Blog | Law Office of Kelly Weiner PLLC

LegalForce Sues LegalZoom

The 81-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on December 19, 2017, says the lawsuit is being brought to “expose the willful and systematic acts of unauthorized practice of law, false advertising and unfair competition by LegalZoom,” and to help attorneys “compete on an equal playing field” with the online legal document company. See Complaint-LegalForce-RAPC-v-LegalZoom See my other post regarding LegalZoom for why I don't consider the company "competition." I occasionally get asked by prospective clients...

Protecting your rights in the digital world: Website/App Terms of Use

By Kelly Weiner

When developing a website or app, Terms of Use (also referred to as Terms of Service or Terms and Conditions) are typically an afterthought. Companies know that they “should” have them – the Terms of Use govern the relationship between the parties. But, oftentimes companies overlook one important step – consent. Generally, there are two ways in which end users “consent” to the Terms of Use for a website or app: continuing to use the website/app (a “browse-wrap agreement”) or...

Legal issues brands should consider when collaborating with other brands

By Kelly Weiner

Collaboration can be a fun way to increase the value of your brand. You can expose your brand to an entirely new market or territory, strengthen your existing brand awareness, or create additional revenue streams. Who doesn’t think that Doritos Locos Tacos is the most amazing option on the Taco Bell menu? Target’s Missoni line generated a shopping frenzy. Its collaborations with Lilly Pulitzer, Altazurra, Phillip Lim, Prabal Gurung, Zac Posen, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Alexander McQueen make it a...

Legal Bites: Contract Review

By Kelly Weiner

For many businesses, contracts are a necessary evil. While there are many advantages to being the party that supplies the contract in a transaction, sometimes makes sense for the other side to provide the initial draft. Here are a few basic, practical tips for making the contract review process more efficient and effective. 1. Start with an Internal Review of the Business Terms Your first step should be a review of the key terms. If you have a term sheet,...

Pitching: When numbers aren’t enough.

By Kelly Weiner

The intersection of financials, brand identity, and intellectual property. You know how to run the numbers, but what is your company’s story? Does your pitch deck convey who you really are? Do you really know your company’s brand and it’s value as a company asset? Do you understand your intellectual property assets? Do you have the language to talk about these issues at length? Unless your numbers truly speak for themselves, you need every tool at your disposal for communicating...

Manufacturing in China? Simple, proactive steps that you can take to protect your brand.

By Kelly Weiner

Outsourcing manufacturing to China can be a good strategy for reducing overhead. This is particularly true for low profit margin products. Most of us are aware of the country’s reputation for flooding the market with knock off products. We typically associate knock offs with large, well known, international brands. A Chinese individual registered the name of teen idol Justin Bieber. Another took the name and logo of the popular computer game Angry Birds. The Facebook trademark has been registered for...

LegalZoom

By Kelly Weiner

As a trademark attorney, I’ve received my fair share of cries for help from business owners who filed applications through trademark filing services to reduce their startup costs. LegalZoom and Trademarkia are two well-known companies in the industry. They sound like a great deal. The companies charge a fraction of what an attorney would cost. However, these companies are not law firms and they do not provide legal advice. I recently exchanged emails with yet another victim. She is a...

COPPA isn’t just for kids (apps). A warning about collecting user information.

By Kelly Weiner

Yelp recently agreed to pay a $450,000 civil penalty for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). According to the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) press release, the company violated the act by knowingly collecting personal information from app users who were under the age of 13. COPPA compliance efforts typically focus on companies with websites and apps that are directed to children. Yelp’s app publishes crowd-sourced reviews about local businesses. Not your typical kid app. So, why was Yelp investigated?...

Your Product Does What?!

By Kelly Weiner

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it has sent refund checks totally $9.3 million to nearly 200,000 consumers who bought the “Ab Circle Pro” device. The company claimed that exercising on the device for just three minutes a day would cause consumers to lose 10 pounds in two weeks. The day before, the FTC issued a press release about cactus juice marketers having to pay $3.5 million in refunds to consumers after making deceptive claims that the product treated diseases. What...