Category: Firm News

Here is a situation every employee dreads: you are wrongfully accused of workplace misconduct such as sexual harassment or discrimination by a subordinate at work and your boss tells you that your job is on the line if you don’t fully cooperate in the company’s investigation. You may feel betrayed, frustrated and unwilling to oblige…

Employees And Independent Contractors Are Very Distinct And Different From Each Other In an effort to save money and the headaches ordinarily associated with employing someone, some employers treat their employees as independent contractors. Such business practices could expose a business to penalties, damages, and other liabilities. In evaluating whether a relationship is one of…

The Implications of an Anti-Fraternization Policies As Applied to Non-Supervising Coworkers Since the decision of the California Court of Appeals in Barbee v. Household Automotive Finance Corp., 113 Cal. App. 4th 525 (2003), employers have been assured that anti-fraternization policies which prohibit sexual and/or romantic relationships amongst supervisors and subordinates are enforceable. What has been…

SLAPP Motions Are Effective Ways to Dispose of A Frivolous Case Without Having to Go Through Trial The term SLAPP is an acronym for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. A SLAPP motion refers to a “special motion to strike” under the anti-SLAPP statute that seeks to dismiss a civil lawsuit at an early stage in…

This year, the California appellate courts decided several cases that involved “mixed-motive” terminations.  For example, in Harris v. City of Santa Monica, an employee, a bus driver for the City of Santa Monica, was terminated after informing her employer that she was pregnant. The employee also had a history of on the job negligence which included…

Signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in October and taking effect on January 1, 2014, SB400 makes it unlawful for an employer to terminate or otherwise discriminate against an employee based on his or her known status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.  The law also entitles victims to reasonable safety accommodations…

With over 300 million users of its iPhone worldwide, Apple is one of the largest smartphone manufacturers. As a result, Apple is often the subject of intellectual property lawsuits. In a series of lawsuits between the biggest smartphone producers in the world, dubbed “the smartphone wars,” Apple, Samsung, and Motorola have been embroiled in a…

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. Works protected by copyright, patent, and trademark are intellectual property and preserve the intellectual property owner’s legal rights in the protected work. There are several types of protections for intellectual…

While the process may appear daunting at first, registering a copyright is an essential first step in protecting your legal rights in your work. The benefits that are associated with copyright registration are abundant and far outweigh any difficulties that may come with the registration process. There are numerous legal benefits to registering a copyright…

Title 17 of the United States Code includes the Copyright Law of the United States. Title 17 defines what type of work is protected under the Copyright Law. Under Title 17, owners whose works are tangible, meaning that they may be expressed in writing, pictures, physical acts, and sound recordings have exclusive rights to their…