The Blog For Business Law

— By Don KellyMay 7, 20190 Comments

The United States Patent & Trademark Office Issues Guide for Applications to Register Cannabis-Related Marks

On May 2, 2019 the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued new guidelines for businesses seeking to obtain registrations for cannabis-related marks. Any company that is in – or wants to be in – the CBD, hemp or medical marijuana business and is…

— By Gerry RichardsonApril 25, 20190 Comments

DON’T LET ME TOO HAPPEN TO YOU

1. Abuse of Power Produced the Me Too Movement. In the past three years, many well-known executives and personalities have made headlines because of their unwelcome conduct directed at female associates. Roger Ailes resigned from Fox News on July 22, 2016 after more than 20…

— By Kevin CorlewApril 24, 20190 Comments

Missouri Expands Opportunity for Public-Private Partnerships for Municipal Infrastructure Projects

Communities throughout the Midwest realize that to grow and thrive, they must invest in infrastructure. Many local governments have infrastructure facilities built in the mid-1900s or before—whether public buildings, transportation facilities, or water treatment systems—that need to be replaced, expanded, or upgraded. But few communities…

— By Ron HackApril 3, 20190 Comments

U.S. SUPREME COURT MAKES IT EASIER TO SEEK DAMAGES AGAINST DEFENDANTS WHO ONLY SUPPLIED METAL PARTS TO BE SUED IN MARITIME CASES

On March 29, 2019, the United States Supreme Court made it easier for asbestos plaintiffs to recover damages against a group of defendants who never sold or supplied any asbestos materials. In Air & Liquid Systems Corp., v. DeVries, the Supreme Court held that so…

— By Gerry RichardsonMarch 15, 20190 Comments

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR INCREASES THE MINIMUM SALARY TO EXEMPT WHITE COLLAR WORKERS FROM OVERTIME PAY

On March 7, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (“Department”) announced its Notice of Proposed rule making to update the regulations that interpret the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). < https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime2019/index.htm > This law requires employers to pay overtime pay to most workers who…

— By Don KellyMarch 5, 20190 Comments

Supreme Court Makes It Clear: To File A Copyright Infringement Suit, You Must Have An Issued Registration. A Pending Application To Register Is Not Enough.

Businesses bemoan the fact that their attorneys can never make a concrete legal determination because the applicable law requires a balancing of a myriad of factors – many of which cannot be known until expensive litigation discovery is undertaken. On March 4, 2019, the Supreme…

— By Gerry RichardsonFebruary 26, 20190 Comments

THE LONG VIEW: LEGAL AUDITS ALLOW BUSINESS OWNERS TO AVOID CATASTROPHES AND TO ACHIEVE SUCCESSFUL EXIT STRATEGIES

Many businesses grow and earn profits from year to year, but still face existential threats if legal problems happen. Others have owners who have reached a point in their lives where they want to exit their business to start a new chapter in their lives. …

— By Don KellyJanuary 29, 20190 Comments

Potty-Mouthed Trademarks — Supreme Court to Decide if Federal Prohibition Against Registering Them is Constitutional

It has not been two years since the Supreme Court issued its opinion in the case of Matal v. Tam – a case touching upon an issue near and dear to all of us – free speech. That case involved the situation in which, Simon…

— By Don KellyJanuary 22, 20190 Comments

The Ongoing Ambiguity Over Which Inventions Are Patentable And Which Are Not – The Patent Office’s New Guidelines

On January 7, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued new 2019 guidelines on how it will go about determining whether an invention is one which the law allows to be patented. If you have been following the news on this topic then…

— By Gerry RichardsonJanuary 15, 20190 Comments

WHAT IMPACT WILL MEDICAL MARIJUANA HAVE ON MISSOURI WORKPLACES AND DRUG TESTING BY EMPLOYERS?

On November 6, 2018, Missouri voters approved Amendment 2, the Medical Marijuana and Veteran Healthcare Services Initiative by a margin of 66% to 34%. It legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Basically, the amendment allows licensed physicians to recommend marijuana use to patients with any one…