Category: Firm News

A parody is defined as a humorous use of an existing song, play, or writing that changes some of the original content to create a laughable, ironic new work. However, the original author may wish to prosecute the parody’s author for copyright infringement. Unfortunately, for many of these original authors, the creators of parodies are generally protected…

We have all had that million-dollar idea in our head. We then brush it aside until we see the plan executed by someone else. We are then left asking ourselves, “Why didn’t I act on it sooner?”. This typical story that may be fantastical to most is the unfortunate reality of those who have an…

A “Bona Fide Occupational Qualification” (BFOQ) refers to a quality or attribute that employers are legally allowed to take into account when making hiring and employment decisions. If considered in other formats, these qualities would be classified as discrimination and would be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and California’s Fair Employment…

Trademark infringement is defined as the unauthorized use of a trademark about goods or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception or mistakes about the source of the goods or services. For a trademark owner to claim infringement, the Lanham Act specifies that three factors must be shown: use of a protected trademark, priority to use the trademark…

The owner of a copyright is entitled to certain exclusive rights under the Copyright Act of 1976. These rights include the right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivate works based upon the copyrighted work, to distribute copies of the copyright work to the public by sale or transfer of ownership, to perform the copyrighted…

The term “fair use” refers to the limited permitted copying of copyrighted material without receiving permission from the copyright holders. It is used as a defense against copyright infringement, and if use of a copyrighted work is deemed to be “fair use”, then the action is not considered illegal. The Copyright Act of 1976 cites four factors it uses…

Attorneys Navid Yadegar and Navid Soleymani recently won a hotly contested arbitration involving employment discrimination. The case involved a woman, Elizabeth Carter, who was fired for her disability. At issue in the case was whether the employer, Dunn Edwards, had an obligation to keep employing Ms. Carter even though she could not perform some of the duties of her position…

A “joint work” is a work prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole. See 17 U.S.C. § 101. A collaborative effort is only classified as a joint work if each author made independently copyrightable contributions to the work and if the authors fully intended…

When we create something, we generally want to be given credit for it. A copyright is perhaps the greatest legal method of ensuring that you will receive credit for the work you created. A copyright is the legal term used for the rights given to the owner to reproduce, distribute, display and create adaptations of a protected work. A…

Nondisclosure agreements (NDA) are notoriously common during workplace sexual harassment settlements. For many decades, your employer could settle a confidential sexual harassment claim and receive a tax deduction. However, a recent tax reform bill forces your employer to choose between using an NDA and receiving a tax deduction. Section 13307 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) states that…