The Lanham Act, a federal law that prohibits scandalous and immoral trademarks is unconstitutional, according to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. Registering a trademark has its benefits. Someone who owns an registered trademark can use it in commerce and enforce it. Registering a trademark provides “constructive notice of the registrant’s claim of ownership,” thereby protecting the owner against certain defenses if a patent infringement action arises. With a registered trademark, the owner has constructive

Businesses need to get paid to stay afloat, and it’s no fun to spend a lot of time collecting a debt from a customer. When someone doesn’t pay and you need to collect, here are some tips for doing it: Be sure you know the rules where you live. State law debt collection rules vary. While the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies only to third-party debt collectors and lawyers, some state laws apply to

A noncompete clause in an employment contract can be an effective way to keep a worker from leaving to work for a competitor for a defined period of time after he or she stops working for you. Sometimes independent contractors have as much, or nearly as much, company-specific knowledge as employees. So the question is whether you should include a noncompete clause in your independent contractor agreement. If you require independent contractors to sign a noncompete

All businesses with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees must submit their 2018 pay data to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by Sept. 30, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., has decided. The information, which must include how much each employer paid workers of various sexes, races and ethnicities last year, is intended to be part of the EEOC’s ongoing collection of demographic data. Businesses must submit the

Businesses that insert GPS trackers in their employees’ cars tend to see improved productivity, efficiency and safety. These devices also come with concerns over employee privacy, but the benefits often trump the risks. However, a recent report brought to light a measurable hacking risk with GPS trackers. The report in Motherboard stated that a hacker known as L&M has hacked into more than 7,000 iTrack accounts and more than 20,000 ProTrack accounts. Companies use these apps