by Andrew Easler | Dec 22, 2020 | Intellectual Property
Every day you may come across an advertisement or marketing campaign where one company compares its’ products or services to that of another. The legal consequences of doing so may seem intuitive on either side of the argument. For example, on the one hand, it should...
by Andrew Easler | Dec 2, 2020 | Intellectual Property
In many countries, such as the United Kingdom[1] and China[2], trademark rights are granted to users who are the first to file for a trademark’s registration. In the United States, trademark rights are vested to users who are the first to use the mark in commerce.[3]...
by Andrew Easler | Oct 24, 2020 | Securities & Fundraising, Compliance
In 2002, the United States Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the “Act”) of 2002 to combat corporate and accounting fraud.[1] The Act was passed in response to a series of corporate bankruptcies and other scandals that occurred in previous years, the Enron...
by Andrew Easler | Oct 4, 2020 | Intellectual Property, Litigation, Marketing
In the age of the internet, successful marketing and advertising requires businesses to be able to immediately capture the attention of potential customers. Often, this can be accomplished by using a familiar face or voice in advertising material. Whether it is a...
by Andrew Easler | Sep 26, 2020 | Business Formations, Compliance, Litigation
A corporation must file the necessary paperwork with the Secretary of State to be incorporated. The incorporation process might take some time, and while this process is pending, the individuals forming the corporation may need to sign purchase orders, leases, or...
by Andrew Easler | Sep 19, 2020 | Litigation, Business Planning
The Confluence of Free Speech and Free Enterprise In the digital age, the culture surrounding how a business is “reviewed” by a customer or patron has become one of the most determining factors of a businesses’ success. The growing popularity of websites such as Yelp,...
by Andrew Easler | Sep 19, 2020 | Compliance, Securities & Fundraising
McConville v. United States involved a petition for review of an order of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) finding violations of several sections of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by the chief financial officer of Akorn Incorporated.[1] Akorn...
by Andrew Easler | Sep 19, 2020 | Securities & Fundraising
Recently, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued a Risk Alert listing the deficiencies and weaknesses found most often by the agency while examining registered investment companies (“funds”).[1] The Risk Alert also includes observations...
by Andrew Easler | Jul 12, 2020 | Securities & Fundraising, Business Planning, Compliance
On February 21, 2018, the Supreme Court in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers[1] narrowly construed the definition of “whistleblower” in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act” or “Act”) and thus limited who qualifies...
by Andrew Easler | Jul 12, 2020 | Business Planning, Compliance, Intellectual Property, Marketing
In the United States copyrights are federally protected under the Copyright Act of 1976.[1] Unaddressed under the Copyright Act of 1976, exponential advances in technology in the nineties led to the proverbial “opening of the floodgates” for a deluge of a variety of...
