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Whether you are a content creator, musical artist, or someone like me who often (shamelessly) finds themselves mindlessly scrolling through social media platforms during their free time, you have likely caught wind of the recent dispute between Universal Music Group (“UMG”)—one of the world’s largest music conglomerates—and TikTok, one of the fastest growing, influential,…
Read MoreThe Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) – the agency responsible for implementing new requirements imposed by the Corporate Transparency Act of 2021 – has announced a change to the deadlines for the reporting of information by companies formed in 2024. Under the rule, as initially announced, those companies would have had 30 days from…
Read MoreMore and More Reporting to the U.S. Department of Treasury In a seemingly never-ending quest to crack down on money laundering, funding of terrorism, and tax evasion, our federal government’s latest attempt to prevent individuals from concealing their business holdings through shell companies and complex ownership structures is a doozy: the Corporate Transparency Act…
Read MoreWhat does an IP attorney who spends his days trying to protect the work of the creative class know about “corporate governance” you might ask? I’ve never had a professional specialty that was particularly easy to explain or for other attorneys to understand. I’ve been called many things in my career, but “corporate governance…
Read MoreWhat is Property Reassessment? Missouri law requires every county assessor (and the St. Louis City Assessor) to reassess the value of each property within their jurisdiction during the spring of every odd-numbered year. This process is known as reassessment. Unless you sell or significantly improve your property after that reassessment, the valuation of your…
Read MoreReady? How about a copyright claim over a farting doll named Pull My Finger Fred? Or a Supreme Court case over the trademark FUCT? Yes, to quote the reassurance that Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) offers to a disappointed Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when Clark discovers that his Christmas bonus is…
Read MoreAs both a trial attorney and the author of novels, I have learned to heed the words of Mark Twain, who wrote: “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.” We’ve all heard remarkable true stories about amazing coincidences (twins separated at birth and…
Read MoreA Disaster Waiting to Happen Picture it: The year is 2003. You are an owner of a limited liability company that has elected to be taxed as an S corporation. When you formed your LLC, you worked with an attorney to draft the operating agreement, and your CPA filed the S election. You went…
Read MoreYesterday morning the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling in one of the most closely-watched copyright cases in a long time – Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith. This case raised the question of whether pop artist Andy Warhol’s silkscreen painting of rock star Prince infringed on a photograph of Prince on which it was…
Read MoreHow can there be a writer’s strike when we’re living in a time of unprecedented TV and movie production, with more screens and outlets to watch content on than ever before? And what does this mean for the music industry? Great questions. Let’s talk about it. The Streaming Era’s Impact on the Writer’s Strike …
Read MoreMediation is a powerful and efficient way to resolve conflict by having honest and open communication. When I finish mediating a dispute I always reflect on how different and satisfying each process can be. I compare it to being confronted with a seemingly impossible crossword puzzle. At first glance the clues just don’t resonate but…
Read MoreThis morning, the Supreme Court issued what lawyers correctly regard as a taxpayer-friendly opinion in the case of Bittner v. United States. In that case, by a vote of 5-4, the Court held the maximum penalty that the Government can impose upon a person who nonwillfully fails to file FinCEN Form 114, “Report of Foreign…
Read MoreIn many cases, clients (even the ones who win) wish that they had found an alternative to litigation. I have concluded that the best and most cost-effective way to avoid litigation is EARLY mediation. I implore you to seek a serious structured effort early to resolve the dispute through mediation before legal bills and emotional…
Read MorePreventing a late or invalid S corporation election or termination is a high priority for S corporations, their owners, and their advisors. It requires relentless attention to detail because the very existence of an S corporation involves a proverbial minefield of traps for the unwary. Subchapter S (Internal Revenue Code §§ 1361-1379) is filled with…
Read MoreLast year at this time I welcomed the annual Public Domain Day with an apt quote from Winnie-the-Pooh: “It isn’t much good having anything exciting, if you can’t share it with somebody.” As I explained in that post, A.A. Milne’s beloved tale of the fictional teddy bear and his pals had entered the public domain…
Read MoreEver since he rode down that Trump Tower gold escalator in June of 2015 to launch his campaign for president, the name Donald J. Trump has inspired either adoration or abomination. But for we intellectual property lawyers, whether we admire or loathe the man, we view him as the gift that goes on giving. Indeed,…
Read MoreIt started as an ordinary traffic stop—waiting for the light to turn green, thoughts drifting aimlessly, idling behind a Honda Civic, but then I noticed the bumper sticker on that car: HOW’S MY DRIVING? DIAL 1-800-EAT-SHIT Did I laugh? No. Did I smile? No. Was I outraged? No. Was I offended? No. Did I…
Read MoreIn the classic movie Back to the Future, Doc Brown feeds garbage into the DeLorean’s “Mr. Fusion,” an on-board fusion reactor capable of converting leftovers and food waste into clean, green, energy for that quintessential time traveling machine. Doc Brown later predicts that by 1985, plutonium will be available in every corner drugstore to refuel…
Read MoreMany view my fellow copyright lawyers as the Glamor Guys and Gals of the legal profession—at least compared to, say, business lawyers, who the public misperceives as wretched scriveners hunched over their desks grinding out “whereas” clauses for lengthy contracts filled with hereinafters, heretofores, and other incomprehensible legalese. And yes, I will concede that over…
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