tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90344428287638406972010-02-18T13:32:12.389-08:00This periodic newsletter is provided by by Bowie & Jensen, LLC - exclusively for privately held businesses and business owners.Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-51309294171186800342010-02-18T13:27:00.000-08:002010-02-18T13:32:12.398-08:00

In celebration of the Raven’s excellent 2009 season, and to commemorate the law that years ago caused the Colts to leave town in the middle of the night, today we discuss American Needle v NFL, argued at the Supreme Court several weeks ago. Case cite: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/074006p.pdfThe “law” here is antitrust. American Needle held a long standing contract with the NFL

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-11518140501789761352010-02-16T08:32:00.001-08:002010-02-16T08:36:26.125-08:00

As the snow slowing begins to melt away and businesses begin to dig out from the back to back snow storms of 2010, supplies and materials are once again beginning to be delivered to job sites and warehouses. In additional to various other problems associated with the snow, contractors must also consider issues arising out of delivery of goods and materials. Depending on the contract language, the

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-23721605225632009412010-02-15T07:42:00.000-08:002010-02-15T08:49:54.251-08:00

This week life will begin to return to normal for business owners who have felt a real hit because of the blizzards. If you are a business owner who expects visitors, including customers and clients, or a landlord or commercial property owner whose property will receive visitors, you should know the extent of your obligations lie to clear snow and ice from a visitor’s path (including the parking

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-68293202481221620072010-02-15T07:18:00.001-08:002010-02-15T07:21:25.911-08:00

You have a registered trademark. Some years have passed and you are now thinking about making some changes for advertising purposes. However, have you thought about how those tweaks may impact your rights in the trademark?You build strength in your mark through use of the mark. If you make changes to your design that are material, you run the risk of losing all of the source-identifying value

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-6024702436067625432010-02-15T06:37:00.000-08:002010-02-15T06:40:48.971-08:00

Congress failed to act before the expiration of the federal estate tax structure that had been in place since 2001. As discussed previously on this blog, that means there is no federal estate tax this year, compared with 2009 when the tax fell upon estates worth more than the then-exempt amount of $3.5 million. What has also changed this year following expiration of the old law is the so-called “

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-52699894963266363472009-12-28T08:16:00.000-08:002009-12-28T09:16:08.261-08:00

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-20925123313177555282009-12-23T06:30:00.001-08:002009-12-23T06:32:30.922-08:00

Most military contractors will no longer be able to enforce mandatory arbitration clauses in their employment contracts under a provision signed into law over the weekend. Specifically, no money can go to a defense contractor unless the contractor agrees not to enter into or enforce any employment contract "that requires, as a condition of employment, that the employee or independent contractor

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-47001832578958479202009-12-21T09:40:00.000-08:002009-12-21T09:43:00.760-08:00

The U.S. Congress may yet act before the year is out to extend or change the federal estate tax. If not, the 2001 legislation that has established exemptions and tax rates through this year is scheduled to expire for the year 2010. Then, in 2011, the exemptions and rates will revert to their pre-2001 rates. Here are the differences:For persons dying in 2009, the last year of the 2001 legislation,

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-63518484971460863512009-12-10T08:38:00.000-08:002009-12-10T08:48:00.442-08:00

Demonstrating that regulation of privacy is hard, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has AGAIN pushed back the enforcement of the Red Flags rule, now until June 1, 2010. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/redflags.shtm. This might have followed a court loss, in which the American Bar Association convinced a court to hold that the red flags rule should not apply to lawyers. See https://

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-64576729557105121782009-11-25T08:14:00.000-08:002009-11-25T08:17:45.458-08:00

Under Maryland law, a landlord’s refusal to consent to a lease assignment is only deemed reasonable if it is based on objective grounds and reasonable commercial standards without regard to the subjective personal beliefs of the landlord (Maxima Corp. v. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 81 Md. App. 602 (1990)). In Maxima Corp., the court gave the following examples of good faith reasonable objections

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-81844595982320986762009-11-25T08:11:00.000-08:002009-11-25T08:13:55.242-08:00

The Google Book Settlement Agreement may change the way people find or browse for books in the future and it is one of the hottest topics in copyright law in 2009. In 2004, Google announced that it had entered into agreements with various libraries to digitize entire books. Two class action lawsuits on behalf of authors and publishers were then filed against Google alleging copyright

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-86585900621841488412009-11-09T06:58:00.000-08:002009-11-09T06:59:37.376-08:00

With access to capital at a premium in the current economy, it is important for potential business borrowers to bear in mind certain essential terms to any loan.1. If the loan is to be secured by real estate, taxes are payable on the recordation (sometimes close to 5% of the secured loan amount) unless the grantor of the lien is a party other than the borrower. Consider structuring the loan so

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-86881960291035045382009-11-04T08:02:00.001-08:002009-11-04T08:02:58.230-08:00

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidelines to help employers plan for pandemics, such as the H1N1 virus currently gripping much of the nation, while complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The guidance identifies ADA principles that are relevant to questions frequently asked about workplace pandemic planning. This guidance can be accessed at http://

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-21116946818689602592009-11-04T07:48:00.000-08:002009-11-04T07:49:58.474-08:00

There is a popular misconception that operators of privately held companies do not need to think about federal and state securities laws when raising funds through “friends and family” offerings. The reality is that any time a company seeks investment funding – even from friends and family of the company’s operators – the company is almost certainly engaging in an offering of securities that is

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-5919727529099404992009-10-26T07:33:00.000-07:002009-10-26T07:35:56.484-07:00

The Workplace Fraud Act (“Act”), which became effective October 1, 2009, gives Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation sweeping powers to investigate the misclassification of construction and landscaping industry workers as independent contractors, imposes a presumption that workers in these industries are employees and imposes penalties on employers for misclassification. It also

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-54092141170125525992009-10-26T06:41:00.000-07:002009-10-26T06:53:35.491-07:00

Like drugs, clients should just say no to “agreement to agree” clauses in most cases. These clauses appear when parties to a business relationship are too lazy, too tired, or simply want to avoid a complex issue. The usual form is something like this: “The parties will agree in the future on pricing and discounts for third party distributors.” Lawyers hate these clauses. Why? First, there is a

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-9251390984797703072009-10-02T07:37:00.000-07:002009-10-02T07:43:27.218-07:00

If you are new to running your own business, here is a bit of advice we have been giving to clients here at Bowie & Jensen for almost 20 years: get your professional team in place as soon as possible. All businesses, especially small businesses, need a good solid team of professionals to help them from the start.A C.P.A. to advise on tax,accounting and financial issues; a banker to help with

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-12292886903220115072009-09-25T11:56:00.000-07:002009-09-25T11:58:14.843-07:00

Effective October 1, animal owners can create legally enforceable trusts to ensure the continued care of their dogs, cats, horses or other animals they own. Such trusts were being created even before the Maryland legislature acted in its most recent session; however, those were honorary only. The new statute provides for enforceability.Under the statute, a trust may be created to provide for the

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-63236675538000998652009-09-18T10:41:00.000-07:002009-09-18T10:43:28.964-07:00

Although corporations and limited liability entities (LLEs) are valuable tools for shielding their owners from many types of personal liability, it is important for owners to be mindful that corporations and LLEs do not extinguish all risk of personal liability.Despite the general shield against personal liability provided by corporations and LLEs, their owners can still be held personally liable

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-26298932679597254952009-09-11T06:15:00.000-07:002009-09-11T06:18:21.265-07:00

A trade secret is any process, method or other information that is kept reasonably secret and if known to a competitor, would give that competitor an advantage. In regular commerce, you often have to disclose trade secrets to develop, team, expand, or otherwise commercialize your products. It is critical that in making that disclosure, you obtain a properly worded Non Disclosure Agreement – and

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-59778012004332226742009-09-02T07:05:00.000-07:002009-09-02T07:08:30.027-07:00

Copyrights are often considered the stuff of musicians, music companies, authors and movie studios, but your business may have material that could be copyrightable. If your business has created software programs, employee training manuals, or even advertising materials, those programs and materials may be copyrightable under federal law. You are not required to obtain a copyright registration to

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-24865701881573670862009-08-21T06:54:00.000-07:002009-08-21T07:01:36.911-07:00

When we look around our businesses most of us can quickly identify a handful of employees we consider superstars. As a planning exercise identify your superstars and ask yourself the following questions: 1. If any of them left could someone else do their job? 2. If one of them left could you survive the loss of income associated with the departure? 3. If one of them left and started to compete

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-39123615726024990312009-08-14T07:45:00.000-07:002009-08-21T07:05:26.686-07:00

If you are thinking of going into business with someone else, be sure to do it with a plan for what will happen to the interest of a business partner who leaves for whatever reason. For a corporation, this agreement takes the form of a stockholders agreement, and for other entities, an operating or partnership agreement. Without the so-called “buy-sell” provisions of such an agreement in place,

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-70749377672681914002009-08-07T10:58:00.000-07:002009-08-07T11:00:03.328-07:00

Be sure to keep your company’s principal office and resident agent addresses up to date with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. Keeping these addresses current will help ensure that you receive important information from the state, like the forms for annual personal property returns, and prompt notice if your company is the subject of a lawsuit. You can update your principal office

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034442828763840697.post-18570843761886381322009-07-30T06:58:00.000-07:002009-07-30T07:56:04.654-07:00

Yesterday (July 29, 2009) the Federal Trade Commission pushed the effective date of the new "Red Flag" rules back to November 1, 2009. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/07/redflag.shtm. They had been delayed twice before, originally to go into effect last November.In general, the Red Flag rules require "creditors" to adopt and implement a plan to avoid and report identity theft. You can read more

Bowie & Jensen, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128078371238824318noreply@blogger.com0