How many times have you looked at a lengthy contract and thought to yourself – I really don’t have the time for this; I don’t understand this. Often times, non-lawyer folk want to understand the basic facts and leave technicalities of contracts to their lawyers or business advisors. Sometimes,...
This is the fifth, and final, post in a five part series on Essential Contract Terms for Consultants, Independent Contractors, and Freelancers. This post will focus on protecting your intellectual property. A contract is not only an agreement regarding the exchange of goods or services for...
For new start-up companies or small business, establishing a brand is necessary. Establishing a brand takes time, effort, and probably a bit of money. But when it comes to establishing a brand that may be trademarked, it is vitally important to consider whether your potential...
Filing an application for a trademark registration with the United States Patent & Trademark Office is surprisingly easy in terms of the actual process itself if you are prepared with your materials. There are services out there that will help you file a trademark registration...
Congratulations! You got your trademark registered with the US PTO. You have an officially registered trademark blessed by the United States government. If you think that was the hard part, it is not. Now comes the hard part of policing, protecting, and maintaining your trademark. Let’s...
In the last post, we started a discussion on how to determine and properly classify employees to see if they are exempt. Be sure to check out that last post here. As a reminder, the salary level has to be at least a fixed $684...
The United States Department of Labor regulation regarding salary levels for exempt and nonexempt employees will go into effect in January 2020. The minimum salary for exemption status will be $35,568 (or $684 per week). Before that goes into effect, I strongly suggest that employers review the classifications of...
One of the most common questions I get when discussing trademarks is when is an appropriate time to submit an application for a registration of a trademark. It is a good question that involves a number of factors. But the trademark office breaks things down into...
This month Matt returned to speak with the Design Domination podcast, offering advice to graphic designers who do branding work for their clients. What do designers need to know about registering a trademark? Let’s dive in. The truth of the matter is that if graphic designers knew...