Law


Employment Practices Audit Can Protect Against Lawsuits

Jul 1, 1999

While there' s no vaccination against costly harassment lawsuits, one good way to protect yourself is withan effective employment practices audit. ...  Read story

How Living Trusts Work

Oct 20, 1999

Living trusts can be a confusing area for the uninitiated. Here's a rundown of the basics, so you can decide whether or not you need a living trust and if so...  Read story

How the Law Protects Trademarks

Oct 21, 1999

The law protects trademarks by authorizing a trademark owner to file a lawsuit to: prevent others from using it in a context where it migh...  Read story

How Federal Trademark Registration Works

Oct 21, 1999

It is possible to register certain types of trademarks and service marks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Federal registration puts the re...  Read story

Qualifying for a Patent

Oct 21, 1999

A patent is a document issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) that grants a monopoly for a limited period of time on the manufacture, use an...  Read story

Obtaining Your Own Patent Should Be Easy

Oct 21, 1999

Many of us muse about the million-dollar idea: the invention that will make life easier for others and more lucrative for us. Most of these ideas never ge...  Read story

Disagreements Living On in a Living Trust

Oct 22, 1999

Q: What do you do to avoid problems with the beneficiaries not agreeing on what to do with the real property in a living trust? Can the s...  Read story

Doing Away With a Bumbling Barrister

Oct 22, 1999

Q: Can I fire the lawyer who filed my patent application for me and have the patent office recognize me or some other lawyer as the perso...  Read story

A Caution On Tax Shelters

Aug 1, 1981

Few tax shelters are as reliable and safe as a qualified plan. For unwary investors, more arcane "shelters" can wind up offering about as much protection...  Read story

A Caution On Tax Shelters

Aug 1, 1981

Few tax shelters are as reliable and safe as a qualified plan. For unwary investors, more arcane "shelters" can wind up offering about as much protection...  Read story

Patent Protection Too Costly, Some Firms Find

Sep 1, 1981

Faced with higher patent fees and the prospect of having to defend their patents in court, small innovative firms are finding other ways to protect their ...  Read story

You Think You Can File an Accurate Tax Return, Do You?

Nov 19, 1999

When it comes to paying taxes, independent professionals should consider if they can tackle the project themselves.  Read story

Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Affordable Way

By David E. Gumpert |  Nov 9, 1999

The matter of legally protecting your intellectual property can get quite complex -- and expensive. You likely don't want to spend endless hours sorting t...  Read story

Tort Liability Basics: Strict, Vicarious, and Joint Liability

Nov 1, 1999

Strict Liability Strict liability torts, which do not require a finding of intent or negligence, are primarily confined to ultraha...  Read story

Why Small Business Lost On The Tax Bill

By Tom Richman |  Oct 1, 1981

Looking back on the tax fight that occupied Congress and the Administration throughout the summer, lobbyists and even some legislators contend that small ...  Read story

How The Tax Cut Affects You

By Irving L. Blackman |  Oct 1, 1981

The Reagan tax package doesn't help your business as much as it helps you.  Read story

Copyrights in Cyberspace

Dec 14, 1999

While browsing through on an electronic bulletin board, you come across an interesting article on dog training. Thinking it might be of interest to the me...  Read story

Big Business Cries Foul

By Tom Richman |  Nov 1, 1981

Small companies can patent government-funded inventions -- and the big guys don't like it.  Read story

Copyright Ownership: Who Owns What?

May 12, 2000

As a general rule, the copyright in a work is initially owned by the work's creator, but not always. What are the exceptions to the rule th...  Read story

What Web Site Builders Need to Know about Trademark Law

May 12, 2000

Doing business on the Web doesn't spare you from many of the same laws and customs that govern businesses in the physical world. You must pay especially c...  Read story

How Trademarks Differ from Patents and Copyrights

May 12, 2000

Trademarks are often mentioned in the same breath as copyrights and patents. While they do sometimes apply to the same thing, they're more often defined b...  Read story

A Trademark Tale

By Frederic Hron |  Jun 1, 2000

What's in a name? Not much, according to Shakespeare, but most businesspeople would tell you that a name is a valuable business asset, a vessel for a comp...  Read story

Five Ways To Protect Your Ideas

By Marvin Petry |  Jan 1, 1982

These legal tools can keep you safe from marketplace predators.  Read story

What Does Copyright Protect?

By David Adler |  Jul 7, 2000

The Copyright Act of 1976 protects creative expression: literary, dramatic, and musical works; pantomimes and dance; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural wo...  Read story

Hoyle Schweitzer's Decade Of Discontent

By Robert A. Mamis |  Feb 1, 1982

When Windsurfing's president discovered that his product had already been invented, he applied for a new patent. But 20 competitors are betting it can't be e...  Read story

The Easy Way to " Patent Pending" Status

Nov 1, 2000

Inventors know that inventions are often new solutions to old problems. An invention by Congress -- the Provisional Patent Application -- is a good exampl...  Read story

Making Your Own Patent Drawings

Nov 1, 2000

You've invented something wonderful. You've prepared rough sketches and the written part of thepatent application yourself, saving thousands of dollars by...  Read story

How to Protect Your Invention when Pitching It

Nov 1, 2000

If you're trying to license your invention, you run the risk that someone will rip you off. Here aresome ways to avoid trouble. If you've developed...  Read story

Copyrighting Your Software -- Why Bother?

Nov 1, 2000

If you publish computer software, the single most important legal protection available to you is the federalcopyright law. But many software authors don't...  Read story

Trade Secret Basics

By Rich Stim |  Nov 1, 2000

Trade secret law gives the owner of important commercial information the right to keep others from usingit. Here's what business owners need to know to pr...  Read story

Internet Business Method Patents

By Rich Stim |  Nov 1, 2000

A company that develops a new way of conducting e-commerce may be able to prevent others fromusing it for almost two decades. Since 1998, an increasing nu...  Read story

Getting Permission to Publish: 10 Tips for Webmasters

Nov 1, 2000

The Internet has made it possible for anyone with a computer and modem to become a Web publisher. But even though technology has made information more acc...  Read story

The End of Stealth Mode for Patents

By Susan Greco |  Dec 1, 2000

It will become harder for companies with new inventions to remain in "stealth mode," thanks to a major change in patent law that was scheduled to take eff...  Read story

Higher Patent Fees Irk Small Inventors

Aug 1, 1982

The Reagan Administration's continuing effort to trim the federal budget has struck a raw nerve with American inventors. To pay for its overhead costs, t...  Read story

Name Your Web Business

By Stan Soper |  Jun 14, 2001

You've snagged a great domain name and now you're ready to incorporate. All you need to do is add "Inc." to the end of your domain name, right? ...  Read story

How To Recognize A Good Tax Shelter

By This column was compiled by Irving L. Blackman |  Aug 1, 1982

Year after year clients bombard their accountants with inquiries about tax shelters. Those questions don't seem to have diminished, even though the top i...  Read story

How Arbitration Can Cool Patent Disputes

Sep 1, 1982

A patent sometimes isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Instead of protecting against competitors, it may result in costly court fights as a company su...  Read story

Strategic Patenting

By Jennifer A. Redmond |  Jul 24, 2002

What to consider when you're filing a patent and strategic decisions you'll need to make.  Read story

A Better Wat To Tax Small Business

By Frederic G. Corneel |  Dec 1, 1982

Small companies should work for a totally new and separate income tax that would help, not hinder, their growth.  Read story

UNTITLED

Feb 1, 2003

While global risk has become a focal point for investors, corporate malfeasance is still a hairy elephant. But if the recommendations made Thursday by the...  Read story