Lunch and Learning: Carole Clark Isakson Presents ACBA CLE Seminar
September 27, 2017 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.On Wednesday September 20, 2017, BGS shareholder Carole Clark Isakson presented an informative and enjoyable lunch seminar to attending members of the Anoka Country Bar Association. Carole has decades of experience handling business transactions, including those relating to intellectual property rights. She put her experience to use in crafting the seminar, entitled ‘7 Things Every Business Attorney Should Know about IP (But Probably Doesn’t)’. Her solid advice to business attorneys highlighted the actions that can and should be taken early on in the formation of a business to avoid issues in the future. For example, when an entity is created it is important to make sure that the entity owns (or licenses) all of the software needed to run the company. Social media accounts should be owned by the company. The use of outside programmers should be the subject of a strong written agreement to ensure that the company owns the work – and the same is true when hiring web site designers or advertising professionals. Attendees of the luncheon learned about this type of intellectual property and important concepts that sometimes don’t come to the forefront during the creation and day to day running of a business. If you have questions about how intellectual property, particularly in the areas of software development,…
Read MoreTotally overwhelmed by the TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE!
August 22, 2017 | Carole Clark IsaksonThese days, everything is subject to being overhyped – cars, diets, clothing, the next snowstorm. When advertisers use words like “amazing”, “breathtaking”, and “life changing” we barely take notice. But having traveled to Nebraska to witness the total solar eclipse, I can tell you that those words, in all their glory, are not strong enough to describe the experience! Last Friday August 18th we began our eclipse road trip. Seven us (me, my parents, husband, niece, teenage daughter and her friend) took two cars and headed to the tiny town of Mullen Nebraska, located in the totality. We booked our three rooms at the Sandhills Motel in Mullen A YEAR AGO. The drive was gorgeous, through the sandhills, and we were delighted with the folks in Mullen and the small town’s events. We didn’t stay in Mullen for the eclipse however, as the weather forecast on the day of the eclipse warned of 70{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} cloud cover. So we hopped in our cars and drove west, following RVs and campers clearly headed the same way, out of the clouds and into the sun. An hour later we turned off the little highway on to a dirt road that led to a park, and found a field with a few other cars parked on the…
Read MoreHELP!!! Someone trademarked my company name!!
August 17, 2017 | Carole Clark IsaksonYep. Before explaining how this happens, a little background information is needed. Every state has an office charged with registering businesses that wish to do business in the state. In Minnesota, that office is called the Secretary of State’s office (hereafter SOS) and registering businesses is one of many tasks it undertakes. The SOS will not permit a company to be formed that has the exact same name as an already registered company, and other rules apply in choosing a name. Once the name is registered, it is yours to use – doing business in Minnesota. It is not reserved for your use beyond the borders of the state. There is a common misconception that forming an entity at the state level somehow reserves the name in the same way that filing a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) does. It does not… in fact, on the USPTO website you will see the following caution: However, a state’s authorization to form a business with a particular name does not also give you trademark rights and other parties could later try to prevent your use of the business name if they believe a likelihood of confusion exists with their trademarks. Although a trademark is frequently a name (or logo)…
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