Legal Issues with Crowdfunding for Small Businesses
Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter have become a popular way for small businesses and products running quickly. The basic idea with these crowdfunding sites is the business owner begins a campaign where they set a specific amount of time they want it to run, usually a campaign lasts about 30 days. They set a goal amount […] Continue Reading
What Does a Commercial Real Estate Lawyer Do?
Commercial real estate laws are what regulate the sales of business properties. It also handles other things like zoning issues, commercial leases, liquor licensing, and property or land use. So, a commercial real estate lawyer is someone who specializes in those laws in an area. A lawyer in this field oversees your purchasing or leasing […] Continue Reading
Leasing Buildings Commercially
If you’re just getting ready to launch your small business, chances are, you’re looking to lower your risk any way you can, which may include leasing space instead of buying. Yes, real estate can be an investment, but the capital required to launch will be considerably less if you start out renting. To protect your […] Continue Reading
Let’s Plays and Copyright Infringement
With the rise in Let’s Play videos, where someone records themselves playing a video game, then puts the recording on YouTube, it has come into question whether or not these videos are breaking any copyright laws. There has not been a precedent set yet on this issue, because no game developers have taken any Let’s […] Continue Reading
Apex Legends as a Metaphor for Life
We dropped into Skull Town. A tough drop for sure. Lots of teams drop in Skull Town every game. It’s one of those places that, if you come out on top you’ll be positioned for a win, but the odds are not in your favor. Alec dropped nearby and we had a third, random teammate […] Continue Reading
What is Parody?
If you’re relatively familiar with Copyright Law you may know that one of the exceptions to infringement is parody under section 107 of the Copyright Act, which excuses works “for purposes such as criticism (or) comment.” Parody qualifies as fair use. You may think you know what parody is, but how does the legal world […] Continue Reading
Wait, Are Dances Copyrightable?
You may have seen in the news that many people from music artist 2 Milly, the backpack kid dancer, and even Carlton from Fresh Prince (yes really) is suing the current biggest game in the world, Fortnite, over the use of their iconic dance moves. For those that didn’t know, Fortnite sells emotes (character animations […] Continue Reading
Your Memes May Soon Disappear
I spoken at length many times about copyright law, and I just wanted to take some time to explain some things happening right now overseas that could have massive ramifications here in the states that, if you run a business and have a presence online, use memes, or just even enjoy online videos, could affect […] Continue Reading
What’s in a Name? A Potential Lawsuit
There were, at one time, two different Burger Kings in Illinois. The one we all know today started in Florida in 1953. The first one in Illinois opened in Skokie just north of Chicago in 1961. Likewise, in 1957 in a little town called Mattoon, IL, located in south-central Illinois, a small ice cream shop […] Continue Reading
If You’re Starting a New Business, Your First Call Should Be to an Attorney
The general advice most often given to new business owners is that the two people they need on their team is an accountant and an attorney. The accountant may seem obvious, you need a guy to run the numbers and so few people actually enjoy math. But many times, we see businesses delay in hiring […] Continue Reading
