Business Law Archive

As soon as practicable in the witness preparation stage, a witness should become familiar with the issue of the hearing and the subject matter of the testimony. This is a critical step in preparing to …

Legal professional privilege (LPP) is the fundamental right for clients in litigation to protect confidential communications with their lawyers from disclosure in court. Historically, it is almost universally acknowledged that this right is crucial to …

Background checks can help recruiters make the right decision about potential candidates. Information from previous employers, from government agencies and from other information sources can help highlight areas that may be of concern. There are …

An obligation is an act or course of action to which a person is legally or morally bound. Most of these may be more moral than legal but they are not objective, in other words …

Starting a new business and providing a new service or product or simply a new outlet where customers can obtain items they need is very exciting.  Letting customers know about your new business and the …

What to do about health care is a controversial topic in the US. President Obama has made health care reform as one of the most important parts of his presidency. With the recent Supreme Court …

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) touched on many ways that health care providers and health insurance companies do business. Two of the major areas where HIPAA changed the way medical …

Competition is the cornerstone of a free market society.  Because of competition, inventors of new products are encouraged to innovate and to produce their wares for consumers at prices that are affordable and fair.  Most …

The rules governing copyrightable work created by two or more authors vary from country to country, although they tend to be similar. In the United States, work created by two or more authors Along with …

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1880s wealth and power in America consolidated. From what were once small family business across the County sprang giant corporations that controlled the most important …

In an economy driven by supply and demand, many players can use various methods to manipulate and reorient market trends towards gaining an unfair edge over their competitors. The market economy is usually dependent on …

Owning or working in a family-owned business may be the ideal employment and financial situation for some individuals. But common disputes involving family-owned businesses can lead to family discord as well as the potential for negatively affecting the business, possibly resulting …

The first copyright act was the Statute of Anne (1710). It gave authors the right to their works for 14 years, during which they could choose the printers who would publish their work. At the …

The world has been contaminated by many things: crime, corruption, apathy, epidemics, pandemics and pollution. The decline of civilization hasn’t been a pretty sight. Theodore Roosevelt reached out to unborn generations. He was responsible for …

The origins of copyright law, or at least the notion that an individual has an exclusivity to his or her own creative or intellectual property, can be traced back to ancient Greece. It is during …

A tort is a civil wrong. A tort is an action by on citizen against another for monetary or other redress for a wrong committed. Tort comes from Norman French and means injury. It provides …

The Export Trading Company Act (1982) was enacted to protect joint activities by American export trading companies by allowing these companies to apply for a limited anti-trust exemption. This is intended to encourage the formation …

Initially when people hear the words “seized funds” they immediately panic. However, Escheatment laws are in fact the process of states seizing unclaimed financial accounts. In fact, the escheatment laws are in place to protect …

A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a business structure allowed by state statute. LLCs are popular because, similar to a corporation, owners have limited personal liability for the debts and actions of the LLC. Additionally, …

Patents, trademarks and copyrights are different kinds of intellectual property protected by U.S. law. These protections include federal rights, international protections, and common-law rights of action should any kind of intellectual property be stolen or …

International trade law refers to the complex network of national legislation and international agreements which govern commerce between countries. The most important international trade law regime is the set of institutions and rules overseen by …

Tort law, which covers situations in which one person is wrongfully harmed or injured by another person (or organization), divides wrongdoing into intentional torts and unintentional ones, which usually take the form of negligence. The …

The World Trade Organization, which today includes all major world economies, has humble beginnings but a rich history. Prior to the current era of free trade, international commerce was heavily regulated and profit from tariffs, …

The emotions felt when committing to a lease of a business premises can be a heady cocktail of excitement and terror. To help reduce the element of terror in this mix, it is advisable to …

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the largest multilateral trade organization in the world. It has two basic functions. First, it promotes new trade agreements which reduce tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to international trade …

Before the publicity surrounding the Kelo v. City of New London case in 2005, it was not widely known that the American government had the power to seize citizens’ property.  Under the legal principle of …

You may not be aware of it, but you probably enter into contracts nearly every day. Whether they are formal, informal, oral or multi-page documents, all contracts must have the same five elements to be …

In business law, the formation of a contract refers to several conditions which must be met before a contract will be enforced by a court of law. These include that all parties are capable of …

The Companies Act 2006 (CA2006) introduced the concept of a liability limitation agreement in respect of auditor’s liability. The relevant provisions have been in effect since the 6th April 2008. It is defined as “an …

The language used by lawyers can sometimes be confusing, especially when sharing contractual documents with non-legal colleague. One of the areas frequently asked about is the difference between warranties and indemnities.  Both are types of …