Always Keep a (Trade) Secret

Always Keep a (Trade) Secret

A long long time ago, my wife Devra and I developed a recipe for the most decadent brownies anyone had ever tasted. Anyone who tasted them pleaded for a copy of the recipe. Of course, we started a side business, and guarded the recipe with our lives. Even without a formal understanding at the time of trade secrets laws, we knew instinctively that if the recipe were revealed, our business would be diminished.

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Vanna White Couldn't Hit the Legal Jackpot Against New York Lottery, Could She?

Vanna White Couldn't Hit the Legal Jackpot Against New York Lottery, Could She?

In 1993, Vanna White won a California case against Samsung that many lawyers and judges found preposterous: she won more than $400,000 for a "right of publicity" claim in which she argued that a commercial that featured a robot with a blonde wig turning letters on a board was infringing her likeness. 

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Do "Terms of Use" on a Web Site Even Matter?

Do "Terms of Use" on a Web Site Even Matter?

When entrepreneurs in the United States start up a new small business, they often focus on launching a web site first. Inevitably, they find themselves wondering if their web site needs "Terms of Use" because they see that link at the bottom of virtually every web site of their potential competitors. Terms of Use can be an important addition to your site, but only if you understand why you have them in the first place.

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Dr. Startup, or: How I Learned to Stop Complaining and Love the Micropayment

Dr. Startup, or: How I Learned to Stop Complaining and Love the Micropayment

Did the Internet and technology level the playing field for small-time artists, illustrators, musicians, or filmmakers? On the one hand, it is easier than ever before to become a web celebrity than ever before, and for the creator of creative content to monetize that content.

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Can Infringement on Etsy, CafePress, or Ebay be Considered "Fair Use?"

Sure, you know that someone registered the trademark to that logo you mock on those t-shirts you sell on CafePress. Or you've crafted a functional sculpture from food packaging that sells like hotcakes on ebay. Maybe you've printed a few lines from a famous song onto a mug and gave it the tag "Beyonce" in your Etsy store. But you can do it, right? It's fair use, right?

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