Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
On Wednesday, over a hundred law firms announced their participation in the new Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA), which intends to tackle racism in the legal industry and in government.
As outlined in the alliance’s charter, the group’s aim is: “To leverage the resources of the private bar in partnership with legal services organizations to amplify the voices of communities and individuals oppressed by racism, to better use the law as a vehicle for change that benefits communities of color and to promote racial equity in the law.”
To achieve this, the LFAA aims to coordinate its member firms in undertaking pro bono projects and dedicating resources to initiatives that address systemic racism.
The initial point of contact for the alliance is Kimberly Jones Merchant, Director of the Racial Justice Institute (RJI) and Network (RJN) at the Chicago-based Shriver Center on Poverty Law.
Jones Merchant, who has worked as an attorney for 23 years, said that the disproportionate effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on black communities, in conjunction with the killing of George Floyd, have galvanised efforts to a greater extent than has previously been seen.
She also acknowledged the challenges inherent in achieving the alliance’s aims of ending systemic prejudice. “We are going to have some bumps in the road,” she said, speaking with The American Lawyer. “It is an experiment, and both sides are going to have to make adjustments.”
One of the alliance’s partner firms, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has compiled a running list of organisations that have joined the group. The total count stands at 127 as of publication.
In today’s day and age, the advent of social media is on the rise creating its presence like never before and it is felt everywhere - as a growing field of business projection, contractual arrangements and revenue generation. However, for brand owners, social media has become a more valuable tool to communicate freely with your existing clients and to reach out to potential consumers. It has become a prime factor today for business owners - turning to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn or blogs to interact with their customer base, in turn providing new challenges for their owners and lawyers as they evolve with each passing day.
In order to ensure that brand owners protect their business assets and brand value, they should take a look at the following available resources for policing and enforcing trademark rights on social media today.
Before you take the plunge onto the social media scene, make sure you engage an experienced trademark lawyer to help navigate the many nuances of brand protection in the digital age and perform a comprehensive trademark search and provide you with a detailed opinion letter to determine the chances to use, adopt and register your trademark. This is one of those situations wherein cost-cutting can really cost you in the long run. So be prepared from the word go.
Regardless of the fact that you plan on limiting your business to a particular jurisdiction or are interested in expanding it to another geographical location, it becomes quite important that you invest your time and money for protection of your trademark via registration. Going on this path, rest assured that you will have the sole rights to use a particular name, logo or otherwise within your industry in turn helping you to claim ownership of the same if a dispute arises.
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So if you spot anyone using your trademarks without proper authorisation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn, you’re fully within your rights to put a hold on the said commercial activity that infringes upon your rights. The next step that you can take to protect a trademark is by sending the infringing party a cease and desist notice letter once you spot any offending or unscrupulous activity that dilutes the distinctive character of your trademark or is likely to create confusion for consumers.
Brand owners may explore the need to register a unique hashtag slogan. Hashtags are used these days creatively and help in identifying and facilitating searches for trending topics, key words in turn increasing the internet traffic towards its particular brand. It also serves as an unique identifier for the brands’ goods and services.
Securing a trademark for your username will help to prevent third parties from name squatting or impersonating you and, in all likelihood, deceiving your customers and damaging your brand reputation. If you have the intention of using your username in order to distinguish your product or service from those of others in the market, you may go ahead and apply for a trademark. However, to enable it to smoothly pass through the examination process, your username for your business must be distinct and unique enough.
Brand owners may explore the need to register a unique hashtag slogan.
Finally, do your utmost to ensure that you are not infringing others’ marks. In the context of social media, posting, re-posting, and sharing content (both first-party and third-party content) is particularly fraught with opportunities for trademark infringement. While most social media platforms allow users to freely repost content within their platforms, brand owners often are held to a higher standard than individuals. Thus, using third-party content for commercial purposes is always a high-risk endeavour, and you should be particularly be careful when doing so.
As a trademark holder, one should develop a pre-emptive, systematic and well co-ordinated social media protection and enforcement strategy keeping in mind the risks involved such as acquisition of handles, routine monitoring of user generated content on all social media platforms, protecting your rights and enforcing them in a responsible and pro-active manner and instilling a mechanism in place to tackle and avoid infringement activities.
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Yashvardhan Rana is an Intellectual Property Lawyer with a particular focus on IP prosecution – from registrability analysis and risk management to providing legal opinion on the availability of use, adoption and registrability of trademarks to be launched by Fortune 500 companies as well as top FMCGs in India. He is a part of the Trademarks, Copyright and Design Prosecution team at Inttl Advocare, Noida, India. He also advises on trade mark protection strategies, copyright issues and specific assignments relating to Design Law, certain aspects of strategic brand management and advisory, IP auditing and due diligence to portfolio management, transactional advice and agreement drafting, permitted user/registered user recordals and other procedural compliances.
He is based out of New Delhi and is a member of Bar Council of Delhi, Delhi High Court Bar Association, APAA, INTA and FICCI IP Forum. In January, 2020 he was appointed as an Editor, The Trade Mark Reporter, INTA and in November, 2019, he was the recipient of the Top 50 Emerging IP Professional in the world award - The IPR Gorilla, 2nd Edition held in Dubai. Recently, he has been inducted as an 'esteemed member' of the FICCI IP Forum for IP Professionals to address the existing and evolving IPR issues in India alongwith stalwarts from the legal industry. He has also authored several articles on Intellectual Property Law and Practice which are published in leading blogs, websites, journals and magazines. His educational qualification includes an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from the Queen Mary University of London (2015-16).
The Karlsruhe, Germany’s highest civil court, ruled on Tuesday that Facebook must comply with orders from the German antitrust watchdog and change the way it handles data collected from its user base.
The ruling determined that the social media platform requires explicit consent from users before merging their Facebook data with that of third-party platforms, such as WhatsApp and Instagram.
“Facebook must give users the choice to reveal less about themselves – above all what they reveal outside of Facebook,” said lead judge Peter Meier-Beck.
Tuesday’s ruling relates to a legal dispute between Facebook and the German antitrust watchdog that began in February 2019, when the Federal Cartel Office blocked Facebook from collating user data from multiple platforms without user consent. Facebook filed an appeal and gained a suspension of the decision, with a lower court ruling that Facebook did not need to comply prior to a final court decision.
The latest ruling by the Karlsruhe supersedes the lower court’s ruling, thereby ordering Facebook to comply with the watchdog’s terms.
Andreas Mundt, head of the Federal Cartel Office, applauded the decision by the Karlsruhe. “Today’s ruling gives us important clues as to how we should deal with the issues of data and competition,” he said.
In a statement, Facebook made clear that the ruling was not final. “The main proceedings, before the court of appeals, are ongoing and we will continue to defend our position that there is no antitrust abuse,” the company said.
The damage of a car accident can vary drastically. It can be something as minor as a small bump in the back of another vehicle, or it could lead to fatalities. Even the continued improvement of safety functions in modern cars hasn’t helped to lower the statistics of road deaths.
If you’re fortunate enough to only be involved in a relatively minor accident, here are five essential steps you need to take:
First of all, you want to stop the vehicle as soon as possible. If the vehicle remains in motion, this can be classed as an offence.
Once the car has stopped, check if you have suffered any injuries. If you’re able to move without too much discomfort, check on any passengers who may also be in the vehicle. If anyone else has suffered a significant injury, phoning for aid is imperative.
Switch the car’s hazard lights on and exit the vehicle if possible. Get to safety by moving to the path or side of the road.
The damage of a car accident can vary drastically.
With the shock and adrenaline that you’re likely suffering from, it can admittedly be difficult to remain calm. Here are a few pointers to remember:
In the heat of the moment, you can also say things you’ll later regret – like admitting you were responsible for the accident. Simply keep quiet until you’re fully aware of how the accident happened. This can prevent you from liability.
To protect yourself and also prepare for a potential lawsuit, you should fully assess and document the accident scene. Start by taking pictures or videos. Capture all of the damage to both vehicles, and also the surrounding area.
In addition, try and find any witnesses who saw the accident. If they can provide details about what happened, take note of their contact information. If any police officers arrive at the scene, also jot down their names and badge numbers.
The more information you gather, the better.
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It’s also important you exchange information with the driver of the other vehicle. As well as contact details, you’ll need to swap insurance information. Other notes you should take down about the other driver/vehicle are:
In the end, you will have to receive professional assistance in some form. This could be through your insurance agency or, if the situation escalates, a specialist car accident attorney.
Nobody wants to bring an attorney into the picture if they can avoid it, but sometimes it’s a necessity. Plus, it can make you better off financially. The attorney can inspect insurance policies, see if the insurance company is trying to utilise underhand tactics to save money, and they could negotiate a much more satisfactory settlement.
The above five steps are crucial to know in case you ever find yourself in a situation such as this. The most important thing is to remain calm, seek help from professionals for any injuries and then legal aid to ensure that you can stay financially secure, even if you have lost wages.
Law firm Edwin Coe LLP, acting on behalf of 371 investors, is bringing a group action worth £1.3 billion against HSBC UK for losses caused by its role in the “conception, development, and marketing of a series of Disney film investment schemes known as the Eclipse Partnerships”, which ran between 2006 and 2008.
The investors allege that HSBC’s private banking arm encouraged them to invest on the “false promise” that the scheme represented a genuine opportunity to invest in popular Disney films. The scheme saw some £2.3 billion of investment, some of which was financed by loans taken out by investors expecting their returns to cover the interest.
However, Edwin Coe claims that no active trade in film rights between Eclipse and Disney was ever made, and that the scheme proved “financially catastrophic for its unwitting investors”.
“At no point did Eclipse actually exploit, or otherwise trade in, any meaningful film rights of any value from Disney,” claimed David Greene, senior partner at Edwin Coe.
As Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs ruled in 2019 that loans taken out by Eclipse’s investors would not be recognised as losses, investors who partnered with Eclipse subsequently faced tax liabilities on money that they did not receive.
HSBC said it would not comment on the ongoing legal issue.
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated lives, jobs and economies worldwide. SMEs comprise 98% of private sector businesses in the UK, employing around 16 million people, and contributing £1.9 trillion per year to the economy. There is no doubt that start-ups and small businesses are crucial to the UK’s economic recovery following COVID-19, with recent Government support reflecting an understanding of their vital role in preserving jobs, livelihoods and economic growth in the country going forward.
Despite the Government introducing several financial schemes over recent months in a bid to support and protect British businesses, nearly a quarter of UK small business owners do not believe the Government support schemes available are enough to help them survive. Michael Buckworth, managing director at Buckworths, analyses the issues inherent with the Government's response and they could be solved.
The Government’s Future Fund, launched in May, aims to match private sector investment with public money to help start-ups impacted by the pandemic. However, individual investors providing matched funding under the scheme cannot claim Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)—a tax relief to encourage investment into early-stage businesses—on their investment due to the scheme being structured as convertible loans. Moreover, angel investors wishing to make equity investments in start-ups under EIS will likely be unable to claim EIS where the investment monies are used to pay off existing debt (including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back loans) and for working capital purposes. EIS monies are to be used for growth and not for working capital. As such, many start-ups could be forced to re-enter the economy without sufficient financial backing.
Nearly a quarter of UK small business owners do not believe the Government support schemes available are enough to help them survive.
It is clear that an alternative scheme is required to support start-ups and SMEs unable to raise money via the Future Fund and/or using EIS. Now more than ever, the legal industry needs to engage with Government to ensure that tailored support packages are put in place to help sectors that are struggling.
Businesses can borrow money from high street and challenger banks under Government-backed loan schemes. However, where businesses need to borrow larger sums, banks may require personal guarantees from directors (which makes directors personally liable for the loan if the borrower goes bust), and may apply inflexible qualification criteria. CBILS also contains restrictions on “business in difficulty” from borrowing using the scheme. This concept includes high growth start-ups whose accumulated losses exceed 50% of their paid-up share capital. Whilst such businesses can in theory qualify for a Bounce Back loan, many are excluded due to the operation of State Aid rules. In short, Government-backed loans are not accessible for all, and in any event add to the repayable debt for businesses.
Nonetheless, British companies have so far borrowed £38.4bn under the Government’s emergency credit programmes since the coronavirus pandemic struck, demonstrating the urgent need for finance so that businesses can fund cashflow. For SMEs that have so far survived, the next 12 months will prove critical. Upon reopening, businesses will face significant re-launch costs; the employer contribution to the furlough scheme is increasing and suppliers may want arrears paid before they supply further goods and services.
Many businesses will look to raise investment to fund their working capital requirements and to ensure that they can afford CBILS and Bounce Back repayments once they kick in next year. Yet, as referenced above, existing schemes, most notably Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), do not allow tax relief on investments used to repay historic debt and to fund working capital: monies must be used for growth. As it stands, start-ups may struggle to raise investment.
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The Government’s latest funding involves a programme that will pump a further £250 million into innovative start-ups via a ‘Future Fund’ administered by the British Business Bank. The initiative aims to encourage private sector investors to take on some of the risk involved in rebooting the British economy. However, by structuring the scheme using convertible debt which does not qualify for EIS relief, UK based angel investors are not incentivised to provide matched funding as part of a Future Fund round, and this significantly weakens the impact of the scheme.
Most UK angel investors are reliant on EIS to reduce their risk and reward them for making high-risk investments in early-stage businesses. An investment under EIS can benefit from an upfront 30% income tax relief and 100% capital gains tax relief on sale. EIS only applies to equity investments meaning that convertible loans do not qualify. Consequently, whilst many SMEs have been able to secure matched funding from foreign angels (who would not qualify for EIS in any event) and VCs, many more have been unable to access the scheme. To make matters worse, many start-ups unable to access the Future Fund have also been locked out of CBILS and Bounce Back Loans due to the State Aid restrictions in respect of those schemes.
Businesses who wish to access the Future Fund must have raised at least £250,000 from investors within the last five years. This penalises early-stage start-ups and SMEs that have boot-strapped or grown organically. Many SMEs have been blocked from accessing the Future Fund as a result of this restriction.
Meanwhile, the options available to aid the economic survival and success of small businesses will need careful consideration. The ability to qualify for the Future Fund, the need to obtain matched private investment without access to EIS, the relatively high rate of interest on the loan, a 100% redemption premium in the event of repayment, and the favoured nation clause that ensures that the Government always get the best terms of any subsequent investment, are all key considerations that are likely to have long-lasting implications for start-ups.
Businesses who wish to access the Future Fund must have raised at least £250,000 from investors within the last five years.
The convertible loan agreement (CLA) is complex and non-negotiable with a number of terms that are more onerous than the UK market standard. Whilst the involvement of solicitors is hard-wired into the application process in that a solicitor must be appointed to hold investment monies, many start-ups are skipping the important step of taking detailed advice on the commercials and long-term implications of a Future Fund round. That aside, legal advisors will have to be acutely aware of the terms of the CLA when advising on future fundraisings.
For many smaller start-ups, an alternative option to the Future Fund is needed which better shifts the risk from the Government to private investors. We believe that this could be achieved through creating a temporary tax relief scheme similar in nature to EIS to encourage angel investors to invest in start-ups.
Monies raised using such a scheme would provide working capital to SMEs and could be used to repay COVID-19 debts including CBILS and Bounce Back loans. Investors tend to want to invest for growth, not for working capital purposes. Consequently, it is our view that a higher upfront rate of income tax relief is required to compensate for the additional risks of providing working capital to an SME. We also believe that the age restrictions applicable to EIS should be lifted for any temporary new scheme.
The legal industry will be looked upon to advise small businesses at this difficult time, while champions of start-ups must continue to lobby the Government to ensure that all of our SMEs can access the right support. We believe that a new temporary scheme as outlined above is needed to help SMEs re-launch; others believe that changes to the current EIS scheme are required; whilst still, others advocate a further Government bail-out via debt forgiveness scheme. It is our job as lawyers to engage with our peers, clients and the Government to ensure that the voices of our clients are heard. Failure to act now could threaten the businesses that make up the bedrock of our economy, resulting in numerous SMEs entering insolvency, and contributing to rising unemployment and the threat of a recession worse than that predicted by the OECD.
The Tom Petty estate has issued a formal cease and desist letter to President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, protesting the use of the late singer’s music.
Specifically at issue is the use of Tom Petty’s 1989 radio single “I Won’t Back Down” during Trump’s 20 June rally in Tulsa.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Petty’s family said that the campaign “was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind.”
“Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate,” the message continued. “He liked to bring people together.”
The statement was signed by Tom Petty’s widow Dana Petty, his daughters Adria and Annakim, and their mother Jane.
Various musicians have in the past attempted to prevent the Trump campaign from using their music during events. In 2015, Neil Young claimed that then-candidate Trump had not been given permission to use “Rockin’ in the Free World” during his presidential campaign announcement.
Other musicians who have denounced the Trump campaign’s use of their music include Rihanna, Elton John, Adele, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Guns N Roses, Prince, RM, Aerosmith and Earth Wind and Fire.
Do you imagine yourself fiercely defending people unjustly accused of crimes in a court of law, negotiating contracts for the top names in the film or music business as an entertainment attorney or fighting to save the environment using legal means? Perhaps you want to work as a high-powered corporate attorney or focus on human rights abuses, or maybe you want to help people with their bankruptcies or divorces. Maybe you hope to be a small-town district attorney or a big city federal prosecutor. Whatever type of legal career you envision for yourself, the first step is to pick the right law school that will help get you there. Cost, compatibility and rankings are all factors you should consider.
There are a few things to keep in mind as you look at cost. It is important to have a sense of balance. If you want to go into an area that pays less, such as human rights or environmental law, you may not want to take on the highest debt. On the other hand, choosing a school that isn't really right for you because it's $15,000 cheaper than a better fit is probably not a great trade-off either. Ultimately, if you can't pay for it, you can't go there, but law school may be more affordable than you think. With a combination of student loans, savings, money earned while in school, grants and scholarships, you should be able to cover tuition, room and board. Keep in mind that there may be a number of private student loans available. The best private loans for students will have low interest rates and these are often quick and relatively easy to apply for online.
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Compatibility can mean making sure the school has a focus in the area of law that interests you, but there's more to it than that. Schools have different atmospheres. You might be looking for a particularly competitive environment, or you may want one that encourages building relationships and helping one another. It's also worth looking at the location itself. Going to law school in a big city might be very different from attending one in a small town. You may also have a preference about the size of the law school itself.
Like compatibility, there is more to rankings than meets the eye. Everyone may know what the top 10 law schools are, but that doesn't mean they are right for you. You may want to prioritise such factors as how many graduates get jobs in the legal field, how many students who attend pass the bar and what the student body is like. Prestige might also be a factor for you. You should also consider how likely you are to be admitted to the school. If it's a long shot, that doesn't mean you shouldn't apply, but it is usually a good idea to have at least one safe school, at least one you have a good chance to get into and at least one that is an ambitious leap for you.
The Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday blocked the Department of Homeland Security’s attempt to end legal protections for the 650,000 young immigrants often referred to as “Dreamers”, posing a significant setback to Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
The Court acknowledged that President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security have the authority to end the DACA programme, but rejected arguments that the programme was illegal and that courts had no role to play in reviewing the decision to end it.
In his written opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts (who joined the liberal wing of the Court in the 5-4 ruling) emphasised that the Supreme Court’s decision was based on purely apolitical reasoning.
“We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies," he wrote. "We address only whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action. Here the agency failed to consider the conspicuous issues of whether to retain forbearance and what if anything to do about the hardship to DACA recipients.”
He added that the Department of Homeland Security may try again.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme (DACA) was created in 2012 under President Obama, and allows people brought to the US illegally as children the temporary right to live, work and study in America. As of today, its protections are extended to 650,000 US residents.
Ending DACA was one of Trump’s signature promises during his 2016 presidential campaign. This latest setback is especially significant by its timing, coming less than five months before the 2020 election.
Following Thursday’s decision, the President tweeted: “Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?”
Family law deals with family issues such as marriage, divorce, child support, and adoptions. These laws may vary in different states and countries, but they all protect the interests of a family.
Of course, you can choose to hire an attorney anytime depending on how urgently you need their services. However, there are some situations in which you are recommended to have an attorney who can help in your family matters anytime.
Here are some instances where you should hire a family attorney:
This is a wide area with different categories that will need the expertise of an attorney to help resolve issues if the need arises. These categories can include the following:
A family law firm may also help with other incidences that can add up to this list as they can provide a full range of services relating to every aspect of family law.
Family attorneys can help in keeping important family documents. These documents can be presented as proof in case of any issues.
The Power of Attorney (POA) is a document giving another person permission to act on behalf of yourself. You can give someone permission to take care of your children or the family business when you are unable to due to sickness or old age.
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Having an attorney present will ensure the deal is signed and the person given the responsibilities follows all the rules that have been laid down. An attorney can also give advice on the best person who can be responsible for such tasks.
As mentioned, family lawyers manage legal issues within the family. When drafting estate plans and wills, it's important to have an attorney present to keep the records of the will. When passing over your property to other family members after retirement or death, the family attorney can make sure the will is followed just as the owner wrote it to prevent any conflicts from arising. The attorney can also provide some legal advice and act as a mediator in case conflicts happen.
A civil union is a legal relationship between two people who enjoy marriage rights, although it’s not a marriage. In other words, a domestic partnership is an interpersonal relationship between people who share a common life but are not married.
Unfortunately, these unions and partnerships are not considered legal in all countries and states. Before deciding to form one, you need to consult a family lawyer if it’s legal in your location or not.
These unions and partnerships are common in pairs who want their rights protected in a similar way like marriage rights. If you’ve followed this route, you must have a lawyer who will guide you through the process and make sure it’s legal.
"Seeking legal counsel from experienced family law attorneys is crucial when entering into a civil union or domestic partnership. They ensure that your rights are protected and the union is recognized in your jurisdiction." - Lawyer, Law Office of Ben Carrasco
Apart from the aforementioned cases, there are many other instances when you will need an attorney to help act as a mediator or represent you in court in case of a conflict.
Other self-explanatory factors include someone hurting you physically without your consent, damage to property, land disputes, and violation of human rights.
Before hiring an attorney, you need to keep off scammers and fakers. Learn more about how to choose a family law attorney whom you can trust and rely on.
