Startups should be aware of the potential legal issues that may arise from using social media. Legal issues are not unique to social media, but they may also become an issue at a faster speed due to social media’s “viral” nature. This means that startups should be acting proactively and mitigating risks.

Copyright infringement

Social media thrives on quality content such as photographs, music, and video. Startups looking to tap into trends or what is considered “cool,” especially startups with a limited quantity of original content, may elect to use content found on the internet. Sometimes, startups can use this media without facing any problems, but this is not always the case. Startups may be mistaken that content available online may be used or reproduced for free.

Original artistic content, in the United States and across the globe, is most often protected by copyright law. This means that it is unlawful to engage in the use, reproduction, and dissemination of the content for commercial purposes–including in social media campaigns–without obtaining the appropriate rights.

Startups should seek to retain counsel to help navigate copyright law’s intricate landscape. Startups may avoid significant issues and unnecessary legal fees by retaining counsel to help consult with potential legal issues and assist in obtaining all required licenses and clearances.

Defamation

In today’s internet age, it’s not uncommon for social media accounts to be used to directly interact with users and comment on the competition. For example, when McDonald’s recently announced that it would be using never-frozen beef in some of its products, Wendy’s took to Twitter and asked the fast food giant “So you’ll still use frozen beef in MOST of your burgers in ALL of your restaurants?” – highlighting the fact that Wendy’s used never-frozen beef in all of its products.

The content distributed by a startup in its social media campaign may also be actionable if it injures a third party’s image or reputation. Typically, defamation will occur whenever a startup defames an individual or relatively small entity. This can occur simply by sharing defamatory statements, images, or content. The seemingly boundless audience that social media accounts can reach may only make things more problematic.

There are defenses to defamation claims. As a result, it is important that startups retain legal counsel when faced with such claims.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Privacy, especially on the internet, is very important. It has become a hot-button topic because users are now understanding how businesses collect, use, disclose, and sell information.

Social media campaigns, despite being social in nature, may still be subject to privacy laws and regulations. This may mean that startups collecting data–whether it be a name, email, or even IP addresses–may be required to comply with privacy laws. These laws govern not only how the startup collects and manages the data but also how it uses, stores, or distributes it. Failure to comply, even in the case of a tiny misstep, may result in legal and financial consequences.

CONTACT A SILICON VALLEY STARTUP AND SMALL BUSINESS ATTORNEY TODAY
Social media may play a critical part a startup’s business and marketing plans. A well thought out social media strategy can help maximize followers, increase customers, and increase interest in a startup. Even well-planned strategies may not be without hiccups. Whenever legal issues arise, a startup should alway seek commonsense counsel. Kalia Law P.C., is committed to providing you with simple, easy to understand answers to your complex business questions. Schedule your initial consultation by calling (650) 701-7617 today.

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There are some essential steps that should be taken in order to choose an appropriate business name for your new venture. Some of the most common are detailed below.

Generating a list of names

The first step in creating a memorable and brand-specific business name is generating a list of candidates. According to Clate Mask, Co-Founder and CEO of Infusionsoft and Entreprenuer.com contributor, names created by committee are “usually losers,” so be sure not to rely too heavily on the advice of others. Factors to consider when choosing a business name include how the name will look on print or online marketing materials, the associations that your potential customer base will have, and whether or not other businesses have the same or similar names.

Conduct a trademark search

One of the worst things that can happen to a new business is achieving some initial success only to discover that their name is potentially infringing on someone else’s trademark. Entrepreneurs can use the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Electronic Search System to determine whether their potential name may cause a trademark dispute. Trademark law can be extremely complicated, so involving an attorney at this point in the process is advisable in most situations. I’ve also written extensively about various trademark issues in my blog.

Keep in mind that domain names are important

In 2015, having an online presence is practically essential in order for a business to succeed. Even if you do not actually do business over the internet, consumers expect a business to have a website that explains what the business does and provides consumers with other relevant information. When you choose your business name, consider how it would look as a website address. In addition, make sure that it is available by using an internet search engine to conduct a basic search. If your name is available, register your domain name right away. Here is a post I wrote recently about internet domain names.

Establish your social media presence

A subset of a business’s online presence is its social media identity. Check to see whether your hypothetical business name is available on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Google Plus, and if it is, claim it as soon as you can.

Register your business name with the appropriate state agency

In cases where a business entity operates under the name registered with the state in which is registered, no separate business name needs to be filed. If a business entity would like to conduct business under a different name, it commonly needs to register a fictitious name with the state, often referred to as a “doing business as” (DBA) registration. This is distinct from applying for trademark protection, and does not provide a business entity with any trademark rights in its name.

Trademark your business name

Registering a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Offices (USPTO) gives business owners certain legal protections in their business name including prohibiting others from using it. In addition to protecting a business name, trademarks can also protect words, symbols, and logos that distinguish your goods and services from those of others. I wrote a longer post about trademarking your business name here.

Consult with a small business attorney

The process of choosing and registering a business name can be complicated and confusing, even for sophisticated entrepreneurs. Because the choice of a business name can have such a significant impact on the success of a business venture, it is highly advisable for anyone in the process of starting a business to discuss their circumstances and plans with an experienced lawyer. In addition to helping you choose, register, and protect your businesses identity, an attorney will be able to help you determine what type of business entity best suits your business model and ensure that you are in compliance with the applicable state or federal rules and regulations. To schedule a consultation with Attorney Claire Kalia, call our office today at (650) 701-7617.

The post How to Legally Name a Business first appeared on Kalia Law P.C..

Domain names must be unique, which means that Acme Widgets, Inc. in California and Acme Widgets, Inc. in New York cannot both use “acmewidgets.com” as their domain name. Because domain names can be extremely valuable virtual real estate, legal disputes regarding their use and ownership often arise. These issues often involve trademark principles, federal regulations, and even international law. The information below generally explains some of these issues. Anyone seeking specific advice about a legal issue regarding a domain name should contact our office or an attorney licensed in their state of residence.

Domain Names, Trademarks, and Cybersquatting

Among the most common disputes that arise in the context of domain names revolve around trademark protections. A trademark is an identifying name or symbol that allows consumers to identify the provider of particular goods or services. A domain name could potentially infringe on an existing trademark or actually become a company’s trademark in certain situations. Certain laws have been enacted or order to protect trademark owners from people who attempt to infringe on their rights. For example, the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 provides companies and individuals certain legal remedies who obtain domain names in bad faith that are the same or are common misspelling of existing trademarks.

Domestic and International Remedies may Exist

In order to obtain relief under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, a party must file a lawsuit in a United States court. This type of litigation can take years, and may cost several thousands of dollars in legal fees. In some cases, the potential benefit of a successful lawsuit may not justify the expense. As an alternative, parties who believe that a domain name registration infringes on their rights may pursue redress from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN is the organization responsible for the coordination and maintenance of unique Internet identifiers and has implemented Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) that provides similar remedies to those that exist in the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. In many cases, pursuing a claim through ICANN is cheaper and quicker than filing a lawsuit.

The legal issues that can arise in relation to domain name disputes can be extremely complicated and the parties may have a significant financial stake in the outcome. As a result, it extremely important that anyone with legal issues related to a domain name contact an experienced attorney as soon as possible. Call our office today to schedule a consultation with California small business attorney Claire Kalia.

The post Legal Issues Associated with Domain Names first appeared on Kalia Law P.C..

A trademark is separate from your business name. A business name is also known as a “doing business name,” and is generally registered with a state government agency, such as the Secretary of State. If you have not formed an LLC or other type of business and are instead operating a sole proprietorship or partnership, you must register any fictitious name with the county clerk where you are doing business. Registering a business name does not provide you with any legal protections for your brand or give you the unrestricted right to use that name.

If you trademark your business name, you will register it with either the state of California or the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), depending on the scope of your trademark. For example, if you conduct a large portion of business in California, you may not require a nationwide trademark to adequately protect your brand. Registering a trademark on the state level is easier and cheaper than on the federal level. However, some companies may need a United States trademark to fully protect their business names, and an experienced intellectual property attorney can help you decide which trademark to pursue.

In order to register a trademark, you must first ensure that name, logo, brand, or other identifier is not currently trademarked, prohibiting use in your area. You may use the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) to search the database of actively registered trademarks. If your trademark is available, you may complete an application to receive the trademark for your business name or brand. Prior to registering a trademark, you may still protect your business name by placing “TM” after it on any communications. Once your trademark registration is approved, you will be able to follow your business name with “R” instead.

Though anyone can attempt to trademark their business name on their own, many applications for trademarks are denied due to errors in the application process. For this reason, it is always wise to consult with an experienced business and intellectual property lawyer to ensure that your business name is fully protected.

The post Trademarking your Business Name first appeared on Kalia Law P.C..

One legal issue that often gets ignored by small business owners is intellectual property, or IP. IP is extremely important for protecting brands, ideas, products, and much more. However, there are several myths regarding IP issues for startups.

1. My business is too small to need protection for my intellectual property rights.

Many small business owners have exceptional products, which sometimes may attract almost immediate attention from other companies in that particular field. Other companies may try to piggy back on your success by trying to resemble or even closely imitate your brand, packaging, or your product itself. If you discover another company is trying to infringe on your product territory, and you do not have the proper trademarks secured or other IP protections in place, you will have little leverage to protect your product and brand, and the entire basis for your business may be threatened or copied. Learn more about the various protections for your IP (trademarks, patents, and copyrights) here.

2. Once I have a patent, no one else will ever try to copy my product.

A patent gives you the right to prevent others from producing the idea or thing your patent covers. However, even if you have patented your brilliant idea, there is no guarantee that other companies will not still try to do so. Often, bigger corporations will try to take advantage of small startups because they believe the small business owners will not have the proper protections or resources to fight them. If you have taken all of the necessary legal precautions and have a competent small business attorney representing you, you do stand a chance of challenging even the biggest corporations. If you win, the corporation will have to pay you for the license to create your patented product.

3. A trademark completely protects my brand.

Trademarks may successfully protect your brand in many instances–for example, see this post about trademarking your business name. However, it is not unheard of for people or businesses to carefully monitor the activity on the U.S. Patent and Trademark website. Sometimes, when people notice that a new logo or business name is registered, they will rush to secure the associated URL before you do. Then, these people can often try to sell the URL to you for a lot more money than you would have originally paid.

There are many additional IP issues and questions you may face when starting or running your small business. It is crucial to consult with a small business attorney who is familiar with IP issues involved in a startup in order to secure and protect your brand and product. Do not hesitate to contact an experienced attorney at Kalia Law, P.C. for a consultation on your small business needs.

The post Common Myths Regarding Intellectual Property and your Small Business first appeared on Kalia Law P.C..

Copyrights and Patents

Copyright gives a person who creates an original work exclusive rights to that work; in this context, “work” means any creative, literary, or intellectual expression of an idea. It is important to note only the expression of the idea, not the idea itself, is protected.  This means that for your hypothetical app idea, only the expression of the idea (i.e. the app itself) is protected, but not the idea for the app.

Patents protect inventions, and give the patent holder the exclusive right to make, sell, or use the invention for twenty years in exchange for public disclosure of the invention. Historically in the United States, patent protection was determined by the first person to invent, rather than the first person to file for a patent. This law is set to change this year, making it all the more important for an inventor to file as early as possible.

Trademarks

A trademark is a symbol, word, name, or other identifying mark that identifies a company or a product.  People, businesses, and organizations may own trademarks, or can also license them from other parties. For example, if you wanted to start a business selling apparel with your favorite team’s logo, you would need to license that logo from the trademark owner. Trademarks can also be non-conventional trademarks, meaning they could be another type of unique identifier identifying a product as having been made by a particular company. For example, notable shoe designer Christian Louboutin recently won trademark protection for his signature red soles on his shoes in a case against Yves Saint Laurent. According to the federal appeals court opinion deciding the case, it was “the contrast between the sole and the upper that causes the sole to ‘pop’ and to distinguish its creator.” Another example of a color used to identify a particular company is Tiffany & Co.’s iconic blue box, which is also protected as a trademark under U.S. law.

Protect your Intellectual Property

Copyrights, patents, and trademarks all operate to protect ideas from been misused or copied by other people or parties. The underlying purpose of protecting ideas from misappropriation or misuse is to both stimulate innovation by incentivizing invention and also protecting a fraud against consumer while allowing innovators to have a property interest in goodwill they create by creating a superior product. If you are in the process of bringing a product to market or branding a company, you should consult with an intellectual property attorney to make sure you are doing all you can to protect yourself and your business.

The post Issues that Startups Face in Protecting their Intellectual Property – Part 2 first appeared on Kalia Law P.C..

It’s a little unusual to have a personal name trademarked.  John Smith, for example, would have trouble trademarking his name, because it’s so common. But “Linsanity” is as much an unusual phrase as it is a name. In Jeremy Lin’s case, the trademark filing also begins the process of trademarking a whole range of other possible ‘Jeremy Lin’ endorsements.  If you feel you have a valuable word or name you should move quickly because the world of trademarks is first-come, first-served.  If someone applies for the same trademark before you, they will get it. Also, waiting too long, until a word becomes too common or “generic,” may lead to losing your special claim to use your own good name.

Whether or not you should register your company’s name or slogan is an important decision that depends on factors including its value to your company, your plans to grow, and the competitiveness of the market.  Once you have your trademark you can tell the world that the name or words belong to you and can’t be used without your approval, and you can go after anyone who infringes on that trademark.

The post Why is Linsanity Trademarkeable? first appeared on Kalia Law P.C..

If you want more protection for your mark than the common law provides, you can register the mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  Before applying for a trademark you’ll need to conduct a search to make sure that your mark has not already been registered.  To be complete, you should search federal, state and common law marks. You can file for a trademark electronically or through the mail, and there are different types of trademark applications depending on whether you have been using the mark or not.  The process takes from several months up to a few years, but ten to sixteen months is about average.  Registered trademark owners get additional protections and legal remedies than common law trademark owners, including the right to put ® after the mark and a presumption of ownership over the mark in a court of law.

You don’t need an attorney to register a trademark but many applicants choose to use one, because the search and application process can be tricky if you’ve never done it before. Many law firms offer trademark application services on a flat-fee basis.

The post Trademark Basics first appeared on Kalia Law P.C..

It’s a little unusual to have a personal name trademarked.  John Smith, for example, would have trouble trademarking his name, because it’s so common. But “Linsanity” is as much an unusual phrase as it is a name. In Jeremy Lin’s case, the trademark filing also begins the process of trademarking a whole range of other possible ‘Jeremy Lin’ endorsements.  If you feel you have a valuable word or name you should move quickly because the world of trademarks is first-come, first-served.  If someone applies for the same trademark before you, they will get it. Also, waiting too long, until a word becomes too common or “generic,” may lead to losing your special claim to use your own good name.

Whether or not you should register your company’s name or slogan is an important decision that depends on factors including its value to your company, your plans to grow, and the competitiveness of the market.  Once you have your trademark you can tell the world that the name or words belong to you and can’t be used without your approval, and you can go after anyone who infringes on that trademark.

The post Why is Linsanity Trademarkeable? first appeared on Kalia Law P.C..