New England Biz Law Update

Determining when a worker can properly be treated as an independent contractor, rather than an employee, has long been challenging for businesses that depend on outside consultants and contractors. The outcome of traditional analyses depended largely on the degree of ...

A recent case reminds us that proving “likelihood of confusion” – as required to show trademark infringement – can be difficult, even where the alleged infringement involves nearly identical marks for similar products. Those who appreciate why can be especially ...

Paying attorney’s fees is never easy, but paying the fees of someone who’s suing you can be downright painful. Until recently, this pain was exacerbated in employment settlements due to ambiguity regarding the proper tax treatment of attorney’s fees associated ...

If your company licenses the manufacture and sale of its products, technology or brands, you may have multiple distribution schemes and, therefore, multiple license agreements. When creating these sales channels for your company, prospective licensees often ask for exclusive rights. ...

The recently enacted American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 has made substantial changes to the tax rules governing non-qualified deferred compensation plans. These provisions (added as Section 409A to the Internal Revenue Code) permit the deferral of taxation only if ...

Corporate mergers over the past 15 years in sectors important in New England – including banking, technology, health care, life insurance and consumer products – have erased the top legal positions in many companies and sent general counsel and other ...

Agreeing to pay a running royalty for a patent license can be a sensible business decision for a company accused of infringement. The license may subsequently look less attractive, however, if information later comes to light that calls into question ...

Whether you simply like to make fun of Canadians, or your company advertises in Canada, you may be surprised to learn that our friends to the North can be even more politically correct than we are when it comes to ...

“There is no such thing as a free lunch,” at least according to economist Milton Friedman. Yet, at first glance, open source software seems to be an exception to that rule. Open source software is freely available, high-quality and distributed ...

Former WBZ-TV news anchor Suzanne Bates, who is now advising business enterprises and law firms on improving communications, has written a book that provides some basic practical advice on communicating like a leader. For lawyers who act as group leaders ...