Is your "trademark" really a trade name without trademark protection?

Are you using your term as a trade name or trademark?  The USPTO may find that the term for which you would like to obtain trademark registration, is used as a trade name and not a trademark.  The Trademark Act does not provide for registration of trade names.  For example, the name of a business or company is a trade name and the Trademark Act and the USPTO distinguishes trademarks from trade names.  A trademark is used to identify and distinguish the trademark owner’s products/goods from those sold or manufactured by others and to indicate the source of the products/goods.  As defined by the Trademark Act, the terms “trade name” and “commercial name” mean any name used by a person to identify its/her/his business or vocation.

Note, that use of the term in a stylized manner may help your argument that the term is used as a trademark (in addition to being used as a trade name). 

In addition, you will need to submit a Specimen evincing use of the mark in commerce, in association with the goods applied for.  With the specimen you will also be required to submit and certify the date of your first use in commerce of the mark and the Specimen.

Should you wish to discuss your business endeavor and corresponding legal issues with an experienced Business Lawyer, click here to schedule a free telephone consultation or contact Michelle L. Grenier, Esq. directly at 617-728-9800 or michelle@contactmylawyer.com

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COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION QUESTIONNAIRE

You will likely be asked to provide the following information with regard to your work, when requesting copyright registration.

1. Name/Title of the work [the Work]
2. What is the Type of Work: [is it text, an image, audio, visual, written, etc.]
3. What aspect of the Work, specifically, did you want to claim rights to:  (e.g. text, audio, visual, lyrics, sound, etc.)
4. The following information is required for all Creators/Authors of the Work: Name, Address, Telephone Number, Citizenship 
5. Provide the year the Work was created or completed? Note whether the Work is still being modified.
6. Provide the date of first publication of the Work? Within what nation was the Work published?
7. Is the Work based upon a derivative of or incorporate any preexisting work(s). If so, explain.
8. If your answer to question 7 is yes, describe what was added to or changed to make this Work, for which copyright is claimed.

For assistance with registering your copyrights, click here for a free consultation with Michelle Grenier, Esq., an experienced Boston Business Lawyer or Maine Business Lawyer.

Keywords/common misspellings:  copyright lawyer, copyright attorney, boston copyright lawyer, boston copyright attorney, maine copyright lawyer, boston businees lawyer, maine businees lawyer, maine copyright attorney, maine business attorney, boston business attorney, intellectual property lawyer

License Compliance is Essential to Business Success.

All businesses must comply with applicable licensing and permitting requirements.  Failure to comply can result in significant consequences.  New businesses learn quickly that compliance and dealing with governmental bodies, is not always straight-forward, and it can be extremely frustrating and time-consuming. 

There are the laws, regulations, and processes that need to be dealt with, on the local city or town level and on the federal level.  Licensing and permitting procedures range from an Internet filing to a full paper application with accompanying documentation and payment or the requirement that payments be made via Internet.

Subsequent filings are typically required for changes in ownership, entity structure and entity name.  Some regulations required new licenses in the event of changes in control and/or ownership of the licensing or permitted entity.

Summary of Business Licensing and Permitting Goals:

• Compliance with applicable regulations and laws;
• Penalty and Fine Avoidance;
• Maintain proper records for future business expansion.

Benefits of Compliance include the following:

• Maintaining goodwill and reputation;
• Protecting the directors or managers of the entity;
• Reducing the risk of related legal issues;
• Maintaining attractive operations management for future partners and/or investors; and
• Reducing cost of compliance by avoiding penalties and fees.

There is one thing you can count on with business laws and regulations, and that is change.  They are always changing and being revised.  It is important that businesses keep up-to-date with regard to those changes.

Some businesses underestimate the consequences that can result from failure to comply with licensing and permitting requirements. For obvious reasons, failure to comply puts business investment at significant risk. In addition to penalties in fines on business and personal lien, such failure to comply can result in an operational shutdown. 

Operational shutdowns, even temporarily, can result in overall business failure, as customers loyalty may switch to other providers if they cannot receive the goods or services when they want them. Other risks include, but are not limited to, mandated court appearances, harm to goodwill and reputation through negative publicity, investor deterrence. 

Generally there are many types of licenses and permits.  Payroll Withholding, Sales Tax and Workers' Compensation types are required of every business, unless exempt.  Transportation, alcoholic beverages, food, catering, construction, cosmetic, massage and other licenses, may be required for certain business activities.

Each jurisdiction imposes its own rules and regulations.  Thus, it is important to know what is required in your particular jurisdiction.

Want to discuss you licensing issues with an experienced Business Lawyer?

Click here for a free telephone consultation with Attorney Michelle L. Grenier, Business Licensing Lawyer

Boston Business Lawyer and Portland Maine Business Lawyer

What is a DBE or ACDBE? What are the DBE advantages?

DBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprises) are small businesses that have socially and economically disadvantaged individuals that own at least a 51% interest and also control management and daily business operations. African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific and Subcontinent Asian Americans, and women are presumed to be socially and economically disadvantaged (Note, other individuals can also qualify as socially and economically disadvantaged.  Such is determined on a case-by-case basis).  ACDBE means Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise.

To participate in a DBE program, a small business owned, operated and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals must receive DBE certification from the applicable state.  In addition, the 51% owner must have a personal net worth that does not exceed $750,000.  Also the business must meet SBA size criteria and have average annual gross receipts not to exceed $22.41 million (Note, size limits for the airport concessions DBE program are currently higher).

DBE certified business are often more attractive bidders for airport concession leases and other business opportunities that have a DBE quota to meet.  

Want to discuss you business issues with an experienced business lawyer?  Click here for a free telephone consultation.

 

There is no "Standard" Commercial Lease: Commercial Leasing

     A commercial lease is different than residential leases with regard to many issues. Commercial tenants are presumed to be sophisticated and not requiring as much protection from the law, and thus, rights given to residential tenants often do not apply to commercial tenants. In addition, Landlord's typically have the leverage in the commercial lease situation, hence the importance of commercial tenant taking steps to protect her/his/its interests. 

     Here is a summary of steps that typically apply to commercial leasing:

1. Hire a competent real estate agent to help you find property that is right for you.   Make sure you and the agent are clear on who will be paying the broker.

2.  Have an inspection of the premises. 

3.  Obtain advice of experienced business lawyer, to review the commercial lease and to provide you with information so that you may have a good understanding of the terms of the lease.  Note, generally, with a commercial lease, if its not in writing its not part of the deal.

4.     Use the preventative approach versus the remedial approach, as it is much more expensive to fix a problem than to avoid one. 

For more information, click here:  Commercial lease

Ready to discuss your business issues with a Business Lawyer?

Click here for a Free Telephone Consultation with an experienced Boston Business Lawyer or Maine Business Lawyer.

Letter of Credit: What is a Letter of Credit?

Letters of Credit are utilized in international transactions to reduce exposure to risk.

    Sellers can reduce the risk of  not getting paid with letters of credit.  The buyer can also reduce risk of defective performance or non-performance, with proper use of letters of credit. 

What is the typical structure of the Letter of Credit transaction?

     In a sale of goods, most often, the Letter of Credit transaction is made up of three contracts, as follows:

(1)       Buyer-Seller Contract. The buyer and seller contract for the purchase and sale of the goods requiring payment through a documentary credit.

(2)       Buyer-Bank Contract.  The buyer applies for a letter of credit, instructing the buyer's bank to open the credit for the benefit of the seller based upon the application terms. 

(3)       Advising Bank-Seller.  The issuing bank (buyer's bank) issues the letter of credit and forwards it to an advising bank within the country of the seller. The advising bank, advises the seller of the opening of the credit in seller's favor.

For more information on Letter of Credit, click here.

Want to discuss your business issue with an Experienced Boston Business Lawyer or Maine Business Lawyer?  click here for Free Telephone Consultation.

(Misspellings:  Leter of Credit)

Literary Services Agreement Checklist.

It is helpful to review this checklist before entering discussions with a ghostwriter.

• Proposal.  Describe what will be included in the proposal and length.
• Present Agreement.  Describe scope of agreement to write proposal.  Will it include certain terms for the publishing agreement?
• Collaboration and Method.  How will the ghostwriter and the named author collaborate?
• Submission. What are the responsibilities of the ghostwriter?
• Deliverables. What will the ghost writer deliver?
• Expenses.  Which party will bear expenses?
• Compensation.  What is the compensation methodology?  Include exit strategy for paying party as well.
• Non-disclosure: Confidentiality provisions are important.
• Authorship.  Who will be named author in the proposal and the book? E.g., by A as told to B?
• Copyrights.  Who will own the copyrights?
• Income & other Preliminary terms for the Book.  Include terms relied upon for the book publishing.
• Ownership Rights: Materials. Who will own the materials used in development of the proposal and book?  Understand what this means.
• Rights Retained. Clearly set forth what rights are retained by each party, e.g. right to create other versions of the book, prequels and sequels. 
• Editorial and other disputes. Clearly set forth the means for resolving disputes.
• Warranties and Representations. Describe the warranties and representations of each party.  
• Incomplete Manuscript. Describe what happens in the event of disability or death of either Party prior to submission of the final Manuscript to a Publisher.
• Non-compete; Unfinished Work.  Describe the agreement as to competing works and who can use unfinished work.  

Include other important information that is particular to your situation.

Want to discuss your business issues with an Experienced Boston Business Lawyer or Maine Business Lawyer ? Click here to schedule a Free Telephone Consultation. 

( Misc: ghost writer agreement, literary agrement, litrary agreement )

 

 

So You Want to Start Your Own Business! Congratulations!

Congratulations!  Deciding to tackle such a endeavor is half the battle. Now for the other half of the battle. This article provides some helpful tips for starting a business. 

In addition to the basics, such as educating yourself in the field or industry of interest and creating a business plan, there are several legal issues that should be addressed when starting a business. 

• If there is more than one person starting the business, a well-drafted Joint Venture Agreement is essential for success and avoidance of misunderstandings.  Your Joint Venture Agreement should clearly set forth each participant's role, expectations, duties and responsibilities.  The JV Agreement should also set forth what will happen if a participant no longer complies with the JV Agreement, voluntariliy or involuntarily (e.g., disability or death).

 

• Next, establish a separate legal entity, such as a Limited Liability Company [LLC], to protect the personal assets of the participants from activities of the business.  Open a separate bank account for the LLC and make sure you do not co-mingle personal funds with LLC funds, as this is a means for dissolving the LLC protection. 

 

• All contracts should be entered into by the LLC and not you personally, to avoid personal liability.  In addition, you must sign all contracts in your capacity as a Manager or Officer of the LLC, e.g, "John Doe, as Manager of ABC, LLC," otherwise, you could be personally liable for the contract.

 

• If you have employees, make sure you have all employer posters required by the Federal and State government. Also, hiring a payroll service to do your payroll, may be a good idea.  Note, if only the owners are working for the LLC, you may not be required to run payroll.

 

• Register your Trademark to protect use of your mark by others.  Register the copyrights to your web site and other marketing material for the same reason.

 

• Make sure you have proper web site content, to reduce the risk of liability.

 

• Make sure you are in compliance with all laws, including, obtaining all applicable licenses and record keeping related to immigration law compliance. 

 

• Protect your business interests by utilizing comprehensive confidentiality agreements, non-circumvention agreements, non-compete agreements, employee agreement, independent contractor agreements, and other well drafted comprehensive agreements specific to your business.

Congratulations again; you are on your way! 

You will only pass this way once . . . do it right!

Ready to discuss your issues with a Boston Business Lawyer or Maine Business Lawyer? Click here to schedule a Free Telephone Consultation.

Helpful Distributorship Agreement Checklist

It is essential for both parties in a distributorship arrangement to have a comprehensive Distributorship Agreement.  Some of the important terms to include in the agreement are as follows:

1.  The Legal Name and address of each party (not dba's and no PO boxes)
    
2. Include Specific terms of appointment of Distributor, including territory, etc.

3. Specify Term and Termination of the contract 

4. Include description of Products or Services for distribution.

5. Clearly set forth Pricing terms with provisions for changing prices.

6. Include acceptable means of Payment, including currency, etc.

7. Describe Performance requirements including what happens if they are not met.

8. Include Procedures related to Ordering and Shipping, including risk transfer provisions

9. Include Intellectual Property rights granted, such as license to use the trademark of the manufacturer, etc.

10. Provide for Termination provisions 

11. Include Non-Circumvention terms, if applicable.

This is not an exclusive list and is not legal advice. 

Are you ready to discuss your issues with a Boston Business Lawyer or Maine Business Lawyer?  Click here for a more in-depth Distributorship Agreement Checklist or schedule a Free Telephone Consultation.

Joint Venture Agreement Checklist

The key to operating a successful joint venture is to determine the duties, responsibilities and expectations of the founders, before starting operations. These and other important issues are best addressed in writing through a Joint Venture Agreement. 

•  Identify the Parties of the Joint Venture Project.       

•  Identify or Define the Purpose of the Joint Venture.

•  Determine the type of Joint Venture Entity (LLC, Corporation, etc.) 

•  Determine exit strategies.

• Determine what will happen in event of deadlock.

• Clearly describe each Party's level of commitment, duties, responsibilities and expectations.

Include other important issues specific to your circumstances. 

Ready to get the ball rolling and discuss your issues with a Boston Business Lawyer or Maine Business Lawyer ?  For a more information on Joint Ventures click here or schedule Free Telephone Consultation today.

*This is not an exclusive list, but instead a tool to facilitate discussions. These materials have been prepared by Grenier Law Offices, PC for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking direct legal counsel.