Your Own Argument and Opinions

  Did you agree or disagree with the rulings.  Provide some authority for your argument such as quotes from the book.

I did agree with the rulings as far as my attorney's listing of all the contracts and licensing that legally need to be handled before venturing onto starting a business. I asked Greg Smith a lot of questions I had that pertained to my major and to our reading. I found quotes that I found useful and informative in the text and asked him to elaborate on those quotes. One that I brought up to my attorney was, “The creative Commons is a nonprofit enterprise that encourages copyright owners to share their works with the public in various innovative ways including dedications to the public domain or through a series of licenses.”pg 243 Copyright Law. After mentioning this quote he was able to give me a list of copyright laws and help me to understand protection and licensing procedures. 
Although, one thing that I did find interesting about my discussion with my Lawyer was his need to elaborate to me on how he thought I should have another degree aside from my "creative" degree. He has a lot of nerve in telling me what I should study or to have the opinion to add a whole different education to my credits.

Reasoning of the Law

      Analysis of the thinking process and logic used by your lawyer:

I I thought that the insight my lawyer had to offer was very interesting, he said one statement that stood out in particular to me,"The best legal advice that I could give to you is to make sure you know your future business will succeed before investing legal troubles and a whole bunch of money into it." Attorney Greg Smith has a large financial background and had the knowledge to help me understand what is required legally in owning a business as well as the financial work involved. My Lawyer also had a lot of logic in explain all the many contracts to be signed between partnerships when starting a business.

            

Legal Authority

Legal Authority: How I made contact, found this person and why they are a good choice.

I made contact with my Lawyer Greg S. Smith by family acquaintance and church. He was a good choice to interview because he has a background in accounting and business. He later went on to finish his law degree and become a practicing attorney at law. He specializes in Estate Planning, Probate, and Asset Protection. The Asset protection part really stood out to me and gave me some insight on to why he might be a good law professional to ask my questions to.

Final Project: Rule of Law/ Quotes

Quotes:

1.)  “The creative Commons is a nonprofit enterprise that encourages copyright owners to share their works with the public in various innovative ways including dedications to the public domain or through a series of licenses.”pg 243 Copyright Law

2.)  “Framing occurs when one website displays a Web page of another company usually within a bordered area on its own site (similar to the “picture-in-picture” feature offered on some televisions.” Pg 274 Patent Copyright & Trademark.

3.)  “Photographic images are protectable under copyright law whether in print or digital format. The photographer is considered the author and original owner of copyright.” Pg 312 Patent Copyright & Trademark.

4.)  “A patent application must be filed in the name of the true inventor or inventors. If there is more than one inventor, each becomes an applicant for the patent, and each automatically owns equal shares of the invention and any resulting patents.” Pg 175 Patent Law Forms

5.)  “Many people use the term protections to refer to the benefits that go along with ownership of copyrights and other intellectual property such as Trade Secrets, Patents, and Trademarks.” Pg 211 Copyright Law Definitions.

6.)  “The phrase All Rights Reserved was required as a part of a copyright notice by the Buenos Aires Convention international treaty.” Pg 211 Copyright Law Definition.

7.)  “A lawsuit brought against someone who uses a copyrighted expression without permission is commonly known as an infringement action.” Pg 280 Patent, Copyright & Trademark.

8.)  “To obtain all the benefits of registration, a work must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office within certain time limits. Timely registration entitles a copyright owner to statutory damages and attorney fees in an infringement suit, which may make affordable a suit that is otherwise prohibitively expensive and risky.” Pg 334 Patent, Copyright & Trademark

9.)  “To qualify for registration and/or protection of a trademark under the Lanham Act, a mark must have first been used in commerce that Congress may regulate. The Lanham Act defines commerce as business or trade that the federal government, through the US Congress, is authorized by the US Constitution to control.” Pg 403 Trademark Law Definitions.

10.)  “If registering a mark in which color is claimed as a component, the applicant must submit the image of the mark in color, not black and white, as well as a separate statement describing where the color appears on the mark.” Pg 402 Patent, Copyright & Trademark.

11.)  “Trademark rights in each county depend solely on the Trademark laws of that country; there is not set of international laws. Mark owners must start a new to establish rights to a mark in every new country they enter for commercial purposes, a concept known as territoriality.” Pg 454 Patent Trademark & Copyright.

12.)  “Keywords are terms sold by search engines to advertisers.”Pg 455. Trademark & Copyright. 
13.) "Once a regular patent application has been filed, the full gamut of procedures that must be followed to actually obtain the patent is referred to as the prosecution of a patent application." Pg 147 Patent Law Definition.
14.) "A lawsuit brought against someone who uses a copyrighted expression without permission is commonly known as an infringement action." Pg 280 Patent, Copyright & Trademark.
15.) "According to the Copyrights Act, a transfer of copyright ownership is any grant of an exclusive right, or an assignment, mortgage, exclusive license, or any other conveyance of a copyright or of any of the exclusive rights constituting a copyright." Pg 334 Patent Copyright & Trademark.

Final Project: The Questions! (Interview)

For my final assignment I interviewed a law professional to find out the answers to some detailed law questions dealing with my particular major.  The law professional I interviewed is Lawyer Gregory S. Smith Ltd. (Estate Planning, Probate & Asset protection). He is currently a practicing attorney at law.

            My first question to start our interview regarded the starting of a new business. Starting a new business involves a variety of legal issues that range from the relatively straightforward to overly complex. An entrepreneur who is first entering the business arena may need a little help or coaching in how to handle various legal issues. What is the best advice you could give me to start off with? Attorney Greg Smith responded with, “My best advice is to not even start or invest in beginning a business unless you know for certain that it will be a success and last. I also want to say to practice patience when it comes to setting up a business and the legal issues surrounding it appropriately.”

            In my second question, I asked Attorney Greg Smith, “Do I need written agreements between any Business partners I might have in the future?” He then responded to my question with the answer, “You will need something very important known as an operating agreement. This agreement will cover things such as how to handle the money, how to vote/make decisions, when to take out money and when to put money into the business. If you do not have an agreement as such the government chooses the verdicts of you business, and you most likely will not like that outcome.”

            My third question was stated in such, “Greg Smith, are there any relevant employment laws that I must be aware of?” He responded to my question with this answer, “There are contracts to be signed designating who is the owner and who is the employee in a business. As well as if the business is going to be under an independent contractor. It is important to follow tax laws and non-discrimination laws as well. The type of business being run is extremely important when considering employment and how to deal with the laws involving that issue.”

            In my fourth question I stated, “ In my future business of Design and looking to grow in that field, when dealing with legal issues I will most likely be dealing with an Intellectual Property lawyer or a Business attorney?” Gregory S. Smith answered my question by saying, “You will need to deal with a Contracts & Business Lawyer.”

            In my fifth question I stated, “What are some basic tips to help me gain a general understanding of the laws affecting my area of industry?” Greg Smith replied with, “You need to have as much knowledge as you can, I recommending having another skill outside of your creative education. Learn accounting, take more general business classes, and gain computer knowledge and skills. This will help to make sure you are setting up a sturdy business that will be secure in all areas, including the law.

            To continue our interview, in my sixth question I stated, “How much would a lawyer charge for his or her services in setting up my contracts and business agreement/paperwork etc.?” His reply was anywhere around fifteen hundred dollars to thirty five hundred dollars. I found this to be an expensive fee, but learned how it was the wisest decision a business owner could make. Setting up your business legally is crucial. 

My seventh question was, “Have you ever seen an issue with a small business in your career that got them in trouble legally, what was the issue and how could it have been avoided? Greg replied with, “Any business with a partnership seems to have problems. I see partners in business have issues all the time, and settling who gets what in a business gets messy and costly. Prenuptials, making sure all paperwork is bulletproof, and that your partnership is covered by the law are all tips for protecting yourself from some legal troubles.”

            My eighth question was, “When it comes to naming my business, how do I go about protecting the name and image associated with my business besides just patenting it?” He replied, “If your business goes out of state boundaries it is extremely important to Trademark it. In order to have an out of state business it must be trademarked. And you cannot Trademark your business until it crosses state boundaries.”

            My ninth question for Greg Smith was, “Is there any applicable license or permit requirements which must be satisfied as part of the start-up of the new business?” Greg’s reply was, “You will need a city license, state license, county and federal licensing.”

            My last question to conclude the interview was, “What legal form should the business adopt? Sole Proprietorship? General partnership? Limited partnership? Corporation?” His final reply was, “If you are planning on making a lot of money then plan on Sole Proprietorship. Plan on having an LLC as well. LLC is limited Liability. 

EOC WEEK 10: Lawyer Jokes

Question: How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: How many can you afford?

Question: What's the difference between a porcupine and two lawyers in a Porsche?
Answer: The porcupine has the pricks on the outside.

Question: Why are lawyers buried in deeper graves than other folks?
Answer: Deep down, they're much nicer people.

Question: Why does California have the most lawyers, and New Jersey the most toxic waste dumps?
Answer: New Jersey got first pick.

Week 9 EOC: Letters of Permission