Legal issues and problems are stressful, complex and inevitable. If you get wrapped up in legal issues, it sometimes helps to understand the lingo being bandied about.
Legal Terms
Contract: An agreement between two or more parties in which each party agrees to provide something in exchange for the other party doing the same. Typically, one party provides money while the other provides a service or product. Contracts can be oral or written, but oral contracts are difficult to enforce.
Copyright: The legal right attached to literary, musical, dramatic or artistic works. Copyright automatically attaches to the piece in favor of the creator of it. To sue for copyright infringement, the creator must file for an official copyright
...your name or logo. The process of actually securing your trademark is not a difficult one. You can simply go down to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Or, even more simple, log on to their website (http://uspto.gov) where ...
Intellectual Property: A product or idea that has tangible commercial value. Examples of intellectual property include copyrighted works such as books, patented items such as a product design and a trademarked item for a brand. The word Amazon is not considered intellectual property. When applied to the Internet, however, the word is intellectual property as it refers to a brand for an online bookstore.
Non-Compete Agreement: An agreement whereby one party, typically an employee, agrees not to use information learned during employment in subsequent business efforts for a set period of time. In some states, non-compete agreements are extremely difficult to enforce. An example of a non-compete agreement dispute is the current litigation
...with foreign filing by working with associate attorneys in foreign countries who are authorized to prosecute patent applications in their countries. One should keep in mind that different countries have different laws and those who practice in those countries will ...
Non-Disclosure Agreement: A contract binding one party to a duty of confidentiality in regard to certain information provided by another. An NDA typically is executed where one party wished to discuss a business venture with another and the discussion necessarily requires the disclosure of sensitive information.
Trademark: A name, label or symbol identifying a product or web site. Trademarks are filed with the Patent and Trademark Office and restricted to a class of products or services. Amazon is a trademarked term for Internet services, but not for general references such as ecological discussions.
Obviously, this is a relatively short list of legal terms. If your issue is not mentioned, you can
...of area registered patent attorneys and agents. b. Call the bar association of your city. It may have a list of patent attorneys. A warning, carefully look through every reference of a prospective patent lawyer. Check each of their client ...
Richard A. Chapo is a San Diego business lawyer with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - providing legal services and legal advice to businesses in San Diego, California.
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