Do you ever forward memes to your coworkers and social media friends? It might be a picture of a kitten hanging from a branch and being told to just “hang in there” or it might be a grumpy cat who “hates Mondays” or it might not even feature a picture of a cat. It might be a photo of actor Gene Wilder portraying creepy Willy Wonka and making a snarky comment about your use of the Internet. The point is that memes are a permanent part of life online and yet no one (until now)

How Complimentary Wi Fi Policies May Lead to Copyright Infringement Claims Wi-Fi is everywhere and much of the time it is offered for “free.” Starbucks offers it. So, too, does McDonald’s. In fact, you may even be offering it yourself. And, while many businesses understand that it is a great way to bring in new customers and business, many do not understand the potential implications of allowing relatively unfettered access to the Internet. Recently, we’ve had a number of cli

The best way to avoid future problems with your brand is to select a strong brand from the outset. Doing so properly has the added benefit of increasing the value of your brand, especially when you properly use the trademark and enforce it against infringers. Not all words or names can be protected as trademarks. For example, no one business can claim exclusive rights in generic terms because every business owner in the same industry needs to be able to use them to identify t

If you’re a fan of the NFL, then you remember the 2014 Super Bowl. With time running out, the Seattle Seahawks were a play away from scoring the game-winning touchdown when a controversial play call led to an interception by New England and the championship belonged to the Patriots. You also probably remember some of the television ads that ran during commercial breaks and purportedly cost as much as $4.5 million for a single 30-second ad. In fact, the Super Bowl is so popula

Do you ever forward memes to your coworkers and social media friends? It might be a picture of a kitten hanging from a branch and being told to just “hang in there” or it might be a grumpy cat who “hates Mondays” or it might not even feature a picture of a cat. It might be a photo of actor Gene Wilder portraying creepy Willy Wonka and making a snarky comment about your use of the Internet. The point is that memes are a permanent part of life online and yet no one (until now)

How Complimentary Wi Fi Policies May Lead to Copyright Infringement Claims Wi-Fi is everywhere and much of the time it is offered for “free.” Starbucks offers it. So, too, does McDonald’s. In fact, you may even be offering it yourself. And, while many businesses understand that it is a great way to bring in new customers and business, many do not understand the potential implications of allowing relatively unfettered access to the Internet. Recently, we’ve had a number of cli

The best way to avoid future problems with your brand is to select a strong brand from the outset. Doing so properly has the added benefit of increasing the value of your brand, especially when you properly use the trademark and enforce it against infringers. Not all words or names can be protected as trademarks. For example, no one business can claim exclusive rights in generic terms because every business owner in the same industry needs to be able to use them to identify t