in your industry.
The Terms and Conditions of Use and Why You Really Should Have One
You’ve seen it. Pretty much every website or online service you use makes you agree to it. Yet, even though it’s everywhere on the internet, many misconceptions still exist. We’re talking, of course, about the Terms and Conditions of Use that you agree to every time you do pretty much anything online. Seeing as how Terms and Conditions exist on every platform, you stand to benefit greatly by understanding why it is so important that every site has their own version of it.
Contrary to popular belief, while the Terms and Conditions of Use agreement is greatly recommended to have for your website or online platform, you are not required by law to have this agreement. From a legal standpoint, only policies regarding user privacy are required to be displayed publicly, and that’s only if you gather personal data from users of your service or platform. Data can refer to such things as email addresses, names, physical addresses, gender, age, telephone numbers and other pieces of personal information. Terms and Conditions of Use can also be called Terms and Conditions or Terms of Service or even just Terms of Use.
A promissory note is a legally binding agreement in which the issuer promises in writing to pay a set amount of money to the payee at a determined point in the future.
In effect, a promissory note is a fancy way of promising to pay someone back. It’s a type of document that is found commonly in many aspects of financial transactions. Sometimes, promissory notes are also called loan agreements or IOUs.
If you are loaning or borrowing money, a promissory note is extremely useful to establish because it clearly outlines the terms of the arrangement, including payment details, interest, late fees, collateral, and timeframes and deadlines.
Another reason you would want to use a promissory note is that it is a legally enforceable document as it creates a legal obligation to repay the loan within the specified time. It can be used for mortgages, student loans, car loans, business and personal loans. In short, you’ll want to use a promissory note if:
Independent Contractor Agreements are an effective way to clearly detail the scope of a project and services rendered, payment schedules and deadline expectations of both parties in a freelance arrangement. These types of agreements are legally binding and they serve the important purpose of specifying the details of a service so that both sides are shown to be aware of the agreement. This allows for both sides to be held accountable for their actions and their respective responsibilities. Independent Contractor Agreements are also sometimes referred to as Freelancer Contractor Agreements, Contract Labor Forms, or Independent Contractor Contracts, but they all amount to the same thing from a legal perspective.
You’ll want to utilize an Independent Contractor Agreement if:
By far, the most significant and noteworthy distinguishing factor about these types of contracts and agreements is that they are NOT for employees. It is instead specifically for drafting up an agreement between you–or your company–and an independent or freelance worker. An example of this would be paying a handyman to fix some stuff in the office, or hiring a freelance IT person to optimize your website or office space, or even taking on a consultant to get another expert opinion or counsel on a business move that you are considering.
So, you successfully submitted your trademark application and you’re so excited to hear that your trademark is now officially registered!
Except, instead of that notice, you get another letter from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office called an ‘Office Action’. The letter seems confused and complicated and at this point you’re not even sure if your trademark was outright denied or put on hold. You begin to wonder if this was all a huge mistake.
Well, we’re here to clear up some of the confusion for you. First of all, it’s not a huge mistake. Taking the steps to protect your brand, idea, or design is a huge one and submitting the application for it is no small feat! The truth is, it’s actually quite common for trademark applications to not get accepted immediately. Importantly, this does not mean that your application has been denied. It just means that the USPTO needs some more information before granting you your trademark. After you submit your application, an examining attorney at USPTO will review it and they will determine if there are any problems with your application. If there are any, you will receive an ‘Office action’ letter, detailing what went wrong.
Now more than ever, intellectual property comprises an irreplaceable and crucial part of any company’s success and its competitive edge. IP embodies many different forms, such as patents for innovative and handy features which make products more desirable, or design patents which protect how the products looks; trademarks which protect names, logos and symbols used to identify and distinguish a company and its products; trade secrets which protect customer information, supply chain info, formulae and recipes; copyrights which protect software, artwork, written work, marketing materials and guides. For these reasons and many others, properly managing the intellectual property that your business has access to is absolutely vital for paving the road to both short term and long term success in your industry.
It used to be the case that most businesses actively focused on acquiring tangible assets but in recent years the trend has shifted such that the acquisition and management of intangible assets, like intellectual properties, has become far more important for most businesses. This trend owes itself to the importance of internet business and e-commerce. Now, businesses increasingly understand and recognize the need to garner their intellectual property as that may very well be the unique asset that sets apart their brand from all the others.
A business’s intellectual property has the potential to be its most important asset, granting it a huge competitive edge over competitors across industries. This is because intellectual property is uniquely created by creativity and innovation and it ought to be protected as such.
Intellectual property rights can be broadly grouped into four categories which are trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets. As an initial gesture of protection, a business should protect its intellectual property rights by registering a trademark or filing for a patent application. These are examples of the first, but by no means last, steps involved in protecting a business’s valuable and intangible assets.
Once registered, a business should remain aware and continue to monitor its intellectual property in order to identify and put a stop to infringement and unfair use. In fact, taking the time to review both proactive and protective measures is essential to securing your intellectual property; it’s best to think of this time spent as a crucial investment to ensure your company’s competitive standing and financial success. A common misconception is that once intellectual property rights and protections are granted, no one will dare to infringe upon your work. The reality couldn’t be any more different. Nobody is going to look for copyright violations or trademark infringement on your behalf: it’s always up to you to actively protect your work. Trademarks, copyrights, and patents merely make it so that in the event of a lawsuit, you will have a far more compelling case on your side since the government acknowledged your intellectual property.
Bear in mind that most of this process is heavily bureaucratic and involves many back and forth between the two parties. To avoid some of the confusion, both parties must meet and discuss with each other the nature of the case. This is done to determine specific issues, points of disagreement, to broach the possibility of settlement, and to start making plans for discovery and disclosure. In fact, depending on the case, discovery and disclosure can very easily end up taking up a huge chunk of time because during this period, both parties must disclosure to one another the various pieces of information they are planning on submitting and using as evidence in court. If the case ends up having many different pieces of evidence, then the discovery and disclosure period will be very lengthy, and yet also very important too.
This period is one of the few in which both parties must be completely open and honest with one another, and therefore it marks an excellent opportunity for a good lawyer to get enough insight as to how the opposing side is going to approach the conflict. By seeing the evidence that the opposition plans to use against you, you can formulate a general picture of their plan so that you can begin countering it with yours. As such, this step in the legal litigation process is absolutely crucial for both sides.
Once both sides have had their turn to see the other side’s evidence, the court will move to schedule an early pretrial conference. There, at the pretrial conference, both sides meet in a courtroom in front of a judge, who facilitates a discussion of the issues of the case. This discussion is important to have because some cases are not suited to go on trial since there may be a lack of material issue of dispute or disagreement between the parties. Other cases are just simply ambiguous and some clarification is needed for the judge to determine what the key problems are and whether or not those issues can be resolved through trial. As such, the judge will ask questions to both sides so as to clarify the actual points of contention for each party.
After that, the defendant has the ability to file motions and answers, the first of which aims to dismiss or otherwise discredit the plaintiff’s accusations and the latter of which acts as a response to the initial complaint made by the plaintiff. Either way, these motions can be absolutely crucial to the success of the defendant in court because they can make huge strides by eliminating several avenues of argumentation that the plaintiff or prosecutor may use in court. Past this period, both parties once again disclose documentation and the discovery process moves forward; both parties now have another opportunity to file for more motions and finally the court will hold one last pre-trial conference. After all of that has been said and done, the court conducts the trial.
During the trial is when most, if not all, of the action that you see on TV actually takes place. As you can see, there is a lot more to the story that happens leading up to the day of trial and even during the trial the proceedings take place in an organized manner. At the end of the trial, the court decides upon and files its judgment. Once this takes place, post-trial proceedings, such as appeals, can be made. If either party chooses to appeal, they have another opportunity to present their case, which may or may not sway the final decision. Appeals are considered on the basis of briefs or oral arguments which to serve to demonstrate why the judgment that was rendered was unjust or inadequate, as well as to propose another judgment that the court can implement instead.
Finally, the last ruling or verdict is made, which is typically by a jury, and judgment is enforced. This means that whatever the court decides must get carried out and at this point the litigation process finally concludes. This coverage and overview of the litigation process aims to illuminate the various steps, proceedings, and protocols that go into the work that gets put into any given lawsuit case. Folks who work in the legal world all must understand and abide by the legal process and as such litigation is the cornerstone of how our society enforces laws and renders justice. At
KAASS LAW's civil litigation lawyers are well-aware have litigated and tried numerous cases in various areas of law. We believe that going the extra mile to educate and raise awareness will always pay dividends in the end. As such, we are always available to answer and to clarify any questions or concerns our clients may have regarding their case, and it is also why we do pro bono work. If you have any questions concerning a legal matter, feel free to reach out to us at (310) 943-1171 to speak to our experienced litigators today. We will give you the insight, confidence, and security you need to win your case.
As far as how companies must respond to security breaches, there are laws in place which require them to disclose what happened if the compromised information can jeopardize clients’ personal information and private matters. Specifically, the California data security breach notification law was enacted in 2002 and has been in effect ever since and it requires that companies notify California residents whose unencrypted information was acquired by any unauthorized person. The law is extensive in that it still requires that you be notified even if the information was leaked or hacked. This means that even if a company is not one hundred percent sure if your information was breached, they do still have to notify you so long as there is a reasonable doubt.
California’s civil law code 1798.82, while originally enacted only in California, most states have since followed suit by enacting similar laws. In fact, the California data security breach notification law was quite novel and progressive for its time as it deals with issues of cybersecurity and online privacy at a time when those areas were nowhere near as well-developed and intensive as they are today. The intent of this law is simply to ensure that the public remains aware of any successful cybersecurity attacks and to keep companies accountable for their security protocols and measures.
Since this groundbreaking law came into effective, there have been many more laws like it added in an effort to stay ahead of the security curve. The importance of strong, online encryption really cannot be understated and it was laws like these that jump started the movement.
At KAASS LAW, we believe your personal information is yours, only. If you have any doubts as to whether or not your personal data was breached, or if you have any questions about what can be done about it, then we encourage you to give us a toll free call at (310) 943-1171 to speak to our California privacy attorneys today. We can walk you through your options and we will always stand by our clients and their security.
On that note, non-disclosure agreements can help business and prevent this whole situation from ever arising by simply preventing your workers from disclosing or even talking about company secrets and confidential information. However, generic non-disclosure agreements are of little use to most businesses, because each company has its own niche and thus, its own secret information. As such, the best non-disclosure agreements are the ones which are specifically tailored to a company’s needs by an attentive business lawyer. That way, you can be sure that the non-disclosure agreement touches upon all of the relevant points for your company.
As far as non-disclosure agreements go, it’s always very important to be particular with what you outline in the contract. Tailoring the agreement to your needs is key to an enforceable and successful agreement that can hold up well in court. So, before making your employee sign your non-disclosure agreement, you’ll want to take a closer look at the contents of the agreement first. Make sure that your agreement mentions:
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At KAASS LAW, our business law lawyers believe in our clients’ abilities to innovate within their industries. We stand by our clients by helping them draft up specific, tailored non-disclosure agreements to maximize the benefits that it can offer. Ensuring our clients’ commercial success is key for us and we demonstrate this by being with you every step of the way. Even in the event that information gets illegally leaked, we are here to make sure our clients get their due compensation in court. We invite you to give us a toll free call at (310) 943-1171 to speak to our California business attorneys today to see how we can help protect the most valuable assets of your business.
KAASS LAW, 815 E Colorado St #220, Glendale, CA 91205, (310) 943-1171
Regardless of what you want to call it, a Terms of Use Agreement is a series of rules and conditions to which users must give their consent and understanding in order to utilize a service or product. In short, it is an agreement that establishes the rules that users must agree to if they want to use your website. While you aren’t legally obligated to have a Terms of Use, there are many advantageous reasons why you should include one on your site.
The Terms of Use Agreement serves as a legally binding contract between you and your users. Specifically, the agreement establishes the rules and protocols that users have to follow and abide by if they want to utilize your website or application. On the other hand, a Privacy Policy agreement serves to let your users know about the kinds of data you may collect as they make use of your site, as well as what you plan to do with that collected data. It’s in this agreement that you would write several sections talking about the rules and guidelines that come with using your site, and what the consequences of breaking those rules or abusing them are. Different users can exploit or abuse your site in different ways but some common examples of abusive actions are: spamming other users, posting defamatory content, or using your content in a way that is unintended, etc. However, you can include a clause within your Terms of Use Agreement that outlines that certain actions will not be tolerated, such as harmful language or hate speech, constantly posting spam, and harassing other users. As a consequence for engaging in those forbidden actions, you can ban users who abuse your site.
Since you are the owner of your platform, be that a website, an app, or a brand, you have the ability to call the shots with how your stuff can get used. In particular, your branding designs, logos, videos, articles, and software are yours to decide how to use and share, if at all. Moreover, you can let your users know that you are the owner of that content and that your content is protected by international copyright laws. This is a crucial clause to add in your Terms of Use Agreement and it most often gets referred to as the Intellectual Property Clause. Having this clause can really make or break your platform because it directly informs users as to how they can and can’t use your intellectual property without infringing on your original creations. As such, be sure to include a well-written Intellectual Property Clause in your Terms of Use Agreement, or it just might come back to haunt you later down the line.
Terms of Use can also provides a way to end the abusers. Besides helping you deal with abusive users and owning your content, the Terms of Use can also provide a nifty way to permanently end the accounts of particularly problematic users. Specifically, you’ll want to include a clause in the Terms of Use called the Termination Clause.
It lets users know that abusive accounts which violate the Terms of Use can be subject to termination and may get banned from using the service. This clause is especially good for sites, apps, and services that require their users to register an account before being able to use the service because you can outright terminate, disable, or even ban abusive users on the basis of the illicit activity tied to their accounts. Thus, you always an option for dealing with misbehaving users, even in worst case scenarios.
Another important perk that comes along with having a Terms of Use on your site is that such agreements often include a disclaimer which serves to limit the owner’s (i.e. your) liability, in the event that errors, misinformation, or mistakes are found in the contents of your website. Essentially, the Limited Liability Clause lets users know that there are limitations to how liable or responsible the owner can be for any harm that may come to the user because of incomplete, inaccurate, or untrue information. Thus, the content of your website gets even more protection since the degree of liability you would be accountable for much smaller.
The interesting part of international and online commerce is that our entire economies are becoming ever-increasingly interconnected and linked. Many avenues of business and commerce have bled over into other countries, despite them originating from another country entirely. A great example of this would be Amazon, which serves customers from many parts of the world, but is ultimately based in the United States. This is where the Governing Law clause of your Terms of Use Agreements comes into play. In short, it establishes the jurisdiction which is relevant to the terms outlined in your agreement. Basically, the Governing Law clause states that your agreement is bound by the law of the land in which your company, business, service, or application is headquartered. This clause serves to identify the home country and region that your company is registered in, effectively establishing the kinds of laws and rules that it has to follow. As an example, if your company is headquartered in San Francisco, your Governing Law clause should state that your site is operated by a registered business in the state of California in the United States. That will ensure that your users are aware that your site works in accordance to California and to U.S. federal laws.
Any website, online service, software, or application, should have a dedicated Terms and Conditions of Use section. While it may be the most skipped over section in your site, it is imperative to have users of your service consent to the terms presented in the agreement, as that gives you the opportunity to write in some very helpful clauses. Those clauses will limit your liability, protect your original content, allow for banning and termination of abusive users, and establish your governing law by which you conduct your services. By providing all of this information and requiring your users to consent to the presented terms, you give yourself a lot more wiggle room should any situation ever escalate into a legal issue.
At KAASS LAW, our Los Angeles business lawyers do all that we can do help our clients build sustainable, safe, and profitable businesses. We recognize the hard work and dedication that goes into delivering a final finished product and we stand by our clients to make sure they have as simple and smooth an experience as possible, especially when they initially set up their business. We invite you to give us a toll free call at (310) 943-1171 to speak to our business lawyers and to see how we can help your business grow today.
KAASS LAW, 815 E Colorado St #220, Glendale, CA 91205, (310) 943-1171
KAASS LAW is authorized to practice law in California. The above content is intended for California residents only. This content provides only general information which may or may not reflect current legal developments. KAASS LAW expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any of the contents of this website. The above content DOES NOT create an attorney-client relationship. KAASS LAW does not represent you unless you have expressly retained KAASS LAW in person at the KAASS LAW office.
KAASS LAW helps clients in: Los Angeles, Burbank, Hollywood, Glendale, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Studio City, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Sunland, Tujunga, Sylmar, San Bernardino, La Crescenta, La Canada, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Santa Monica, Brentwood. Pacoima, Montebello, Commerce, Alhambra, Downey, Bell, Maywood, Walnut Park, Vernon, Lynwood, Echo Park, Silverlake, Mission Hills, Northridge, Woodland Hills, Encino, Canoga Park, North Hills, Porter Ranch, Chatsworth, Reseda.
Crucially, a promissory note states all of the relevant terms of the loan. Some of the important information to include in a promissory note would be:
It’s worth noting that which information and details you need to include in your promissory note are going to vary depending on your specific transaction.
For instance, a simple promissory note may be for a lump sum repayment on a certain date. Let’s say you lent your friend some money and they agree to repay you by the beginning of next month. In that agreement, the full amount is due on that date, and there is no payment schedule to worry about. As for interest, there may or may not be interest involved in the transaction, depending on what agreement you both came to.
A demand promissory note, on the other hand, requires repayment of the loan when the lender asks for the money back, however, typically a reasonable amount of notice is needed.
Even with a promissory note, there is no guarantee that the person or entity will actually pay you back. However, with a promissory note, you do have several options and courses of actions that you can take to get your money back.
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At KAASS LAW, we understand accountability and mutual respect with business partners. It can be hard to mix friends and business but it’s always a good idea to keep emotions out of business transactions.
If you or a loved one need help writing a promissory note, or following up to get your payment from the promissory note, our Glendale business lawyers are here to help. We back all of our clients and we invite you to give us a toll free call at (310) 943-1171 to speak to our experienced business lawyers today.
KAASS LAW, 815 E Colorado St #220, Glendale, CA 91205, (310) 943-1171
Importantly, all of these examples are regarding independent workers and because they are not your employees, the freelancers themselves are responsible for their taxes. However, since they are not your employees, you cannot have as much control over their actions. For instance, you can’t stop them from taking on other clients while they are working with you, nor can you dictate their day-to-day schedules or tell them how to do their job. In other words, they have far more freedom than your employees because they don’t express work for you, rather they work with you on a specific issue or situation.
The first and most obvious reason is that the agreement will help to protect your business and financial interests while you are doing work with a freelancer. The contract will detail exactly what work needs to get done, when it has to be completed by, and how much you are going to pay for that work. Another reason is that protects you from liability issues and helps to shield your personal assets. Also, should you ever go to court, you will have the signed agreement to easily show the judge what your expectations were for the service.
On the other hand, if you are the freelancer, having the agreement can help you get paid properly should you end up in a disagreement with the client over the payment. You also appear far more professional by providing a contract for your clients to review and sign. Lastly, the agreement demonstrates your willingness and commitment to work and get your job done with high quality, which can be very reassuring to the client.
As we alluded to, there are several key advantages to hiring an independent contractor, such as:
Here’s the thing. If the person you have contracted to work for you is entirely self-employed, then you will need to make sure that they complete a W-9 Form and you will need to fill out a 1099-MISC form, both of which can be electronically downloaded from the IRS website. You’ll want the W-9 form to gather your freelancer’s contact information and tax ID number, while the 1099 form is how they will report income their unique tax return. You are required to do this if you pay them more than $600 in a fiscal year. Your deadline is to submit those documents to the IRS and the contract worker by January 31st on the following year from when you hired them.
Bear in mind that the burden of proof is on you since the IRS typically assumes that someone is an employee, unless shown proof otherwise. Therefore, it is wise to keep all of those records and documentation in the event that the IRS asks for further proof that the contracted worker was not an employee of yours. This is for your own benefit as it results in your own protection from any audits or inquires from the IRS.
Freelance workers are becoming increasingly commonplace and the future for most small business is one in which preference will probably be given to simply take on independent contractors and freelancers instead of a full team of employees. More and more small businesses are going along with this model of having only a few core employees and many other freelance workers for their business. This is a lucrative model, especially for smaller businesses, because it is far more cost efficient and flexible. Therefore, it is in your best interest to look and see what kinds of reviews your freelancer worker has prior to signing into an agreement with them; having an idea of what previous companies have said regarding their work ethic is like having references during an interview with an employee–it can definitely help you to make the right decision as to who to hire for the job. Furthermore, by building positive and friendly relations with freelancers, you are setting yourself up for many good working relations for years to come, especially since those workers may also have other freelancer friends that they can refer you to if you ever need some extra work done in a pinch.
At KAASS LAW, our Glendale business lawyers are all about building long-lasting and meaningful relations with our clients and their associates. We believe in the ever-changing and evolving models of the future of business and we are here to make sure our clients have the smoothest experiences going forward with their brands and ideas. Whether you are a business looking to hire some freelancers and independent contractors, or whether you are a freelance worker who is self-employed, we are here to guide you along your financial journey. We have years of experience with connecting the right people for the job, and always stand by our clients. If you are thinking of drafting up an Independent Contractor Agreement, we definitely do not want you to go through that process alone. Contract law is a very complex area of law and we can greatly simplify your business by helping you with your goals. We work with small businesses and freelancers alike to ensure that effective contracts and agreements are written and agreed upon. We invite you to give us a toll free call at (310) 943-1171 to speak to our experienced contract lawyers today and to see just how much we can help your business out. So that way, you can keep doing more of what you love: stress-free.
KAASS LAW is authorized to practice law in California. The above content is intended for California residents only. This content provides only general information which may or may not reflect current legal developments. KAASS LAW expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any of the contents of this website. The above content DOES NOT create an attorney-client relationship. KAASS LAW does not represent you unless you have expressly retained KAASS LAW in person at the KAASS LAW office.
KAASS LAW helps clients in: Los Angeles, Burbank, Hollywood, Glendale, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Studio City, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Sunland, Tujunga, Sylmar, San Bernardino, La Crescenta, La Canada, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Santa Monica, Brentwood. Pacoima, Montebello, Commerce, Alhambra, Downey, Bell, Maywood, Walnut Park, Vernon, Lynwood, Echo Park, Silverlake, Mission Hills, Northridge, Woodland Hills, Encino, Canoga Park, North Hills, Porter Ranch, Chatsworth, Reseda.
There are really only two kinds of trademark Office actions that we need to know about: non-final and final. If the issue is detected for the first time, the USPTO will issue a non-final Office action. In that letter, they explain what problems persist with your application and they give you, the applicant, a chance to address and fix those problems. If, on the other hand, you have failed to address the issues that the USPTO raised in a previous Office action letter, then they will send out a final Office action letter to you. The crucial difference is that you have more limited rights to respond to final Office actions. Thus, it’s important to take action earlier on.
There are plenty of reason you may have received an Office action during the trademark process, including:
Your Response Should Be...Prepared.
In your Office action letter from USPTO, they will specify how long you have to respond to their concerns. Typically, your response needs to get back to them within 6 months of the mailing date of the Office action letter, but you should still check because they can choose to give you a much smaller window of time. Importantly, whatever deadline they give you cannot be extended or prolonged, so it’s very important to know the exact date and to act before it passes. This is because if you do not respond to an Office action by its deadline, then the USPTO will think that you have abandoned your application. In other words, you won’t get your trademark registered, nor will you get your filing fees back. Thus, prompt and timely responses to an Office action letter are essential to getting your trademark or patent registered.
Another important thing to keep in mind is what exactly the letters says that the examining attorneys takes issue with in your application. Oftentimes, an Office action letter wants you to fix or address simple problems that are quite easy to deal with, like submitting a different specimen, or paperwork. Other times, the issues are much more convoluted and those will require a much more detailed response. For example, if the examining attorney think that there is a high likelihood of confusion between your mark and another registered one, then you will have to send in legal arguments that illustrate the differences between the marks.
When you do respond to an Office action letter, it’s of utmost importance that your response is well-thought out and that it actually addresses each and every single concern that the examining attorney has with your application. If you only address and respond to one of the issues that they raised but completely ignore or fail to respond to the rest, then you’ll probably receive a final Office action surrounding the rest of the issues. You should know that you can contact the examining attorney to ask for clarification on any of the issues they have raised, but they are not your lawyer and they will not help you create a response to those problems. Lastly, in the event that you do receive a final Office action, then the only way to appropriately respond is to address its concerns or to file an appeal with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
While it can be incredibly demoralizing to receive an Office action letter instead of a notice that your trademark application was approved, you should not despair or lose hope. An Office action letter, does not mean that your trademark cannot ever be registered, just that there are some problems that need to be dealt with first.
At KAASS LAW, we work tirelessly with our clients to ensure that they send out the best possible application for their trademarks and patents, because we value the incredible originality and innovation in our clients’ work. By working with us, you already greatly reduce the chance that you will ever receive an Office action letter. But even if you do, we have your back. We will help you to break down the letter to make sure you understand what is being asked of you, and to respond effectively, ensuring that each of the points in the letter are appropriately addressed. If you or a loved one have received an Office action letter, or are considering submitting a trademark or patent application, we invite you to give us a toll free call at (310) 943-1171 to speak to our experienced Patent and Trademark lawyers today.
KAASS LAW, 815 E Colorado St #220, Glendale, CA 91205, (310) 943-1171
It is important to understand intellectual property rights and laws when auditing your intellectual property. With the rising significance of IP assets, most companies can greatly benefit from an IP audit, which is a complete, systematic review of a company’s intellectual property assets and its associated risk and opportunities. IP audits are so vital because they can assess and enhance a company’s IP assets, correct any issues in intellectual property rights, put underutilized IP to better work, identify any risks that a company’s products may infringe upon another’s IP rights, and put forth more efficient IP management habits and practices. A truly thorough IP audit will not only review and assess a company’s IP acquisitions, but also its IP-related agreements, contracts, policies, and even its competitors’ IP assets in a related industry or field.
Since intellectual property rights and laws are very complex and vague, IP audits by a lawyer or law firm that specializes in intellectual property law can conduct these matters. The company will appoint someone for the lawyer to work with, ideally someone from the company that is aware of the technical details of the company’s business and their IP assets. Typically, most companies will not know much about IP so the lawyer will usually provide an educational overview of IP and make some suggestions on how the company’s existing IP rights can have protection and improved based on the preliminary information they are provided regarding the company’s IP.
At this point, the audit continues to go more in-depth, potentially involving other key employees with involvement in the creation or acquisition of current and prospective intellectual property or technology for the company, with each person contributing their knowledge surrounding its research, development, sales potential and marketing outlook. If the company already has a greater awareness of IP, the lawyer can engage in discussions surrounding the company’s IP portfolio and its competitive positioning in their industry with relation to market trends and future demand.
IP audits have huge potential benefits for companies but their scope and purposes can change to better suit the company audit. For instance, general use purpose audits are wider and “bigger picture” in scope and they can be hugely helpful to start-ups and established corporations alike to both assess and protect their IP in addition to clearly outlining their future IP development needs. On the other hand, event-specific IP audits can be incredibly useful for companies that need to:
The thing about intellectual property is that it’s here to stay. Because it’s now more important an ever before to protect and look after your company’s IP assets, it pays huge dividends to understand how to best care for it. Any successful business, with well management and meticulously careful regarding its branding, products, and customer experience–of which intellectual property plays a more involving role with each passing year. So, since intellectual property is part of business, it necessitates management just like inventory, equipment, and company productivity. If a company doesn’t know what IP it has access to, then it can’t manage that IP nor protect it from infringement.
As such, perhaps one of the most important things an IP audit can offer any company is also perhaps one of the most basic pieces of knowledge and awareness–informing the company about which IP it owns and has exclusive rights to, so that the company can make effective executive decisions regarding its protection, development, and licensing.
Further, any already-existing IP contracts, like licensing agreements, independent contractor or consultant agreements, transfer and settlement agreements, and joint ventures can all have a review to make sure that your IP rights isn't dealing with a misusage.
Having your company’s IP protection by the law is a vital step towards pre-emptively preventing any future infringement, as well as protecting your assets in the event that it does happen. Intellectual property has a melange of state and federal laws which uphold and protect it so long as the government recognizes the IP. Thus, an IP audit can serve to identify any kind of error or mishandling on the company’s part toward its own IP. That way, the IP audit can shed light on which errors that needs correction and which pieces of intellectual property still need a patent, copyrighted, etc. These seemingly simple fixes are crucial to making sure your company maintains the exclusive rights to your IP.
Intellectual property law is intentionally vague and has many loopholes and cracks that can have exploitation. Many executives, businesspeople, and even non-IP lawyers will not fully understand the subtle differences between copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, much less which are relevant and applicable to your company’s assets.
Further, they would not know the creativity and craftiness that is in need to obtain a U.S. patent or even which things are capable of being a patent, or where the limitations of the patent would lie. Since they aren’t aware of any of the aforementioned, they also would not be aware that new commercial and business opportunities in both domestic and global markets can have access into through clever IP licenses and that competitors’ efforts to obtain IP can stop and monitor along the way. Therefore, a huge value of IP audits is that it teaches executives, inventors, and marketers of your company about the value of IP and how to actively protect your IP opportunities before they lose to another company or brand.
Because intellectual property litigation is very costly and consulted, the stark reality is that most smaller companies oftentimes goes to forgo litigation even when they have a winnable position. IP audits can assist these companies in anticipating future areas of dispute and can aid them in planning effective avoidance strategies. For instance, an audit may identify a need for a freedom-to-operate study, which determines competitors’ conflicting IP rights and options such as designing around, licensing, or anonymously challenging competitors’ rights to the designs themselves. As such, an audit identifies weaknesses in the audited company’s IP rights that addresses and remedied with timely actions, resulting in stronger rights that are far less likely to challenge.
Because intellectual property has become such a huge player in modern industries and in online commerce, its monetary value is more important than ever. Since an IP audit provides companies with an up-to-date understanding of their IP assets and its value, the companies’ leadership is better equipped to deal with opportunities which may come up, such as a third-party offer to buy up the company, or a new sales or expansion opportunity that requires financing.
In conducting these kinds of IP audits, it’s most useful to may attention to:
Valuable product features that can be but aren’t yet patented, fixable issues in existing patents, invalid or incomplete employee agreements that pose a risk to competitors’ access to trade secrets, trademarks that are crucial to companies’ identities that are not yet sufficiently protected from copying, product designs, builds, and configurations that can be but still aren’t protected by design patents, patent and trademark royalty payment terms that have been ignored or violated, missing notices of patent, trademark, and copyright that limit the company’s authority to enforce IP rights and to claim damages, and lucrative opportunities for licensing IP into new markets. IP audits are directly responsible for millions of dollars worth of quantifiable benefit and profit to companies and corporations, especially for payment of patented tech that was not originally thought of as patentable.
Here at KAASS LAW, we value our clients’ intellectual property above all else because we recognize the innovation and creativity that it takes to create new and groundbreaking ideas, inventions, and designs. We protect our clients’ IP like our own because we understand its true value to the company and to the company’s morale and identity. We have worked with many individuals, entities, and businesses to assess, evaluate, defend and diversify their IP assets.
If you feel that your company has been underplaying the value of their IP, or even been completely unaware of just how significant a role that kind of asset can play, then we definitely encourage you to give us a toll free call at (310) 943-1171 to speak to our experienced intellectual property lawyers today. We work with our clients to make sure they always have the competitive edge in their respective industries and to ensure they understand their own worth and value. Knowledge and awareness can make all the difference when dealing with intellectual property so please do not hesitate to get in touch with us about any questions or concerns you may have.
KAASS LAW, 701 N Brand Blvd Suite 100, Glendale, CA 91203, (310) 943-1171
KAASS LAW is authorized to practice law in California. The above content is intended for California residents only. This content provides only general information which may or may not reflect current legal developments. KAASS LAW. expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any of the contents of this website. The above content DOES NOT create an attorney-client relationship. KAASS LAW does not represent you unless you have expressly retained KAASS LAW in person at the KAASS LAW office.
KAASS LAW helps clients in: Los Angeles, Burbank, Hollywood, Glendale, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Studio City, Highland Park, Eagle Rock. Sunland, Tujunga, Sylmar, San Bernardino, La Crescenta. La Canada, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Santa Monica, Brentwood. Pacoima, Montebello, Commerce, Alhambra, Downey, Bell, Maywood, Walnut Park, Vernon, Lynwood, Echo Park, Silverlake, Mission Hills, Northridge. Woodland Hills, Encino, Canoga Park, North Hills, Porter Ranch, Chatsworth, Reseda.
While registering your work isn’t a guarantee of protection, it is still the best thing to do first and foremost. To review, the protections and benefits granted by each type of registration are:
You will want to ensure you maintain your protective measures, too. This means taking the time to do some basic upkeep, such as documenting your first use to make it easier to defend in court, should the need arise, and renewing your trademarks on time, using them continuously and filing any paperwork needed to document its use. Bear in mind also that if you choose to begin marketing or otherwise disclose your invention publicly before filing for patent protection, remember that you have to file your patent application within one year of disclosure and you must be the first to file, or you will lose the right to protection. For this reason, you may wish to consider starting with a provisional patent application to protect your rights.
If you intend on marketing your invention, product, or design in other countries, then you may want to look into registering your intellectual property in those countries, as well. This will ensure maximum protection and profit for your company. Fortunately, the U.S. has several treaties and conventions which make it easier for U.S. citizens and businesses to register patents and trademarks in multiple countries with one application. You’ll still have to follow each country’s law, though. For instance:
Many foreign countries also have agreements with the United States to recognize your copyright registration automatically. Check to see if the countries you’re interested in have this type of agreement, and if they do not, look into what the requirements are for you to register.
Oftentimes, the best way of protecting your intellectual property is simply by keeping quiet about it. This is especially the case if your work isn’t patentable or if you plan to protect it by using the trade secrets law. In those cases, you definitely want to limit the amount of people you tell about it. Whenever possible, get your partners and investors to sign off on non-disclosure agreements and make sure to specify in those agreements what exactly must be kept confidential and for how long. As another measure, you might want to still keep quiet about your idea even after filing a patent application since in most cases protection only begins once the United States Patents and Trademark Office actually grants your patent.
All of the laws and registrations we discussed offer you legal avenues for remedies after your work has been infringed or used illegally, but they do not actually prevent your work from being stolen in the first place. This is because some people may not be aware of the law and others just may not care. Sometimes, even a thorough patent or trademark search misses something. As such, it is your job to keep an eye on your industry trends and developments. In particular, you will want to keep a close eye on your industry developments:
When Push Comes to Shove...Pushback! At the worst case scenario, you would locate instances of actual infringement and it is at this point that you must stand up for yourself by taking action. What you ought to do in each case will vary, contingent upon a few circumstances, like:
In these types of strenuous situations, experienced intellectual property lawyers can make all the difference. At KAASS LAW, we have helped many clients manage and defend their patents, trademarks, and copyrights. We believe in the spirit of innovation and originality and we go out of our way to protect our clients’ work and property. We can help you to evaluate and determine which protections are best for your case as well as deciding upon which avenues to take to uphold and defend your rights. We invite you to give us a toll free call at (310) 943-1171 to speak to our experienced Los Angeles intellectual property attorney today.
KAASS LAW, 815 E Colorado St #220, Glendale, CA 91205, (310) 943-1171