Legal Articles

Tuesday, 10 February 2015

Copyright Lawyers – What they do and how they help businesses



Copyright Lawyers – What they do and how they help businesses

COPYRIGHT LAWYERS: The main task of most copyright lawyers is to help their clients to protect their rights. This usually means helping them to apply for a patent or a copyright or whatever other protection is appropriate. In order to do this it is necessary to do a search to see if something similar has already been protected, if it has an copyright lawyer may be able to offer advice on how to get around this.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENT: To hold the designation of a copyright lawyer one must complete a graduation degree. After graduation a three years law education from a law school in compulsory to hold the banner lawyer. According to individual’s will and wish one year specialization can also be done after that which provides detail study of a specific chosen law discipline. 

The copyright lawyer does for the client as copyright law addresses. All legal matters which involve copyrightsare subject to be taken care of by a copyright lawyer. The copyright lawyer defends the client against legal complications and helps to resolve disputes at a great deal.
The copyright lawyer on the behalf of their clients files applications or case against any illegal attack on a reserved right. Other than that the copyright also do copyright registration applications, license agreements, contracts and gives advice about the protection of copyrights an all related issues. 

In some states the constitution legislates that the copyrights will automatically be assigned to the author once their work gets published by their name. But still to avoid misshape or misunderstanding the copyright lawyer better handles the matters. In such cases the role of copyright lawyers becomes more significant when the author is not one. If a book, song or music video is created by the mutual work of more than one author the issue gets complicated, and needs a legal expert. 

POWERS OF AUTHOR:  A copyright over anything by a person enables him for the powers, which are mentioned below:

  • ·         A Person having the copyright can further make copies of that work as it is protected by copyright law.

  • ·         The copyrights holder can sell and distribute his work to any person or even general public without any restriction.

  • ·         On the basis of the protected work the person can do further work. That can be amendment to the already done work or even its extension.

  • ·         The author is the only person that can enjoy the rights and privileges over the work.


The reserved rights of authors over their original work are the copyrights. Copyright     protection made the author of a copyrighted work along with specific rights that only  the author can keep for himself or may sell to others.

Copyright Attorney, Copyright Lawyer




Thursday, 5 February 2015

Immigration Law Explained for Small Businesses

Immigration Law Explained for Small Businesses

Each country and state has within its law system, their own set policies that regulate the entrances and exits of individuals, options of deportation, immigration, legal statuses and the acquirement of citizenships. Some countries have a history of strict laws that regulate the rights of entry within the country as well as internal rights, the allowance of duration to stay within the country. This area of law also covers the rules that regulate which individuals can become part of government institutions, executive, judiciary and legislative bodies. Most of the countries in the world have provisions that allow immigrated individuals to become citizens and nationals of the country, which is the most important area of immigration law.

To keep a fair check on the entry within the country, concerned immigration departments of the state monitor the airports and borders and all the passages that provide entrance in the country. These customs departments check for documents of individuals that allow entry into the country, such as passports, visas, international vaccination documents and onward tickets.

The United States of America has its own immigration law. A person not born in the US can become a citizen by a process called naturalization. For this, the individual needs to have permanent residence in the US for at least 5 years before applying, and must be above the age of 18. Good personality and moral requirements are also present, along with a citizenship test. The test comprises of ten questions out of which six need to be answered correctly. These questions test the ability of the individual on their understanding of the American culture, history and the English language. In-person interviews are also required. Despite gaining a citizenship, there remains a difference between a natural born citizen and a naturalized citizen, like ineligibility for the office of the President and the Vice-President. Children, whose parents or one parent is a US citizen, and are not citizens themselves; acquire the citizenship of the country after fulfilling a set criterion.
The United States government also recognizes dual citizenship.

 On become a US citizen, no necessity implies on renouncing of the other citizenship. This is not a part of their policy, but the country recognizes and respects the dual citizenship. The children born within the United States of America territory, automatically becomes a US citizen, regardless of the fact whether the parents are citizens of the country or not. Furthermore, there is a difference between US citizens and those who are just US nationals. The nationals do not reside in the country and hence have a different standing on tax benefits.

Like the United States of America, other countries have their own standards for offering citizenships. Canada has a similar process of naturalization which requires the person to be a permanent resident for two years, with clear criminal record and clearing the Canada citizenship test. The United Kingdom naturalises a person and the discretion of the home secretary, along with other requirements such as language proficiency, five years of legal residence and a good character.

For businesses, work visas are a common area of interest in order to hire and retain skilled workers, many small businesses are applying for H-1B visas, and others for employees in accordance to U.S. immigration law. For a number of work visas to permanent residence with green cards, it is highly suggested that you consult with one or more immigration lawyers who can best help your company.

Immigration Attorney,Immigration Lawyer


Copyright Law Explained for Small Businesses and Startups

Copyright Law Explained for Small Businesses and Startups

Protection under the copyright law is for a musical, choreographically, graphic, pectoral, literary, architectural or audio-visual work. It is also available on a sound or video recording and prevents all these from being used or reproduced without the consent of the copyright owner. 


After it is registered, the copyright vests in the original work of the author. Upon their choice, copyright holders can transfer the copyright to another or give consent for reuse or reproduction of the work. Otherwise, subject to numerous limitations under the copyright law, the original owner of the copyright has the sole authority to reproduce the work, create further work from the original work, publicly perform or display the work or create copies of it for selling purposes. Copyrights last for the lifetime of the original author and within certain jurisdictions, many years after the death of the copyrighted owner.

Under copyright law, one cannot protect their methods of operation, procedures, systems, concepts, ideas, discoveries or principles; they can only protect their physical representations. Only fixed work can be registered under the Copyright Act of the country and nothing unrecorded can be for example improvised performances or dances, whereas video or audio recordings of such can be copyrighted. There is a requirement of originality that means that a work needs to be an independent creation of an author. Truthfulness, lawful content, artistic merit or novelty is not a requirement for copyright registration.

Without the requisite permission of the copyright  owner, no one can reproduce or copy the work, or create a new work that is based on or derived from the original work. No person or party can even sell the work or give it away to someone else until the copyright owner has granted that right or given the copy or sold it to someone, after which the owner of the copy can do whatever they wish with it. Copyright law also protects the moral rights of an author that has a copyright registered.

The doctrine of fair usage is the primary defence the accused can use to prove that he did not intend to commit copyright infringement. This doctrine allows the usage and reproduction of words for certain purposes like teaching, news reports, conducting researchers, commenting and criticisms. Fair usage is often considered as a privilege to use the content that is copyrighted in a reasonable manner without the consent of the copyright owner. 

In the court of law, while deciding whether copyright infringement has occurred or not, the court and copyright lawyers would consider a number of factors. Firstly, they will look the purpose behind the copying of the work and the character behind it. Copying for educational purposes is allowed. The nature of the original work will also be scrutinised and checked whether it was for commercial reasons. Courts may also look for the amount of work that is copied or the substantiality of the content and purpose of the original work that is copied. Further, it will look at the effect the copied work would have on the market and how it will deter the original work.

Copyright Attorney , Copyright Lawyer



Top Legal Marketplace Grows Outside General Counsel Services As Legal Departments Shrink


Top Legal Marketplace Grows Outside General Counsel Services As Legal Departments Shrink


As small businesses to larger businesses seek to trim expenses, in-house legal departments are becoming an obvious one, now that a growing number of reliable outside general counsel services exist to provide businesses with quality legal services but at much less costs than having an in-house legal department of lawyers.

Let’s start this out by saying the obvious: in-house legal departments are expensive. Having a team of several lawyers on staff plus the support personnel they require is costly. If you own a small business, even having just one full-time lawyer on payroll can seem like a monumental, heart attack inducing bill to pay. It’s no wonder that outside general counsel services are growing.

Lawyers provide countless services for businesses from filing for patents for a new product to advising managers on employee discrimination claims to applying for a work visa on behalf of a consultant from another country. However, with each of these issues a different specialty lawyer could be required. Copyright attorneys, labor attorneys, and immigration attorneys have different banks of knowledge and it is hardly feasible to keep them all on staff.

Outside general counsel services seem to be a growing option for many businesses. While large businesses may have a full time legal staff that is able to know the company and its inner workings intimately on a day-to-day basis, outside general counsel services shouldn’t be discredited. A business can pay a retainer fee to secure a lawyer for future cases or projects. General counsel services usually have a variety of lawyers with specialties to address your needs as problems or challenges arise. As you can imagine, hiring a lawyer on an hourly basis is much more cost effective than paying a small fortune for a full time staff member.

Furthermore, the quality of a lawyer on an outside general counsel website is just as credible (if not more so) as one that you would hire through traditional means. UpCounsel is a great example: their lawyers average 14 years of experience, are on average 60% more cost effective than a traditional law firm, they can complete your project three times faster since only lawyers who have time to dedicate to your project submit a proposal, and they were educated in some of the finest law schools including Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and UC Berkeley.

There are some great alternatives for businesses to get quality legal services for a fraction of the price when using these types of resources. Just because you don’t have a lawyer on staff doesn’t mean you have to compromise on your legal counsel.

UpCounsel helps businesses and entrepreneurs hire great attorneys and save a lot of money with their on-demand legal work. By using the UpCounsel legal marketplace, businesses can get proposals from several vetted attorneys experienced with their specific legal needs and choose the attorney that is best for them and their budget.

Business Attorney, Business Lawyer


Legal Marketplace for Businesses Proves Value for Getting Affordable Legal Services


Legal Marketplace for Businesses Proves Value for Getting Affordable Legal Services


One-stop shops are just a part of this fast-paced world that we live in. Walmart and Target supply groceries, clothes, medications, toys, office supplies, and furniture at their mega stores. Amazon.com sells everything from online books to collectibles to electronics. That is great for my shopping list, but can you really find a quality lawyer on an all encompassing website for legal services?

Yes, and here’s why: costs are rising everywhere. If you are running a startup, you can relate to the high costs of rent, utilities, support staff, electronics, sales and marketing. You have to work your behind off just to break even! While it is assumed that lawyers have high rates and make a lot, they are also in the same boat.

One survey that focused on law firm revenue in 2013 found that larger practices saw a 3 percent growth in general revenue and 3.9 percent growth in net income, while all other firms surveyed showed only 1.6 percent revenue growth and negative results in net income. This study speculates that income is down for the average lawyer due to the aforementioned increase in costs, a surplus of lawyers, and the number of equity partners in a practice.

There are many advantages to finding a lawyer on an on demand website. First of all, you can access a large pool of lawyers specializing in a variety of categories and you’ll undoubtedly find one who can address your needs. Secondly, you can read their bios online, which include their years of experience, schooling, the legal services he or she has expertise in, their office location, and client reviews. You can also submit a query for the work you need done and receive multiple proposals in a short amount of time.

Finally, these online legal services tend to charge less… a lot less. Traditional law firms break down their costs into the following categories: 50% goes into the partner pool, 20% goes to overhead, and 30% pays for services rendered. With online business lawyers, you can save up to 50% off of the customary bill and be assured that the work is being done by an expert, and not a junior associate.

The United States generates $387,052 in e-commerce every 30 seconds. That just goes to show that Americans aren’t doing things the way they’ve always been done. The Internet has revolutionized how we spend money, listen to music, and stay in touch with family and friends. It is also revolutionizing how we run our businesses, both in the storefronts and online. If you order product, store data, or e-file your tax returns, why wouldn’t you also hire a quality lawyer online?

Small businesses and startups can turn to UpCounsel to find a qualified attorney online for all of their business needs from forming their entity and hiring employees to protecting their intellectual property with trademarks, patents, and copyrights.


 Business Attorney , Business Lawyer