This afternoon, Taylor Swift published a scathing and brutality honest response to the sale of Big Machine, and thereby, ownership of her masters. More can be found on her Instagram, but a snippet: “For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work…Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to […]

There is a step of the registration process of trademarks that you must be informed of prior to filing: the tangible proof of your use of your goods and/or services in commerce required on your application. Trademark attorneys must walk a delicate balance in the name of protecting their clients: filing in a way that […]

This article first appeared on Boxwood Avenue. I’ve had the joy of knowing Chloe from Boxwood Avenue for a few years now, and was honored when she asked me to contribute to her blog with an article on what bloggers need to keep in mind to keep their blog legal. If you are a blogger, […]

“Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” And with that, Kanye West taught millions of viewers a very valuable lesson that every business owner can learn from: everyone has an opinion. They’re […]

Every business owner, no matter the industry, can learn from the practices of one brand in particular: Coco Chanel. Many trademark owners fall into this all too-common misconception: receiving your registered trademark paperwork means that you have those federally-protected trademark rights forever. However, that is not the case, and Chanel has provided a great case […]

  Some of the requests for the most rushed work I receive are that of clients wanting to rebrand their businesses. They may have poured literal thousands of dollars into their copy, their graphic design, a new website…only to find that the name or logo they’ve just invested in may be subject to intellectual property […]

If you own a business, your job isn’t just to start, and run the best business in your industry. Your job is to make sure that what you’ve built today will be here tomorrow. After all, others in your industry are hoping that you’ve become complacent, and have neglected planning for the future. That being […]

Isn’t it funny how, when big life events occur one seemingly small moment etched into our memories can seem to define it all? A blazing hot Sunday in July sitting on a friend’s back porch, watching her daughter melt popsicles on the cement, is that moment for me. I was sharing about a silent, invisible […]

As a lawyer for small business owners, I am constantly inspired by grit, worth ethic, and what seems like boundless amount of creativity they exhibit. By others, entrepreneurs are typically considered those “weird” people who are willing to build a business brick by brick…yet at the same time, the vast majority of those same business […]

A very interesting area that has recently caught the attention of the legal system is that of “influencer conversion marketing”. Specifically, when does an influencer (paid or unpaid) cross the line between “false advertising”, or just an entrepreneur with enough business savvy to take advantage of monetized marketing? As we all know, the pioneers are […]