Copyright Law Blog

Moreno Valley Business Attorney’s Top Ten Signs Business Conditions are Getting Worse

August 13th, 2009 at 12:42am Under trademark law

Here is Moreno Valley Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

 

1. The only people in the mall are twelve-year-olds.

 

2. Fast food restaurants are instituting the half-dollar menu.

 

3. People pick up pennies on the ground like they used to.

 

4. You still can’t afford gas even at these prices.

 

5. People are wearing sweaters again, three and four at a time.

 

6. You’re making coffee in the mornings at home.

 

7. The anchors have just given up on the financial channels.

 

8. Junk e-mails are down.

 

9. You don’t even get sales calls at home anymore.

 

10. Your competitors are asking you for a job.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business, environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words Moreno Valley business lawyer or Moreno Valley business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as Moreno Valley business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in Moreno Valley – If you’ve had a Moreno Valley auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good Moreno Valley personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good Moreno Valley personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. Moreno Valley Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good Moreno Valley business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. A Moreno Valley business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in Moreno Valley – Use a Moreno Valley real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also a Moreno Valley real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have a Moreno Valley real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in Moreno Valley – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, Moreno Valley contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have a Moreno Valley construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and a Moreno Valley construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. Moreno Valley Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by a Moreno Valley patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the Moreno Valley patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. Moreno Valley Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call a Moreno Valley trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. Moreno Valley Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of a Moreno Valley corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our Moreno Valley corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. A Moreno Valley corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in Moreno Valley – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good Moreno Valley entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. Moreno Valley Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with a Moreno Valley litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire a Moreno Valley litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in Moreno Valley – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by a Moreno Valley food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in Moreno Valley, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, San Bernardino, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our Moreno Valley law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Moreno Valley Lawyers and your Moreno Valley Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in Moreno Valley or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a Moreno Valley attorney from our offices can assist you.

La Quinta, Garden Grove and Corona Del Mar California Copyright Lawyer Looks at Copyright Infringements in Conversations

July 10th, 2009 at 12:40pm Under copyright infringement

No matter where you live or try to make a living in Southern California, from Westminster and Mission Viejo to Murrieta and Temecula, from San Diego to Orange County, from Fullerton to Fontana, from Irvine to Anaheim and Rancho Cucamonga to Ontario, from Palm Springs to Indio, to La Quinta, Garden Grove and Corona del Mar, the law is the same for everyone because copyright law in the U.S. is governed by international treaties and administered by the Library of Congress.

While everything you write down is automatically protected by copyright treaties that countries like the U.S. have signed, there’s a reason why the same does not apply to words you speak. Otherwise, this would be the result in cities such as San Bernardino, Chula Vista,  El Cajon, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Garden Grove, Palmdale, Victorville and even Santa Monica.

Children at school would face this dilemma:

“You hit me harder than I hit you,” one child would say.

“No, you hit me harder than I hit you,” the other would reply.

“You can’t say that,” the first child would say.

 ”I already have that phrase copyrighted. You just infringed my copyright. You owe me big time.”

“You just infringed my copyright on ‘You owe me big time,’ the second child might respond. “Now you’re in big trouble.”

“But you just infringed my copyrighted phrase, “Now you’re in big trouble,” the first child might respond. I said that in second grade.

“Just how many times have you said my phrase?”

At this point, the second child would be wise not to say anything further before talking to an attorney.

A whole law firm of lawyers would probably have to be called in, the school might be named as a defendant for not warning the school children not to infringe other children’s copyrighted phrases, and its very possible that parent’s fortunes could be at risk if their children were not insured against copyright infringements.

In bars and nightclubs the results could be even more disastrous.

“What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” a man might ask a woman.

At which point the woman would probably start calling an attorney on her cell phone who would notify the man of how much he would need to pay for using that line.

If the man followed up his initial approach with, “You look familiar. Haven’t I seen you before?” the damages he would have to pay to settle the copyright infringement case would be double.

Even lawyers would not be immune to such results.

Every time a lawyer stood up in court and uttered the usual “Objection,” damages would have to be paid to someone.

The jury member who announced to the court at the conclusion of a case, “Not guilty, your honor,” would also have to fork out some money.

While the words you write down may be copyrighted, individual words and common phrases are not owned to the exclusion of everyone else.

What is protected by copyright are literary works, i.e. books, music, plays, even advertising. While it is true that a slogan that can be used in advertising and those advertising materials can be copyrighted, the slogan may also be trademarked for use on products. However, the owner of a trademark may not sue others for using that trademarked phrase in daily conversation.

If you have a copyright or intellectual property matter in Orange County, San Diego, in the Inland Empire, Palm Springs or anywhere in Southern California, we have the knowledge and resources to be your La Quinta Copyright Lawyers, and Corona del Mar and Newport Beach Intellectual Property Attorneys. For this reason, be sure to hire a California law firm with copyright lawyers who are ready to serve you in areas such as Garden Grove, Corona and Santa Monica so you are properly represented when you need to be.

If you have an intellectual property matter and need to know your rights, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com  and learn about your rights and options. You can also call us to speak directly to Sebastian Gibson on the phone about your legal matter.