Can you trademark your hashtag?

in Business Law, Intellectual Property Law, Intellectual Property Litigation, Legal Advice, Trademark Law, Trademark Litigation, Trademark Registration

What is a hashtag? A “hashtag” is a form of metadata that is created by utilizing the “hash”, “pound”, “number” a.k.a. “hashtag” symbol (i.e., “#”) followed by a word or phrase without space. Meta data is something online (i.e. data, such as #YOURBRAND) that when searched gives information about something else (i.e., other data such as pictures of your products or information about your services). So, typically a hashtag is used when you do an online post so...

13 February

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Independent Contractor’s, the “Work Made for Hire” Doctrine, and the Presumed Employee

Posted by Taylor Howard

in Business Law, Business Litigation

The "work-for-hire" doctrine is presumably, for employees ONLY. After all, employees are hired, not independent contractors right? However, it is standard practice to have a "work-for-hire" clause in all independent contractor agreements in nearly every industry, nationwide. In California, there could be serious issues with stating in an independent contractor agreement that all the intellectual property created by the contractor is a "work-for-hire" because in recent years California and federal agencies have started cracking down on mis-classified independent...

31 December

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Remedies for Copyright Infringement

Posted by Taylor Howard

in Business Law, Business Litigation, Copyright Law

If you believe that your copyright has been infringed upon, it is critical that you pursue one or more of the remedies provided under the federal Copyright Act. Depending on the specifics of your situation — and, most importantly, whether you've registered your copyright — you could be eligible for considerable damages. Available remedies for copyright infringement are outlined below: Monetary Relief In most copyright cases, monetary relief falls under one of a few main categories: actual...

02 November

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Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), or Corporation?

Posted by Taylor Howard

in Business Law

Which business entity form is right for me and what is an S-Corp. anyway? One of the first questions that an entrepreneur must face when forming a startup business is what type of business entity to form, if any. The main reason anybody forms a fictitious business entity is for personal liability protection. By forming an LLC or a corporation, a business owner can protect their personal assets, i.e., their home, car, savings accounts and other...

02 November

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Copyright, Trademark, or Patent

Posted by Taylor Howard

in Art and Media Law, Business Law, Copyright Law, Trademark Law

Which form of intellectual property do I need? It is very common for people to get forms of intellectual property. Often I talk to people who know that they need to protect their intellectual property, but they aren’t sure what form of intellectual property protection they need. Although there are some similarities among these kinds of intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks, and patents are different and serve different purposes. This blog post will first outline the three...

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Business Law

Can you trademark your hashtag?

Independent Contractor’s, the “Work Made for Hire” Doctrine, and the Presumed Employee

Remedies for Copyright Infringement

Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), or Corporation?

Copyright, Trademark, or Patent