Every once in a while, we as attorneys will be asked by a client to sign a nondisclosure agreement prior to a meeting or initial consultation.  These nondisclosure agreements—commonly referred to as NDAs—serve the purpose of protecting a party’s confidential business and financial information by placing a contractual duty on the other party not to use or disclose that information.  Clients have been told again and again by lawyers and other advisors that anyone they share confidential business information with should first be asked to sign an NDA to protect them.

Those in the initial stages of developing branding for their businesses or rolling out new product or service names or slogans find themselves in the position of attempting to select a trademark that is both legally protectable and marketable.  Many of my clients with business experience are able to determine what makes a trademark strong from a marketing perspective.  However, many business people forget to take into account that what is strong from a branding perspective may not be the best choice of trademark for legally protecting your brand.

So you want to start a company.  Which business structure are you going to choose?

There are quite a few options available, but four of the main business entity types will be discussed in this post: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company and corporation.  While there are specific tax implications and filing requirements associated with each of these business structures, I will be focusing on the general characteristics of each entity type.

Sole Proprietorship

Basic IP Terminology—What is a Trade Secret?

My past two blog posts in the basic IP terminology series have addressed copyright and trademark, respectively.  This third and final installation of the series will cover the area of trade secret law and what type of information can constitute a protectable trade secret.

What is a Trade Secret?

Under the Uniform Trade Secret Act (UTSA), which has been enacted by most states (including California) and the District of Columbia, a trade secret has three basic components:

• It consists of information of some kind (such as a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process);