Haskins Law Group

Archive for the ‘Lawsuits’ Category

Protect your name first.

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Okay, new business owners, we need to talk.

I talk with new or recently new business owners everyday regarding their new company, their new product, their new service, etc. These people recognize a potential issue, have a specific question or face a real issue that needs attention now. The last possibility is the most common and always the most expensive to fix. However, there is one issue that business people need to be aware of upfront: protect your name before you start conducting business. (more…)

Posted in Business consulting, Copyright, Document preparation, Lawsuits, Trademark | 2 Comments »

Read your contracts people!

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

I saw this link http://bit.ly/dnGAi1 regarding what Conan O’Brien is allowed to say at the Emmy’s on Sunday and it made me think about how many times I have to help resolve a contract dispute because the parties never actually read the contract. Oh sure, if you talk to someone about how to handle their contracts they adamantly swear that they read them. Fact is, most people scan a contract before signing and very few people actually take the time to understand it. (more…)

Posted in Business consulting, Document preparation, Lawsuits | No Comments »

Celador wins a $270 million judgment against Disney for “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/07/millionaire-verdict-disney-loses-big.html

In sum, Disney was engaged in self-dealing practices with affiliates and sweetheart deals with power partners to keep the costs artificial down. Celador would have been entitled to receive more money had these costs not be kept in check and below market. The case interesting for many reasons, but one of the most interesting was the microscope that was directed on TV accounting. I can’t think of another instance where production costs and fees were so closely examined. Remember, entertainment accounting may not equal traditional accounting.

Posted in Entertainment, Lawsuits | No Comments »

The unauthorized practice of law in Colorado

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

The unauthorized practice of law is becoming increasingly common. I received this note today from the Colorado Bar Association’s Section on Litigation:
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Posted in Business consulting, Document preparation, Lawsuits | No Comments »

Is Yelp a genuine service?

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Has Yelp engaged in wrongful conduct? It does if they use bad reviews to extort small business. http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2010/02/yelp-class-action-suit.html

The meat of the article is whether or not Yelp is offering an advertising service or extorting small businesses by offering to remove or hide negative reviews for a monthly fee. However, the knowledge of Yelp’s advertising scheme alone reduces the value of Yelp’s service to businesses and customers as a whole.
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Posted in Lawsuits, Marketing, Testimonials and Endorsements | No Comments »