By Robert Swider We are all living through a period of time that few if any of us could have envisioned. Swider Haver, LLP remains available to continue to serve your legal needs during this period of history. COVID-19 is a real threat to all of us, we all need to take appropriate steps to remain safe and to help prevent the spread of this virus. Our firm is open and we plan on continuing to be open for business throughout this crisis, although this will require us to work differently than we have in the past. Our receptionist lives
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COVID-19: Resources and Information
By Alex Gund and the Swider Haver staff & attorneysPosted 1:10 PM, Monday, April 6Updated 1:27 PM In these uncertain and fraught times, we know that our clients are going to have a host of questions about resources that may be able to assist with financial hardship, as well as questions about compliance in a rapidly evolving regulatory environment. While we certainly encourage all of our clients to reach out to our attorneys for assistance with any legal questions or concerns, we also recognize that many of our clients are worried about what the fallout from this crisis upon their
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COVID-19: Rule Changes for Cannabis Businesses
By Alex Gund The OLCC has recently made numerous temporary rule changes as a result of the pandemic. A summary of some of those rule changes can be found here, and a helpful FAQ can be found here. If you have any questions at all concerning your rights and responsibilities as an OLCC cannabis licensee, we strongly encourage you to contact our office for guidance.
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COVID-19: Families First Coronavirus Response Act
By Robert Swider The US Department of the Treasury has provided guidance concerning the relief to employees and small and midsize businesses provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed by President Trump on March 18, 2020. We recommend you review the information at the following links. News Release: U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS and The U.S. Department of Labor Announce Plan to Implement Coronavirus-Related Paid Leave for Workers and Tax Credits for Small and Midsize Businesses to Swiftly Recover the Cost of Providing Coronavirus-Related Leave Coronavirus Tax Relief Employee Rights Poster Our firm may be able to
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Choosing a Trademark: Why Not be Arbitrary?
By Tom Graves When choosing a trademark for your goods or services, you have many decisions to make: How can I capture the attention of my customers? How can I convey the quality of my products? How can I help consumers make a connection between my trademark and my business? These are all important considerations, but from a legal perspective, you should also be asking yourself the following: How likely is it that I will be able to register my trademark? Will another company be able to successfully challenge my trademark? Has anyone else already used the trademark? These legal
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Reconciling Blizzard and Jacobsen: Lessons in Copyright Licensing
By Tom Graves The Ninth Circuit case MDY Industries v. Blizzard Entertainment[1] has recently been cited as a major shift in the law pertaining to copyright licenses, and as a particular threat to the open source software model.[2] Although these concerns are probably overstated, the Blizzard case does bring into focus several important aspects of copyright licensing. In this article I will attempt to highlight some of these aspects, and to demonstrate how licenses can be drafted or updated to deal with them. The Blizzard case involved MDY’s creation of a software “bot” that allowed players of Blizzard’s online game
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Recent Developments in Computer and Internet Law and Technology
By Robert Swider By Marc Visnick In May 1999 at the Pacific Rim Computer Law Institute in Vancouver, B.C. we made a presentation concerning recent developments in Computer Law; among the topics we discussed were Spam, Jurisdictional Issues, Taxation of Internet Commerce, Recent Legislation, Licensing Issues, Copyright Infringement of Software, Business Method Patents and the Microsoft Antitrust litigation. There have been many changes in the ensuing dozen years – the consumer shift from desktop PCs to ever – more powerful smart phones and tablet computers; the rise of Google; the incredible explosion of social media sites such as Facebook
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Why Register A Copyright?
By Kohel Haver If you have created original material or a creative expression of some sort and later come to see me, I almost always ask you to register your copyright. This is true if we are negotiating a publishing agreement, creating and licensing artwork, starting a large sculpture commission project, signing a recording contract, licensing web design work, or sending off your script. It has been my practice for many years and I have never regretted the decision, even with the most reputable licensee. Do the benefits of registering copyrights outweigh the cost? Without a copyright registration, you
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The Cannabusiness Consumer Conundrum
By, Kohel Haver A couple goes into a bar. She orders a Stoli Martini, he orders an Old Fashioned with Bulleit. The bartender pours Russian vodka and bourbon from Kentucky. Not a remarkable transaction for adults. US Trademark law assures the couple that they are getting the products they ask for, the quality and taste they have come to demand and expect. The FDA ensures the product is free from contaminates. Consumer protection is an unwritten promise included with a federal trademark. Except for the fact you probably won’t be able to consume the purchase on the premises, under the
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Musings on Moore’s Law and the other Laws of Technology – How they Relate to Societal Change?
By Robert Swider By Dennis Kambury “Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitas.” Occam’s Razor Introduction Humanity and technology have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship for hundreds of thousands of years, from the time of Homo erectus, whom many anthropologists believe were the first hominids to control fire. The control of fire and the use of stone tools were turning points in our cultural evolution, though controlling fire was arguably a more significant leap forward. We now control technologies far more complex than fire and stone tools and the future will bring us technologies that make current technologies pale in comparison.
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