Many states, including Texas, subscribed to the basic principle that an employer should have the right to fire someone for “good cause, bad cause or no cause at all.”  This principle is called “at will employment.’  Many times it seems unfair to the employee, particularly in a bad economy where finding another job can be quite difficult, but it is based on the principles of freedom and liberty.  In particular, for a small company...

Recently a client asked me whether he should register an article he is publishing in a trade journal with the U.S. Copyright Office.  He explained that he had heard that copyright protection is automatically granted when the material is created, so he was wondering if there were any additional benefits to registering it.  I explained that under the current law, works of authorship that are “fixed in a tangible meaning of expression”...

You paid good money to an attorney to make sure your trademark was filed properly, you received your registration certificate and your business is running smoothly.  But after a few years you find out that someone else is using a trade name that is very similar to your mark.  You go to see an attorney to find out what you can do to stop it.  Good news is you probably can stop it.  Bad news is it’s likely going to cost you a bunch of...

A law suit by the estate of a British author, claims Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire copied a previous work by deceased author Adrian Jacobs.  For the details, click...