Here at the Bailey Law Corporation, we know that small business owners are faced with challenges everyday, whether they are dealing with employee disputes or ensuring their company’s compliance with the various statutes and regulations that may affect their business. Many of the problems small business owners face can be prevented. By taking some simple preventative measures and obtaining proper advice early on, many small businesses can save hundreds, if not thousands, later on down the road. Even what many seem like a small complaint by an employee can escalate into several hearings before the California Labor Commissioner and hefty penalties.

Talk to an attorney at the Bailey Law Corporation today if you have any concerns or questions regarding the operation of your business. An attorney can review your company’s handbooks, rules, and policies and help you avoid costly problems in the future.

The Bailey Law Corporation has offices throughout Southern California: Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach, Pasadena, Long Beach, La Mirada, Mission Viejo, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, San Diego, Riverside.

The main reason for registering your businesses’ name and/or logo with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is to keep others from using your company’s trademark. Federal trademark registration is so much more than a fancy certificate of registration from the USPTO. Once your company’s trademark is registered, your responsibilities as the business owner have only begun. This is also where your trademark attorney becomes more involved.

Your company’s registration on the Federal Principal Register gives your company several advantages, which include the following:

1. It provides others with notice of your company’s ownership of the mark.
2. It creates a legal presumption of your company’s ownership of the mark and a legal presumption that your company has the exclusive right to use the mark in connection with certain goods and/or services listed in your company’s trademark registration.
3. It provides your company with the ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court, i.e. when another is infringing on your mark, you may file a lawsuit requesting them to stop using your mark and to pay you for any damages as a result of their use.
4. It provides your company with a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries.
5. It provides your company with the ability to record the registration with the United States Customs Service to prevent others from importing goods that infringe on your mark.
6. It provides your business with the right to use the federal registration symbol, i.e. the “®” symbol.

Ultimately, in order to enforce these rights, the business owner (with the help of his or her trademark attorney) must “police” the mark. In other words, it is up to the business owner and his or her attorney to stop third parties from using an infringing mark and to bring any administrative action to stop a party from registering an infringing mark. The USPTO examining attorney will typically prevent others from receiving a federal registration for any mark that is the same or “confusingly similar” to your company’s mark, but it is up to you (as the business owner) to step in and initiate administrative actions if and when you find another attempting to register a mark that will or is currently infringing on your mark.

There are also a number of “maintenance” issues your trademark attorney can advise you of once your trademark is registered. For example, there are specific documents that must be filed and fees paid between the fifth and sixth year after your registration date and again at the tenth year after your registration date. These filings and fees are required to keep your trademark “live” which ultimately prevents the USPTO from canceling your trademark or from allowing the expiration of your trademark registration.

If you have already registered your trademark with the USPTO, call the Bailey Law Corporation today to speak with a trademark attorney to ensure that your trademark is being properly maintained. If you have questions about whether or not you have a case against a third party for possible trademark infringement, we can help you. We have offices throughout Southern California: Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach, Pasadena, Long Beach, La Mirada, Mission Viejo, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, San Diego, Riverside.

Many business owners spend tens of thousands and sometimes even hundreds of thousands to establish their business. Because of this huge investment, business owners should come to their senses and realize that failing to spend a tiny fraction of that entire investment to protect their company’s financial future is foolish. Many businesses fail to realize just how valuable their intellectual property can become. Your main goal as a business owner is to build a successful business. If you are ultimately successful in building your business, your intellectual property can become your most valuable asset. Think of those companies who sell franchises for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Brand recognition can be everything to a business.

Before you begin placing product out into the market or providing your services under your business name, or even advertising with your business logo, you need to speak with your trademark attorney. Speaking with your trademark attorney before you even begin using your business name or logo will help safeguard your company’s intellectual property.

It is especially important to speak to your trademark attorney as soon as possible because the process of registering your trademark on the Federal Principal Register is a long and sometimes arduous process. It typically takes a minimum wait time of anywhere from 12 to 14 months from the date of filing to receive approval and registration of your company’s trademark. Unfortunately, that is simply how long the process takes and there is not much your attorney can do to speed up the processing time of the USPTO.

Moreover, the process of actually obtaining approval sometimes requires several filings and discussions between your attorney and the USPTO examining attorney assigned to your case. In instances where you have yet to use the trademark, your trademark attorney can do an initial filing to show your intent to use it and later file a Statement of Use showing your use once you begin operating your business. This essentially gets your application process started and puts others on notice that you will be using this trademark. If someone files for trademark registration using your business’ name and /or logo after your application showing your intent to use is filed, it is unlikely the USPTO examining attorney will allow the application to proceed.

It is important to note that there are several legal hurdles that sometimes result in applications being initially refused by the examining attorney. It is also important to remember that each time you file any type of response with the USPTO, there is a fee. If you fail to get it right the first time, filing for trademark registration can be extremely costly.

It is estimated that about 7 out of 10 trademark registration applications are initially refused by the USPTO examining attorney. Your trademark attorney can help you file an application that is part of the 30% of applications that is accepted by the examining attorney. A trademark attorney can help you get your trademark registered as soon as possible.

Call the Bailey Law Corporation today to speak with a trademark attorney. We have offices throughout Southern California: Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach, Pasadena, Long Beach, La Mirada, Mission Viejo, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, San Diego, Riverside.

Congress and the President have known that this day was coming, however with the election upcoming, there was little appetite to get something done.  Some commentators have argued that prior to the election; neither side was going to do anything that could negatively affect getting their respective bases out to vote.  However, now that the election is over there may be more of appetite for compromise.

Further complicating the process is that there are large defense cuts set to occur in a process known as sequestration.  The point of these mandatory cuts, were to encourage the parties to come to an agreement and avoid the drastic cuts.  This may encourage a grand bargain.

Many estate planning attorneys and investment professionals have encouraged the government to provide predictability in the estate tax regime.  Maybe now that the election season is over, that goal may be realized.

First, the IP address does not necessarily lead to the individual who violated the copyright.  With the pervasive use of wireless routers (at different levels of security), the internet subscriber could not be the John Doe listed in the lawsuit.  It could be anyone from a guest in the subscriber’s home, a teenage child of the subscriber, a neighbor, or even a perfect stranger who can access the wireless router from a car parked in the street, adjacent to the home.  Therefore, it seems that the subpoena is not tailored to get information about the party liable for the infringing use.

Second, the lawsuit will typically name multiple John Does and claim that the joinder of all these parties together is proper because the case arises from the same occurrence or series of occurrences.  These parties may be accused of downloading the file weeks or months apart.  The John Does may never have been in contact with each other over the internet or even downloaded the same copy of the work.

Typically, the rights of an internet subscriber must be exercised in a relatively short period of time.  Further, an individual should not contact opposing counsel directly, as that may lead to the disclosure of that individual’s identity.

The IRS looks at all of the taxpayers assets, income, and expenses.  If the taxpayer has adequate assets to borrow against, the IRS will likely not approve an OIC.   In the IRS view, the taxpayer should take loans, use credit cards, and general all other avenues to pay back the IRS.  Generally the IRS will value all assets at 80%, in order to determine the quick sale value.  Once a taxpayer has determined the value of their assets as well as future income, they either choose a lump sum payment of monthly payments.  These initial payments are made with the OIC and are credited to the taxpayers account.  It is important to note that these payments are made prior to the IRS accepting the offer.

The IRS has made some changes to the OIC program in the past year.  Further, if a taxpayer does not qualify for an OIC there are other options such as installment agreements where the taxpayer agrees to pay overtime.  In certain circumstances, the IRS allows for automatic acceptance of installment agreements.

1)  Make an inventory of all of your digital assets.  This should include the email account that is linked with the asset, username, and password.

2) Store this information in a safe place.  Just like protecting a traditional will, this information should be kept in a secure location (preferably fireproof).  This information could fall into the wrong hands and could wreak havoc on your personal life.

3)  Name a “Digital Executor” in your will.  This person will be the one to access your and maintain your accounts in your death.   Some sites, such as Facebook, do not allow third party access to an account.  However, Facebook does allow a person to memorialize their Facebook page — meaning family members and friends can still view that page and leave messages of remembrance to the deceased.  Your digital executor should contact Facebook to memorialize the account.  The will should provide that your Digital Executor should be provided with a copy of your death certificate, as this can make their job easier.  The Digital Executor could also be responsible for posting a personal message written before your death on certain social media sites.

4)   Be clear in your instructions about what should happen to your digital assets after you die.  If you want an account deleted, make sure to clearly state this.  If you want someone to continue a blog, make sure to note who that is.  The options with digital assets can be different depending on the terms of service of the site (such as Facebook).  Twitter, for example, only allows the account to be deleted in the event of the owner’s death.  Please consult individual terms of service (TOS), something that no one ever reads.

New technology demands that individuals and estate planning attorneys consider a person’s digital estate.  For more information, contact the Bailey Law Corporation.

Currently, the state of California does not have an estate tax.  The pickup tax is still not contained in any of the latter extensions or amendments to EGTRRA.  In order for California to impose a new estate tax it would have either pass a referendum or wait until the pick-up tax is reinstated (if ever).  The EGTRRA was set to expire in 2011 however; the Tax Relief Act 2010 (which modified the EGTRRA) did not include reinstatement of the pick-up tax.

The issue of the California estate tax will likely be impacted by the results of the 2012 election.  While some politicians have stated that they would like to see the “Bush tax cuts” repealed, it is unclear if that would necessarily include a re-imposition of the state pick-up tax.

Upon further questioning, the man admitted to smoking marijuana that had been dipped in PCP.  There was no indication that there was any elephant present.  The man was arrested and booked for driving under the influence.  That arrests is the man’s 7th arrest for DUI.  No word if any other animals were involved in his prior arrests.

The man is being charged with operating a non-motor vehicle under the influence.  Officers claim that it was unsafe for the man to be riding the horse on the road, because he could have veered into traffic.

Previously, two men were arrested for DUI on horseback in California.  However, the District Attorney dropped the charges, stating that riding a horse “did not meet the definition of a vehicle”.  It is unclear if the same reasoning will apply in the Kentucky case.