...A trademark protects any phrase, symbol, and/or design that identify the source or origin of the goods or the services of one party from those of others. Federal registration are not required but recommended, as it adds value to the goods or services set forth in the registration. Trademarks can be licensed to third parties, it to third parties, be sold with a specified value or used as equity for business development. A patent protects the functional expression of an idea, it grants the property right to the inventor in exchange for public disclosure of the invention. In order to qualify for a patent, an invention must be novel, useful and non-obvious. A registered patent can be used to raise funds for business, licensed or sell the invention. A copyright protects works of authorship, the specific creative expression of an idea through any medium of artistic expression that has been tangibly expressed. Copyright provides licensing fee and royalty payments. Copyright’s filing fee is small, registration period is relatively short, and the examination process is administrative. For trademark, the filing fee is much higher with a longer registration period, and an adversarial examination process. Registration and filling are desirable but not requite for both copyright and trademark, however it is a necessary step for issue patent. Both Copyrights and patents are under federal law while trademark laws differ in each state. There is also a federal trademark law. Once a work...
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...M E M O R A N D U M To: Legal Director From: Redacted Date: November 11, 2008 Re: Spiros v. Landis ______________________________________________________________________________ Question Presented Can plaintiff Ron Arnett state a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) under Pennsylvania law given that Arnett was located twenty feet from the accident that injured Sarah Nolan, saw Ricky Landis running toward the pool and realized immediately after the impact what had happened, but viewed the impact while underwater; and though they share an emotional bond, Arnett and Nolan are not biologically or legally related? Brief Answer Probably not. In Pennsylvania, a claim for NIED by a plaintiff who witnessed the negligently inflicted injury of a third person requires that the plaintiff: (1) was located near the scene of the accident; (2) suffered emotional shock from sensory and contemporaneous observance of the accident; and (3) was closely related to the victim. Arnett can likely establish the first two elements; he was in close proximity to the victim (discuss previous case history allowing further distance) and he witnessed the injury causing acident (underwater issue) However, the Court will probably conclude that because Arnett and the victim are not immediate family, they are not closely related. Thus, Arnett’s claim for NIED will likely fail. Facts In 2001, Arnett (age 4) was formally adopted by his uncle David Spiros after...
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...MEMORANDUM TO: Tracy Belford, Legal Supervisor FROM: Team C DATE: November 10, 2008 SUBJECT: Legal Situation – Al Jones Dear Tracy, Team C will explain the court level which Mr. Al Jones’ case can be resolved, the process or steps in filing a civil suit are addressed. The proposed resolution of the civil aspects compared to the criminal acts resolution. This memorandum will address court jurisdiction over the case. The team will also analyze the probable success in court and any alternative means of resolving the matter. Court Levels The alleged claims involve criminal and civil acts against the city and a Swedish property owner. In the United States fraud is considered both a civil and criminal act. This claim involves the Civil, Criminal Court and the State Court system. With the property owner being of Swedish citizenship the U.S. District court could be able to get involved. The property owner could opt to sue Mr. Al Jones for trespassing and possible property damage. Trespassing is considered a civil and criminal act, and the civil and criminal courts could get involved. As a result of trespassing, possible charges of damage to the property could be pending depending on the severity of damage done. Property damage in most cases would be considered a civil act and would involve the civil court. If the cases reach a trial and Mr. Jones is not happy with the outcome, and is able to produce evidence, which will benefit the case, the U.S. Court of Appeals...
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...Memorandum to Ms. Starz To: Ms. Starz From Date: November 16, 2013 Subject: Legal Contract between Claire Dawn and Leonardo deCapo I have found that there is in fact a legal binding contract between Claire Dawn as the Offeror and Leonardo deCapo as the Offeree (Spagnola,nd). On February 13, 2008 Claire Dawn presented a written offer to sell her 1965 Corvette Stingray to Leonardo deCapo for $25,995.00 plus the cost of the title transfer. The Mutuality of Obligation, or the requirement of both parties to be bound by the terms of the agreement (U.S.Legal,nd), is clearly stated through the offer to exchange the car for the desired amount of payment. When Mr. deCapo makes the payment in full and pays the cost required to transfer the title he will gain possession of the vehicle. There is Sufficiency of Consideration. Both parties are offering something of value, and all of the necessary components are present to make this a legal binding agreement (Clearpoint,nd.). The Parties are clearly distinguished, Claire Dawn and Leonardo deCapo, there is a mandatory value ascribe by the parties to the exchange involved in this contract ($25,995.00 in exchange for the 1965 Corvette), the subject matter is clear and present ( the vehicle/the payment). There Is Adequate Consideration – This is a fair and reasonable offer as the value of the car is consistent with the asking price. The exultancy of the asking price to the value of the car deems this contract valid (Business...
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...To: Larry Craig From: Student Re: Express Assumption of Risk Question presented 1. Whether the release of liability is enforceable in order to show Adair expressly assumed the risk. Statement of facts William Oldfield got into a habit of meeting on Wednesday night to rock climb. He, and others whom just showed up, would climb Handley rock. Oldfield would supply the ropes and other gear needed for himself and other climbers. After several years of climbers meeting and climbing, Oldfield was approached by a climber who was an attorney. He told Oldfield that he should have any climbers sign a release of liability form. The attorney prepared a release form and brought it to Oldfield and he started having climbers sign the release. Greg Adair was seriously injured in a rock climbing fall at a weekly climbing session that was operated by Oldfield. Adair has sued Oldfield for damages based on a theory of negligence. Adair did sign a release of liability prior to his climb in which he sustained injuries. Summary of arguments Whether our defense of express assumption of risk will prevail against Adair's claim of negligence will turn upon the enforceability of the Release of Liability form signed by Adair. If the release is effective, then Adair will have been deemed to assume the risks set forth in the release. In order to be effective, a release must meet several requirements. I believe the release given to Adair by Oldfield satisfies these requirements, and therefore...
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...MEMO To: Supervising Attorney From: Heather Leigh Bradley Re: Security Protocols in the Law Office Date: April 8, 2014 You have asked me to research the ethical rules about what is permissible for the website that you plan to create for the law firm. I have conducted legal research on the following issues and am presenting my findings, as follows: 1. Does the website have to list the state where s/he is licensed to practice? Yes, the website does have to list the state or states where he/she is licensed to practice law. In ABA Model Rule 5.5: Unauthorized Practice of Law; Multijurisdictional Practice of Law, it states that a lawyer can not mislead, or withhold their jurisdiction of legal practice to the public, or misrepresent that they can practice law in a jurisdiction that they can not. A lawyer must make it known publically where they legally can practice law. The website must list your state or states that are in his/hers legal licensed jurisdiction must be specifically listed and can not be with held from general public knowledge or misleading to the public. His/hers state or states of licensed practice must be clearly listed to the public on any form of advertising, including websites. 2. Can the attorney list a legal specialty on the webpage? If so, are there specific rules that have to be followed? Is the attorney allowed to state that s/he is a certified personal injury litigator? Yes, the attorney can list particular fields of law that they...
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...Legal Cases to help define Piggly Wiggly June 18, 2012 Legal Cases to help define Piggly Wiggly Part I: When looking at the case of Blue v. Environmental Engineering, Inc., 828 N.E.2d 1128 (Ill. 2005) we are talking about a products liability case that went all the way to the Illinoi’s Supreme Court. On the way to the supreme court the case was looked at in several different lights of the law like Negligence of a defective design, strict liability, fore seeable harm, failure to warn, repose beyond limitations, and comparative negligence to just name a few. In this case the plaintiff Glen Blue, injured himself while working on a heavy-duty trash compactor, stuck his foot into the compactor to free up the caught box, in turn got caught, pulled into the compactor as the ram took hold of the box. The ram subsequently hit Blue “three times, breaking his pelvis, leg and foot. (Twerski, A. D., 2006). In the Blue case the expert witness stated in court that several safety features that were technologically available at the time the compactor was manufactured that would have averted plaintiff’s injury, and he opined that the compactor was negligently designed which would have made the product safer to use. However strict liability count was dismissed because the case was filed beyond the applicable limitations period and the statute of repose, and returned the verdict of the plaintiff being 32% Negligent. (Twerski, A. D., 2006). Thereafter the jury sided with the defendant...
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...(euphemisms) such as “meet our Creator” which means death and “Policy of Disinformation” which means lying to the public. Weak phrases should be avoided also. Weak phrases are ones such as; “wealthy business person”, “Carrying a child” and “one year old boy”. Instead, what can be used are phrases such as “tycoon”, “pregnant” and “one year of age boy”. Police officers must NEVER discriminate because of gender. Neutral terms should be used to manifest, fairness and equality between sexes. Examples are; “If a woman drives” to “if a person drives”, “man-made” to “artificial” and “manpower” to “human power”. A memorandum is a note, or reminder that one wishes to preserve for future use. Its various tense forms may be done by shortening memorandum to memo. Memorandum is definitely singular while its plural form is memoranda. The tone of a memorandum from a subordinate must always be formal, whereas official of equal positions the...
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...Legal Memo: Scenario #6 CRJ 550 Legal Issues in Criminal Justice Administration Catherine Scott Saint Leo University Abstract The following memo describes the events that have taken place in Saint Leo Police Department as it relates to the Sheriff’s findings in Officer Narcissus office computer. It will contain a summary of the Sheriff’s and Officer Narcissus’ actions, as well as their reactions to the other’s stance. As the special assistant to the Sheriff, the author of this compilation will provide as much detail about the legal ramifications the Sheriff may face as it relates to this situation and conclude by providing some recommendations to resolve the situation at hand. The author will back up the recommendations with laws and statutes that closely relate to the issue. Summary of Facts Per the situation presented, it has been determined that Officer Narcissus is the director of the sexual assault division at the Saint Leo Police Department; a division is comprised of male and female officers. It has been determined that Officer Narcissus, occasionally, utilizes the department’s computer for personal purposes. One of those purposes include logging into his personal Facebook account; which he has been known to posts several derogatory things, as well, acknowledge that he is law enforcement personnel. It has been brought to the Sheriff’s attention that Officer Narcissus has not only been posting indirect and/ or direct sexual posts, but expressed his dismay...
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...that Pollard had committed several infractions, including participating in the spanking incident. They reported that Pollard had failed to report any sexual harassment and included a copy of their sexual harassment policy as part of their defense case. The Circuit Court found that Teddy did have good reason to discipline Pollard but that firing her was in fact disparate treatment when compared with the utter lack of discipline given to King. The circuit court reversed the Commission's award of damages because it believed that Teddy had been right to discipline Pollard, but they ordered Teddy's to reinstate Pollard to her old position. Pollard appealed to the New Jersey Court of Appeals and refused to accept her job back. My memo to the CEO follows: This memo is in regards to the case that has been brought against Teddy’s Supplies (Teddy’s) by Ms. Virginia Pollard, a former employee of Teddy’s. I have been asked to review the case and determine if Teddy’s has any liability issues and what particular points I feel are relevant. To review, Teddy's has been found guilty of sexual harassment in her case by the New Jersey Commission on Human Rights, and awarded her back wages and damages. Teddy's appealed to Circuit Court, and the original decision was overturned, but Teddy's was ordered to reinstate Pollard to her old position. Pollard has appealed that decision. I believe Teddy’s is liable on several points. Ms. Pollard was a victim of gender based harassment at Teddy’s, and this...
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...Comparisons Business Form Comparisons Western Governors University The different forms of business are sole proprietorship, which is already in use by the client; general partnership; limited partnership; c-corporation; s-corporation; and Limited Liability Company. The client is currently unsatisfied with the sole proprietorship, which is the easiest type of business to begin and to run, but which doesn’t fit the client’s needs any longer, since the business has expanded exponentially over the past few years. Sole Proprietorship: The sole proprietorship does have several advantages. It is easy to start and inexpensive to operate. • Taxes: The owner does not have to file a separate tax return, and all profits and losses are reported on the owner’s personal tax return. • Control: The owner retains all control and makes all decisions regarding the business, and of course, reaps all the profits. • Location: Even if the owner expands the operation into another state, it is unlikely to cause trouble, though the owner might need to get a business license or register the business’s name. • Liability: Under the sole proprietorship, the owner is directly responsible for all the debts incurred by the business. The owner is also liable for any injuries that might happen as a result of business activities. Capital is also problematic; personal debt is usually the sole source of financing, because there are no stocks or memberships...
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...In India, there is reason to believe that instrument to exchange were in use from early times and we find that papers representing money were introducing into the country by one of the Mohammedan sovereigns of Delhi in the early part of the fourtheenth century. The word 'hundi', a generic term used to denote instruments of exchange in vernacular is derived from the Sanskrit root 'hund' meaning 'to collect' and well expresses the purpose to which instruments were utilised in their origin. With the advent of British rule in India commercial activities increased to a great extent. The growing demands for money could not be met be mere supply of coins; and the instrument of credit took the function of money which they represented. Before the enactment of the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, the law of negotiable instruments as prevalent in England was applied by the Courts in India when any question relating to such instruments arose between Europeans. When then parties were Hindu or Mohammedans, their personal law was held to apply. Though neither the law books of Hindu nor those of Mohammedans contain any reference to negotiable instruments as such, the customs prevailing among the merchants of the respective community were recognised by the courts and applied to the transactions among them. During the course of time there had developed in the country a strong body of usage relating to “hundis”, which even the Legislature could not without hardship to Indian bankers and merchants...
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...Q NO.1 SKILLS FOR DRAFTING “Preparing legal instruments is the most pervasive of all the legal disciplines” (Dickerson 1986) According to Fox (2002) the excellence of contract drafting requires precise use of language so that it may be interpreted in same sense by each counterpart. According to author contract drafting in a skilled way required a clear understanding between parties to contract. A significant effort is required to achieve this goal. Fox (2002) has given the following four features of a skillfully written contract, 1) It is accurate-correctly expressing the deal 2) It is complete—addressing all possibilities 3) It is exact-absence of ambiguity and vagueness 4) It is able to withstand critical and hostile reviews CONVENIENCE FOR READER: According to Just (2008) it is the duty of drafter/lawyer to make the things clearer to the other party/client and make them understand the things that may appear insignificant at that time. Fox (2002) consider it essential for a lawyer/drafter to have capability to explain the complicated issues and concepts in easy way. Just (2008) suggests gauging the knowledge of other party/client. Author further recommends that not only contract should addressed the issues instead it should also best serve the purpose also. AVOIDING ORTHODOX WRITNG RITUALS Just (2008) criticizes the use of Doublets and Triplets in legal English for making document difficult to read and longer. In Modern practices doublets and triplets are avoided...
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...“walk-in-the-park” career. Accountants do not sit at a desk one-hundred percent of the time crunching numbers that always add up perfectly. In fact, accounting fraud is one of the largest scandals found today. When an accountant enters an engagement with a client, who are they liable to? Certainly not just to the client, but also anyone who could negatively be affected by a material misstatement, as well as the government. These responsibilities are not easily assumed, nor are they equally distributed. Accountants assume a large responsibility to their clients. They enter a contractual agreement through an engagement letter, and use engagement letters to minimize the risk they assume under the contract. Many engagement letters include memos limiting the recovery. (Reinstein, Lobingier, & Green, 2009) Accountants expressly agree to do a project by a specific date, and imply that the work will be completed carefully. If an accountant breaches the contract, they can be found liable for damages. If it can be found that an accountant did not act with skill and competence, causing harm to their client, negligence can be proved. Accountants also may be found guilty of fraud. Fraud can be proved if an accountant makes a false statement, knowing it is false, and the client relies on the information, resulting in damages. Another liability to the client is the trust clients give their accountants. They are liable to keep the information confidential and to use it only for the...
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...Organizational Forms of Business Legal issues for Business Organizations LIT1 July 23, 2012 * * * * * * * * * * * * * There are different types of business organizational structures. These structures include sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, C-Corporations, and S-Corporations. These structures each have advantages and disadvantages, depending on the particular situation or desired effects the business owners may have. It is imperative that owners understand the differences so they can choose the best organizational structure that fits their business needs. * Sole Proprietorship * One of the most common, easiest, and cost-effective organizational structures is a sole proprietorship. This form consists of one owner, and does not have any distinction between the business and the owner. Although sole proprietorships may seem less complex, it has disadvantages as well. * Sole proprietorships have several advantages and disadvantages as listed: * Liability – Sole proprietorship does not differentiate between the business and the owner. Sole proprietorships are liable for all losses. If the company were to get sued, the owner’s personal assets would also be at risk. The owner must file as a business if they are using a fictitious name; even if a company files a doing business as, also known as DBA, there is no legal separation of assets * Income Taxes – The...
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