Category Archives: General
How to Handle Squatters in Florida
Discovering that a home has become the residence of a squatter is always an unsettling experience. If the home is privately owned, it can feel like a violation of the owner’s privacy. If it is a commercially owned property, then the squatters can mean serious financial damage to the property’s value. Fortunately, the law… Read More »
Dealing with Bad Reviews Online
Internet review platforms like Yelp have provided a voice for any customer to broadcast their experience with a company to the world at large. While this benefits companies that receive consistently strong reviews, it also allows a small number of dissatisfied customers to do serious damage to a company’s reputation and its bottom line…. Read More »
Copyright Law as a Solution to Revenge Porn
Updating the law tends to be a slow, laborious process that often takes years. This can be a problem when the law attempts to govern advances in technology, which can happen at a much faster pace. Such a problem has arisen in the area of revenge porn. Revenge porn is a recent phenomenon that… Read More »
Automakers Employing Copyright Law Against Hobbyists
As software finds its way into more and more pieces of previously analog equipment, it expands the reach of copyright law. This has led to new groups being forced to navigate the complex American intellectual property system. One such group includes car hobbyists, who are now being forced to deal with car manufacturer copyrights… Read More »
Options for Handling Bad Customers
People just starting out in a business often think that any customer is a good customer, but often that is not the case. While putting up with the occasional rudeness might be worthwhile, customers who are constantly demanding or unreasonably failing to live up to their duties can end up costing a business more… Read More »
Understanding Cease and Desist Letters
Many people picture legal disputes being settled in court, a judge or jury rendering a decision in the case after an extended trial. However, most cases never make it that far. It is much more common for cases to be settled by the litigants in advance of the trial, and even those that do… Read More »
How to Hold a Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes and other promotional contests are a common marketing tool that companies both large and small use to attract new customers or build a rapport with old ones. Despite the common nature of sweepstakes, Florida law heavily regulates them to ensure that they do not constitute unfair trade practices or gambling. The full contents… Read More »
Supreme Court Clarifies the Power of the Patent and Trademark Office
Although trademark law affects businesses every day, it has the reputation for being something of a niche area of law that many lawyers do not involve themselves with. Consequently, trademark issues rarely end up going before the U.S. Supreme Court. However, it happened twice this term. One of the cases, B&B Hardware v. Hargis… Read More »
Understanding Limitations on Corporate Liability
Corporations confer a variety of benefits on their shareholders and executives. One of the most important benefits from a business litigation standpoint is that the corporate structure creates a way for investors to limit their liability in the company in case something goes awry. This limited liability means that in most circumstances, the corporation’s… Read More »
Why Small Business Owners Should Care about Trademark Genericide
The law protects trademarks because they function as “source identifiers.” When a person sees a company logo on a product, they know which company is responsible for it. This allows consumers to easily find companies whose products they like, while avoiding those who sell inferior goods. Understanding this purpose of trademark law allows for… Read More »
