#Ip Lawyer Sydney

[pynkhues]

Random but do you know why actors pay their lawyers a set percentage of their earnings? I thought lawyers were paid by the hour and this seems to be a strange outlier in the legal industry that very much benefits lawyers but not necessarily actors...i saw sydney sweeney saying she pays her lawyer 5% of all her take home pay.

and why do so many actors, including non A list ones, have business managers? it just seems a bit redundant if youre not Zendaya and another drain on earnings

Oh! Honestly, I didn't know they did. That's interesting, and sounds more like what an agent would do than a lawyer (although agents usually do [and should imo] have legal backgrounds themselves). Entertainment lawyers are generally handling negotiations, contracts and managing taxes for clients, but they can do more than that too like connect clients to each other or to different projects.

My mum's an indie producer, which I've talked about a couple of times on here, and two of her current projects were actually ones that her lawyer (who she's had for about 20 years) linked her to. He was / is the IP lawyer for those projects and when the creatives were looking for a producer, he thought my mum would be a good fit and so rang her to connect them. With those projects now he gets a percentage fee because the deals went ahead (he also linked her to one that didn't go ahead a few years ago, which he took no fee for), but it's only for those two projects and not for the rest of her production slate (he just gets his regular flat fee for those).

If Sydney Sweeny's lawyer's getting 5% of all her take home pay, I'd imagine it's probably a situation like that where they've connected her to either other clients or projects that have been important in moving her career forwards. It's hard to say though, I could be wrong.

As for business managers, I think they're pretty valuable for anyone in the creative industries and I'd lowkey kill for one, haha. Just speaking personally, y'know, I'm an author with one book out and about twenty short stories and a few optioned scripts, and even I've already got a team with an agent and an accountant.

I manage my own schedule though, as well as most of my contracts (my agent only reads high value ones aka book and screenplay contracts; all my short stories, freelance writing, workshop teaching, reading events and festival appearance contracts I manage myself), event negotiations and liaising, and income/outcome spreadsheets before I send them to my accountant. It's a lot of work, even at my low level of doing it, and it'd be way more intense as even a jobbing actor when you add in balancing multiple production schedules (even if they're only doing a couple of episodes of a few different shows - managing that schedule and script changes and fittings can get messy fast!) and partnerships and social media to the mix. I don't fault any of them for having a business manager at all. In some ways they're probably more valuable than a few other roles an actor might have on their team.

[qnewsau]

Building your family – where do you start?

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/building-your-family-where-do-you-start/

Building your family – where do you start?

Sam Everingham talks with two parents Tim and JC who created their family through surrogacy. Each had experience with both local and international processes. They, along with six other gay dads will share much more of the ups and downs of the process at Growing Families Sydney Conference on June 22-23, 2024.

JC and his husband completed their first journey in Australia. In this environment, intended parents need to independently find a suitable egg donor, surrogate and coordinate with IVF clinics.

Navigating multiple aspects of the journey independently can be challenging and time-consuming. Domestically, the most challenging part is finding an egg donor and surrogate – pure luck plays a big role. But luck was on their side.

For domestic surrogacy, their newborn’s birth certificate listed their surrogate as the legal parent. It took six months and a court order, for a new birth certificate to be issued.

For JC’s second surrogacy journey – everyone seems to want a sibling – they chose Argentina, given it offers a more centralized and supported process through specialized agencies who manage all aspects of the journey, including identifying egg donors and surrogates, plus IVF clinic coordination.

Buenos Aires legal framework simplified things by directly placing the intended parents’ names on the first birth certificate. To JC this seemed ‘a more straightforward path’ than the Australian model.

“In Australia,” JC reflects, “the process took us approximately two years from getting an egg donor up to the child’s birth whilst in Argentina it took us one year and three months from signing up with an agency up to the child’s birth.

“In Argentina the most challenging part was the long travel and no family support at the … birth.”

What advice would JC offer?

“Prioritise open and honest communication throughout …. Building a strong and trusting relationship with the agency or any parties involved is crucial for navigating the complexities and emotional challenges

“Also, you just need to trust the process and never forget to enjoy the journey.”

Tim and his husband Sasha

Tim and his husband Sasha (pictured above) started by joining Surrogacy Australia’s Support Service Two months after submitting their profile, their surrogate Lizzy came into their lives.

He triple-checked just to make sure it wasn’t a scam – everything happened so quickly. As a team, they attended the 2022 Growing Family Conference where they decided to work with an IVF doctor – from the US. Here they also selected a counsellor and surrogacy lawyer.

So how did Tim and his partner support their surrogate without an agency?

Tim discovered that their surrogate’s needs changed at various stages of the pregnancy. Her support needs were, he admits “even more complicated” in the months following birth.

“Sometimes, it might take you a few attempts to work out how to best support your surrogate,” he advises.

“Know that surrogates often don’t want to bother their intended parents and try to do as much as they can before asking for help. The goal is to avoid that and build a network for her to rely on.”

“There are times when IPs can’t physically be there to help, so make sure you can pay for help such as cleaning, takeaway food, childcare or transportation”.

“From first introduction to the birth…, our journey took less than two years. However, (a domestic) journey doesn’t end at childbirth. ….your surrogate will need you more than ever during the ‘fourth trimester’”. How long that lasts depends on your surrogate’s recovery.

For Tim, the most challenging part was seeing their surrogate in pain or distress due to pregnancy. “You often wish you can take the pain for her but you can’t.”

Advice Tim would give to those contemplating domestic surrogacy? “There are many ways of finding a surrogate. Social media, ASC Facebook group, family connections, friends, Surrogacy Australia. Pursue every one of them.

“Help sometimes comes from the most unexpected place.”

Growing Families’ Sydney Conference on June 22-23

Meet with Tim and JC as well as plenty of other parents, surrogates, donors, and local and international experts at Growing Families’ June conference in Sydney.

Teens brought up by gay dads will speak about their sense of self and disclosure. Surrogates and donors will speak about selecting recipients and support expectations.

For more information click this link.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[sstevenhawkin]

IP lawyer It’s vital for you to protect your business’ Intellectual Property (IP) to ensure long term financial success and brand building, which often a lot of business owners forget. It’s only when the IP of a business has been stolen or under attack, is it really clear how important that is. An IP lawyer can help protect your IP. Get in touch with Intellectual property lawyers sydney.

[w3iplawyer-blog]

W3IP Law has a team of intellectual property lawyers in Sydney & Melbourne. Our IP lawyers in Sydney and Melbourne advise clients in relation to the protection of their intellectual property.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Patent troll's IP more powerful than Apple's

I was 12 years into my Locus Magazine column when I published the piece I'm most proud of, "IP," from September 2020. It came after an epiphany, one that has profoundly shaped the way I talk and think about the issues I campaign on.

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

That revelation was about the meaning of the term "IP," which had been the center of this tedious linguistic cold war for decades. People who advocate for free and open technology and culture hate the term "IP" because of its ideological loading and imprecision.

Ideology first: Before "IP" came into wide parlance - when lobbyists for multinational corporations convinced the UN to turn their World Intellectual Property Organization into a specialized agency, we used other terms like "author's monopolies" and "regulatory monopolies."

"Monopoly" is a pejorative. "Property" is sacred to our society. When a corporation seeks help defending its monopoly, it is a grubby corrupter. When it asks for help defending its property, it is enlisting the public to defend the state religion.

Free culture people know allowing "monopolies" to become "property" means losing the battle before it is even joined, but it is frankly unavoidable. How do you rephrase "IP lawyer" without conceding the property point? "Trademark-copyright-patent-and-related-rights lawyer?"

Thus the other half of the objection to "IP": its imprecision. Copyright is not anything like patent. Patent is not anything like trademark. Trade secrets are an entirely different thing again. Don't let's get started on sui generis and neighboring rights.

And this is where my revelation came: as it is used in business circles, "IP" has a specific, precise meaning. "IP" means, "Any law, policy or regulation that allows me to control the conduct of my competitors, critics and customers."

Copyright, patent and trademark all have limitations and exceptions designed to prevent this kind of control, but if you arrange them in overlapping layers around a product, each one covers the exceptions in the others.

Creators don't like having their copyrights called "author's monopolies." Monopolists get to set prices. All the copyright in the world doesn't let an author charge publishers more for their work. The creators have a point.

But when author's monopolies are acquired by corporate monopolists, something magical and terrible happens.

Remember: market-power monopolies are still (theoretically) illegal and when companies do things to maintain or expand their monopolies, they risk legal jeopardy.

But: The corporate monopolist who uses IP to expand their monopoly has no such risk. Monopolistic conduct in defense of IP enjoys wide antitrust forbearance. What's the point of issuing patents or allowing corporations to buy copyrights if you don't let them enforce them?

The IP/market-power monopoly represents a futuristic corporate alloy, a new metal never seen, impervious to democratic control.

Software is "IP" and so any device with software in it is like beskar, a rare metal that can be turned into the ultimate corporate armor.

No company exemplifies this better than Apple, a company that used limitations on IP to secure its market power, then annihilated those limits so that no one could take away its market power.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

In the early 2000s, Apple was in trouble. The convicted monopolist Microsoft ruled the business world, and if you were the sole Mac user in your office, you were screwed.

When a Windows user sent you a Word file, you could (usually) open it in the Mac version of Word, but then if you saved that file again, it often became forever cursed, unopenable by any version of Microsoft Office ever created or ever to be created.

This became a huge liability. Designers started keeping a Windows box next to their dual processor Power Macs, just to open Office docs. Or worse (for Apple), they switched to a PC and bought Windows versions of Adobe and Quark Xpress.

Steve Jobs didn't solve this problem by begging Bill Gates to task more engineers to Office for Mac. Instead, Jobs got Apple techs to reverse-engineer all of the MS Office file formats and release a rival office suite, Iwork, which could read and write MS Office files.

That was an Apple power move, one that turned MS's walled garden into an all-you-can-eat buffet of potential new Mac users. Apple rolled out the Switch ads, whose message was, "Every MS Office file used to be a reason *not* to use a Mac. Now it's a reason to switch *to* a Mac."

More-or-less simultaneously, though, Apple was inventing the hybrid market/IP monopoly tool that would make it the most valuable company in the world, in its design for the Ipod and the accompanying Itunes store.

It had a relatively new legal instrument to use for this purpose: 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act; specifically, Section 1201 of the DMCA, the "anti-circumvention" clause, which bans breaking DRM.

Under DMCA 1201, if a product has a copyrighted work (like an operating system) and it has an "access control" (like a password or a bootloader key), then bypassing the access control is against the law, even if no copyright infringement takes place.

That last part - "even if no copyright infringement takes place" - is the crux of DMCA 1201. The law was intended to support the practices of games console makers and DVD player manufacturers, who wanted to stop competitors from making otherwise legal devices.

With DVD players, that was about "region coding," the part of the DVD file format that specified which countries a DVD could be played back in. If you bought a DVD in London, you couldn't play it in Sydney or New York.

Now, it's not a copyright violation to buy a DVD and play it wherever you happen to be. As a matter of fact, buying a DVD and playing it is the *opposite* of a copyright infringement.

But it *was* a serious challenge to the entertainment cartel's business-model, which involved charging different prices and having different release dates for the same movie depending on where you were.

The same goes for games consoles: companies like Sega and Nintendo made a lot of money charging creators for the right to sell games that ran on the hardware they sold.

If I own a Sega Dreamcast, and you make a game for it, and I buy it and run it on my Sega, that's not a copyright infringement, even if Sega doesn't like it. But if you have to bypass an "access control" to get the game to play without Sega's blessing, it violates DMCA 1201.

What's more, DMCA 1201 has major penalties for "trafficking in circumvention devices" and information that could be used to build such a device, such as reports of exploitable flaws in the programming of a DRM system: $500k in fines and a 5 year sentence for a first offense.

Deregionalizing a DVD player or jailbreaking a Dreamcast didn't violate anyone's copyrights, but it still violated copyright law (!). It was pure IP, the right to control the conduct of critics (security researchers), customers and competitors.

In the words of Jay Freeman, it's "Felony contempt of business-model."

And that's where the Ipod came in. Steve Jobs's plan was to augment the one-time revenue from an Ipod with a recurrent revenue stream from the Itunes store.

He exploited the music industry's superstitious dread of piracy and naive belief in the efficacy of DRM to convince the record companies to only sell music with his DRM wrapper on it - a wrapper they themselves could not authorize listeners to remove.

Ever $0.99 Itunes purchase added $0.99 to the switching cost of giving up your Ipod for a rival device, or leaving Itunes and buying DRM music from a rival store. It was control over competitors and customers. It was IP.

If you had any doubt that the purpose of Ipod/Itunes DRM was to fight competitors, not piracy, then just cast your mind back to 2004, when Real Media "hacked" the Ipod so that it would play music locked with Real's DRM as well as Apple's.

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3387871/Apple+RealNetworks+Hacked+iPod.htm

Apple used DMCA 1201 to shut Real down, not to stop copyright infringement, but to prevent Apple customers from buying music from record labels and playing them on their Ipods without paying Apple a commission and locking themselves to Apple's ecosystem, $0.99 at a time.

Pure IP. Now, imagine if Microsoft had been able to avail itself of DMCA 1201 when Iwork was developed - if, for example, its "information rights management" encryption had caught on, creating "access controls" for all Office docs.

There's a very strong chance that would have killed Apple off before it could complete its recovery. Jobs knew the power of interoperating without consent, and he knew the power of invoking the law to block interoperability. He practically invented modern IP.

Apple has since turned IP into a trillion-dollar valuation, largely off its mobile platform, the descendant of the Ipod. This mobile platform uses DRM - and thus DMCA 1201 - to ensure that you can only use apps that come from its app store.

Apple gets a cut of penny you spend buying an app, and every penny you spend within that app: 30% (now 15% for a minority of creators after bad publicity).

IP lets one of the least taxed corporations on Earth extract a 30% tax from everyone else.

https://locusmag.com/2021/03/cory-doctorow-free-markets/

Remember, it's not copyright infringement for me to write an app and you to buy it from me and play it on your Iphone without paying the 30% Apple tax.

That's the exact opposite of copyright infringement: buying a copyrighted work and enjoying it on a device you own.

But it's still an IP violation. It bypasses Apple's ability to control competitors and customers. It's felony contempt of business-model.

It shows that under IP, copyright can't be said to exist as an incentive to creativity - rather, it's a tool for maintaining monopolies.

Which brings me to today's news that Apple was successfully sued by a patent troll over its DRM. A company called Personalized Media Communications whose sole product is patent lawsuits trounced Apple in the notorious East Texas patent-troll court.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-19/apple-told-to-pay-308-5-million-for-infringing-drm-patent

After software patents became widespread - thanks to the efforts of Apple and co - there was a bonanza of "inventors" filing garbage patents with the USPTO whose format was "Here's an incredibly obvious thing...*with a computer*." The Patent Office rubberstamped them by the million.

These patents became IP, a way to extract rent without having to make a product. "Investors" teamed up with "inventors" to buy these and impose a tax on businesses - patent licensing fees that drain money from people who make things and give it to people who buy things.

They found a court - the East Texas court in Marshall, TX - that was hospitable to patent trolls. They rented dusty PO boxes in Marshall and declared them to be their "headquarters" so that they could bring suits there.

Locals thrived - they got jobs as "administrators" (mail forwarders) for the thousands of "businesses" whose "head office" was in Marshall (when you don't make a product, your head office can be a PO box).

Productive companies facing hundreds of millions - billions! - in patent troll liability sought to curry favor with locals (who were also the jury pool) by "donating" things to Marshall, like the skating rink Samsung bought for the town.

https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/why-south-korea-s-samsung-built-the-only-outdoor-skating-rink-in-texas

Patent, like copyright, is supposed to serve a public purpose. There are only two clauses in the US Constitution that come with explanations (the rest being "truths held to be self-evident"): the Second Amendment and the "Progress Clause" that creates patents and copyrights.

Famously, the Second Amendment says you can bear arms as part of a "well-regulated militia."

And the Progress Clause? It extends to Congress the power to create patents and copyrights "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts."

I'm with Apple in its ire over this judgment. Sending $308.5m to a "closely held" patent troll has nothing to do with the "Progress of Science and useful Arts."

But it has *everything* to do with IP.

If copyright law can let Apple criminalize - literally criminalize - you selling me If copyright law can let Apple criminalize - literally criminalize - you selling me your copyrighted work, then there's no reason to hate on patent trolls.

They're just doing what trolls do: blocking the bridge between someone engaged in useful work and the customers for that work, and extracting a toll. It's not even 30%.

There is especial and delicious irony in the fact that the patent in question is a DRM patent: a patent for the very same process that Apple uses to lock down its devices and prevent creators from selling to customers without paying the 30% Apple Tax.

But even without that, it's as good an example of what an IP marketplace looks like: one in which making things becomes a liability. After all, the more you make, the more chances there are for an IP owner to demand tax from you to take it to market.

The only truly perfect IP is the naked IP of a patent troll, the bare right to sue, a weapon made from pure abstract legal energy, untethered from any object, product or service that might be vulnerable to another IP owner's weapons.

A coda: you may recall that Apple doesn't use DRM on its music anymore: you can play Itunes music on any device. That wasn't a decision Apple took voluntarily: it was forced into it by a competitor: Amazon, an unlikely champion of user rights.

In 2007, the record labels had figured out that Apple had lured them into a trap, selling millions of dollars worth of music that locked both listeners and labels into the Itunes ecosystem.

In a desperate bid for freedom, they agreed to help Amazon launch its MP3 store - all the same music, at the same prices...without DRM. Playable on an Ipod, but also on any other device.

Prior to the Amazon MP3 store, the market was all DRM: you could either buy Apple's DRM music and play it on your Ipod, or you could buy other DRM music and play it on a less successful device.

The Amazon MP3 store (whose motto was "DRM: Don't Restrict Me") changed that to "Buy Apple DRM music and play it on your Ipod, or buy Amazon music and play it anywhere." That was the end of Apple music DRM.

So why hasn't anyone done this for the apps that Apple extracts the 30% tax on? IP. If you made a phone that could play Ios apps, Apple would sue you:

https://gizmodo.com/judge-tosses-apple-lawsuit-against-iphone-emulator-in-b-1845967318

And if you made a device that let you load non-App Store apps on an Iphone, Apple would also sue you.

Apple understands IP. It learned the lesson of the Amazon MP3 store, and it is committed to building a world where every creator pays a tax to reach every Apple customer.

[mounayouseflaw]

Mouna Yousef Youssef from Sydney

Why Every Small Business has to Have A Lawyer

Mouna Yousef Youssef Associates from Sydney is that the founder and Principal Solicitor at Harper James Law Group. Specialising in Personal Injury Law, Workers Compensation, Public Liability, Property Law and jurisprudence

Running alittle business doesn't have all of the advantages as an outsized corporation. the most important concern is keeping your assets safe, and ensuring that the business can remain operational through thick and thin. Big businesses have a powerful supporting cast to stay things running smoothly, but small businesses can still reap similar rewards.

 Being atiny low business owner means being tuned in to the vulnerabilities you have got but you are doing not must take these on just by yourself. Hiring a lawyer is simply as valuable for atiny low business, even more so after you consider how these enterprises are more volatile. Here is why any small business owner needs an excellent lawyer.

 1. State Specific Business Laws

From state to state, the foundations and regulations of companies will change which implies atiny low business owner has to be up to this point when those regulations are updated. Tennessee business laws require different licenses than Colorado, which is why a good lawyer can help assist you keep your business within right to control.

 2. Reduce Liabilities

Every small business is vulnerable to injuries occurring within the work area. In an office, you may strain your back lifting boxes of documents, on the retail floor an error and fall could occur, and during a mechanical shop, well there are many dangerous elements around. The support of a Chattanooga personal injury lawyer, as in step with different state regulations previously mentioned, are useful for atiny low business to stay shielded from any possible employee or customer injuries on your property. Keeping a lawyer on retainer provides a robust layer of protection against any repercussions against you.

 3. Protect Against infringement of copyright

The purpose of starting your own small business could also be to bring a thought to life, an holding (IP), or something that you simply know is exclusive and wishes to be provided to the market. There are people out there that are always trying to steal these ideas for his or her own because they need to profit without the diligence. Copyrighting your product or your idea is your best shot at keeping these IP thieves unfree and getting a lawyer is how you'll navigate the complex world of patents and copyrights. you've got to take care of your control over your business, which implies control over your brand, image, products, and anything that relates to the business.

 4. Help Negotiate Deals

The common misconception about business lawyers is that they give the impression of being like their TV representation standing ahead of the judge arguing ahead of a crowded courthouse. the fact is that business lawyers are most useful for negotiating deals. Purchasing orders from suppliers and writing up contracts, especially managing employee salaries/contracts. Negotiating these deals with a lawyer allows them to run through any possible areas that aren't airtight in language that might be taken advantage of. this is often especially valuable when handling outside companies, like for marketing purposes where you would like the deal to be favorable and avoid any unnecessary loss of cash on your end.

 5. Understand Legal Agreements and Contracts

Deals involve contracts, as stated above, but understanding the language of the agreements are a few things that will be above your capability. Business lawyers study for years to comb through agreements to assist you recognize after you are potentially in breach of legal obligations and contracts.

 Their ability to know the finer details of an agreement will keep you from making any egregious errors that would return to harm you. Understanding legal agreements for business purposes is their bread and butter which is why a lawyer is usually needed for business, big or small.

 6. Contacts and Connections

Business lawyers cater to negotiations, deals, contracts, and agreements first and foremost, but they also offer great value for his or her connection to professionals in many various fields. Having connections is how a business can set out and achieve success, which could be a good reason to own one on retainer when a desire pops up. Representing clients in diverse fields (electrical businesses, shipping, plumbing, etc.) could provide a useful foot within the door for a business that needs fixing or other services at one point or another. Never underestimate how well connected a decent business lawyer may be.

 Maintaining a little business relies on cohesiveness from employees to employer, but the behind the scenes figures can help keep everything running too. Business lawyers a primary source of support for tiny businesses due to their well-rounded knowledge of the main points of business contracts and legal dealings, which is why they have to be a component of that cohesive team.

[interludepress]

Now Available for Pre-Order: “If the Fates Allow: An LGBTQ Holiday Anthology”

During the holidays, anything is possible—a second chance, a promised future, an unexpected romance, a rekindled love, or a healed heart. Authors Killian B. Brewer, Pene Henson, Erin Finnegan, Lilah Suzanne, and Lynn Charles share their stories about the magic of the season.

Gracious Living Magazine Says It Must Be a Live Tree by Killian B. Brewer

Determined to make his first Christmas with his new boyfriend magazine-perfect, Marcus seeks the advice of lovable busy bodies, the Do-Nothings Club. When he learns that his boyfriend, Hank, may have ordered a ring, Marcus’ attempts to transform his home into a winter wonderland get out of hand.

True North by Pene Henson

Shay Allen returns to her hometown in Montana for the holidays with her best friend Devon with the intent to return home to L.A. by New Year’s Eve. Instead, the weather traps them in the small town, but the there’s a bright spot: her old crush Milla is still in town.

Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grille by Erin Finnegan

As the one-year anniversary of his lover’s death rolls around on Christmas, Jack Volarde finds himself at their old haunt—a bar called the Casa Blanca, where a new bartender helps him open up about loss, and see brightness in a future that had grown dim.

Halfway Home by Lilah Suzanne

Avery Puckett has begun to wonder if her life has become joyless. One night, fate intervenes in the form of a scraggly dog shivering and alone in a parking lot. Avery takes him to a nearby shelter called Halfway Home where she meets bright and beautiful Grace, who is determined to save the world one stray at a time.

Shelved by Lynn Charles

When library clerk Karina Ness meets a new patron, lonely business owner, Wesley Lloyd, she puts her own love life on hold and begins a holiday matchmaking mission to connect Wes with her uncle Tony.

Price: $16.99 print / $6.99 multi-format ebook

Release Date: December 1, 2017

Details: Trade paperback, 6"x9"

Pages/Words: 246 // 70,800

ISBN: 978-1-945053-47-4 print // 978-1-945053-48-1 eBook

US/Canada: If you purchase the print edition of If the Fates Allow before December 1, 2017 from the IP Web Store, you will automatically receive the multi-format eBook for free with your order.

International: Order the print edition by February 1, 2018 from your favorite book retailer and receive free multi-format eBook by submitting a copy of your receipt to contact@interludepress.com.

About the authors:

Killian B. Brewer lives in his life-long home of Georgia with his partner and their dog. He has written poetry and short fiction since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. Brewer earned a BA in English and does not use this degree in his job in the banking industry. He has a love of greasy diner food that borders on obsessive. Lunch with the Do-Nothings at the Tammy Dinette was published in January, 2017. His debut novel, The Rules of Ever After, is available from Duet Books, the young adult imprint of Interlude Press.

Pene Henson has gone from British boarding schools to New York City law firms. She now lives in Sydney, Australia, where she is an intellectual property lawyer and published poet who is deeply immersed in the city’s LGBTQIA community. She spends her spare time enjoying the outdoors and gazing at the ocean with her gorgeous wife and two unexpectedly exceptional sons. Her first novel Into the Blue (Interlude Press, 2016) received a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Romance. Her second novel, Storm Season, was published by Interlude Press in 2017.

Erin Finnegan is a former journalist and a winemaker who lives in the foothills outside Los Angeles. Her novel Luchador was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2016, and along with her 2014 debut novel, Sotto Voce, received both a Foreword Reviews INDIES Book of the Year award and a PW starred review.

Lilah Suzanne has been writing actively since the sixth grade, when a literary magazine published her essay about an uncle who lost his life to AIDS. A freelance writer from North Carolina, she spends most of her time behind a computer screen, but on the rare occasion she ventures outside she enjoys museums, libraries, live concerts, and quiet walks in the woods. Lilah is the author of the Interlude Press books Spice, Pivot and Slip, and the Amazon bestselling Spotlight series: Broken Records, Burning Tracks and Blended Notes.

Lynn Charles’ love of writing dates to her childhood, when thoughts, dreams, frustrations, and joys poured onto the pages of journals and diaries. She lives in Central Ohio with her husband and adult children where a blind dog and his guardian cat rule the roost. When she’s not writing, Lynn can be found planning a trip to New York or strolling its streets daydreaming about retirement. Her novel Black Dust (2016) was named a finalist for a Foreword Reviews INDIES Book of the Year award. Her other novels include Beneath the Stars (2017) and Chef’s Table (2014).

Cover design by C.B. Messer.

Find it on Goodreads.

[alextees]

“Pandorica” of lost b & w lost episodes found in Australia (beneath Marks Park Bondi 💯‼️)Waverley Council excavating for it there now ⁉️😂🇦🇺😆🤷🏻‍♀️💰🚨🤔The mystery of missing Doctor Who episodes continues down under - Lawyer and Entrepreneur, Legal Exchange www.legalexchangelawyers.com “Fireman” 🔥🔥🔥🔥 of the Legal Services Industry Australia + Asia , UK & USA Legal Referrals & specialize in introducing clients & contacts to each other !Intnl : www.legalexchasia.com😀😀👀Whatsapp 61409813622 weechat alextees & more ... Exchange Services LE - https://www.exchangeservicesle.com *👀⁉️💯adjunct services provision & exchange introductions for Trades, Skills & Professional Services ; IT, IP , Tax, Accountants Specialists Exchange your goods /services and get introduced to each other 😀‼️ Register now !http://exchangeservices.online.xn--90aiapnhd4ah6h2a/ товарами / услугами и познакомьтесь друг с другом‼️🙏 交换您的商品/服务并互相介绍 @ Bondi Estate Plans/wills & EPOA #legal #law #lawyer http://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-23/doctor-who-missing-episodes-could-they-be-in-australia/12568918 (at SYDNEY EASTERN SUBURBS VIEW) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEOJJcuFXYT/?igshid=wd4c9ovhhv2n

[un-enfant-immature]

Peak Theory lines up media partners and funding as Cubcoats becomes a phenomenon

With a planned cartoon series coming up, partnerships in place with Major League Baseball, NBCUniversal, and other media companies of heroic proportions, the founders creating the kids clothing phenomenon, Cubcoats, are on a roll.

Peak Theory, launched by longtime friends Zac Park (who’s 29) and the 35 year-old Spencer Markel, is the company behind Cubcoats, a hoodie that transforms into a puppet (or a puppet that transforms into a hoodie?). With their first product, the two founders have achieved the kind of viral success in its first year that most companies only dream of.

Markel, a former mergers and acquisitions lawyer with DLA Piper, and Park, a product director at the design agency AKQA, first met in San Francisco through a mutual friend and almost immediately began planning their escape from the corporate world.

Peak Theory founders Zac Park and Spencer Markel

“We thought to ourselves, what can we create that would bring over a novel and sticky concept that could sell well to parents and create a lasting brand relationship with kids,” Park said, in a statement. “We wanted a product that a child would get attached too, grow up with, and want to gift to their future kids.”

The two self-described kids at heart hit upon the idea of Cubcoats through a mutual love of Transformers and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as children (and maybe as adults as well).

“We don’t have any kids, we were just big kids,” said Markel. 

They started the process of creating hundreds of prototypes in September 2016 and by November of 2017 had hit upon the final designs for eight different puppets that turned into zippered hoodies for children. Each animal-inspired puppet had different characteristics and personalities and each came with a story tied to it.

The two-in-one clothes went viral. In its first full year Cubcoats expects to pull in somewhere between $2 million and $5 million in revenue, according to the two founders. By July, 2018 the company had sewn up $5 million in financing from a who’s who of entrepreneurs and celebrity investors.

Institutional investors including strategic partner, Major League Baseball, and celebrity investor Will Smith’s Dreamers Fund, came on board. So did individual angel investors like FabFitFun co-founders Daniel and Michael Broukhim, the actress Hilary Duff, Schwarzenegger scion, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Jen Rubio, the co-founder of Away.

The Harmon Brothers video production company, which is behind a number of direct-to-consumer marketing hits like the mattress company Purple and others is collaborating on a series of videos with the Peak Theory team and investing in the company as well.

“The idea of the company is to create a brand that’s not just the two-in-one cubcoat,” said Markel.  “We’re trailblazing a new area of consumer products that we think will be pretty hot. There’s a burgeoning space in two-in-one products. We’re uniquely situated to design these two-in-one products and build our own IP in terms of content.”

Big media and entertainment companies are already clamoring to work with Peak Theory, the company said. Professional sports teams and leagues like Major League Baseball are only the first companies to publicly disclose their interest in the company.

“We’re two big kids at heart with very whimsical dreams,” said Markel. “We’ve tried very hard to be two people who are not necessarily from the industry to come in and create a novel industry and rethink some of the way we do consumer products… .it’s been really fun.”

The company plans to expand the Cubcoats line to Canada, Australia and across Asia in 2019 — meaning popular favorites like Kali the kitty and Tim the puppy will be popping up in cities from Sydney to Seoul in addition to Seattle.

Peak Theory has partnered with Nordstrom for the holiday season to sell its Cubcoats in roughly 100 of its locations and will have pop up shops of its own at The Grove mall in Los Angeles and the Americana mall in Glendale, Calif.

[trademarkservices01-blog]

Methods for finding and hiring the correct Patent Attorney

The process of patenting a novel and inventive product, process or system involves carefully preparing and lodging a patent application with the Patent Office (IP Australia). It is critical that the patent specification accurately defines with precision the patent monopoly being sought for the specified invented product, process or system by the inventor.

Patenting of a product, process or system prevents other suppliers from manufacturing and selling similar item. Using the word “Patented” on your invention has immediate deterrent value for most, however there may be some who you will need to take the Federal Court to prosecute them for patent infringement.

The process of applying for a Patent Application is the same in Sydney as in other cities of Australia like Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide etc, however it is unfortunately a complicated and tedious process, requiring guidance from an experienced hand, a Patent Attorney in this case.

In order to ensure adequate protection in your Patent Application, the correct procedures and standards need to be followed while drafting patenting a product, process or system. Otherwise the patent protection provided and results will be disappointing.

Our Patent Attorneys can assist you if you are in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide etc, because of our knowledge and expertise, and will guide you in protecting your intellectual property, which is a result of your hard work and efforts.

Although you can apply for Patent Registration of your product by yourself, the complex patent laws and regulations will certainly make your Patent Application fail the requirements. Therefore investing in hiring the services of a Patent Lawyer is always a wise decision.

Following are some guidelines to help you find and hire services of a right and reliable Patent Lawyer.

Opt for a Patent Lawyer with engineering, or technical knowledge which complements your idea

Any Patent Lawyer, with engineering, science or other specialist skills, will be of great help when it comes to drafting the correct content for your patent application. Also, it can help but be essential to find a Patent Lawyer who specialises in your field.

For example, the engineering background comprises of four main fields, namely, chemical, computer science, electrical and mechanical. So you can opt for a Patent Lawyer with engineering knowledge in the field which best suits your invented product, process or system.

Patent Experience

Apart from knowledge about various patent laws and regulations, it is essential for your Patent Attorney to possess the required experience too, in the specified field. Therefore, prior to hiring any Patent Lawyer, make sure to verify his credentials and track record, as to what his ratio of success is when it comes to patenting and succeeding in the Federal Court.

Also, how long has the Patent Lawyer been practicing and offering services, in the field of patent protection. The more the years of experience, the better the results you can expect from the Patent Lawyer.

Fees

Cost factors will always play an instrumental role when it comes to deciding on availing any patent services. Hence, prior to committing yourself to any Patent Lawyer, make sure to have a detailed discussion, pertaining to his fees and estimated likely patent costs for the entire patent process.

No matter whether you are in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth or Adelaide, opt for a Patent Lawyer with reasonable service fees but doesn't compromise on the service quality.

It may also be worth considering spending more initially so a better quality patent is written, otherwise it could cost you a lot more to fix the patent application later, during Examination, and it may not even be fixable.

Finally, apart from the above mentioned guidelines, it is your intuition which you would need to trust, when deciding on any Patent Attorney.

For More Info : - patent lawyer Sydney

[xip-us]

Xenith IP Group

Xenith IP Group Limited, (ASX: XIP) one of Australia’s largest intellectual property services groups, provides industry leading depth in traditional IP services in conjunction with a uniquely comprehensive suite of complementary advisory services along the innovation pathway. The Group’s core business is to provide a range of IP services, including identification, registration, management, commercialisation, valuation and enforcement of IP rights. Xenith IP is made up of specialist IP firms Shelston IP, Griffith Hack and Watermark, and complementary services firm Glasshouse Advisory and employs more than 400 staff, including approximately 175 IP professionals (patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys and IP lawyers along with experts in specialist IP Advisory Services with expertise in the accounting, legal and finance disciplines) in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. With an agile approach and flexible structure, Xenith IP brings the best people, systems and thinking seamlessly together, to deliver world class services that enable our clients to leverage greater opportunity from their technologies, brands and intangible assets. We think more broadly, more deeply and more holistically about innovation and IP, to maximise value and competitive advantage for our clients. Providing services across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the US and Europe to an extensive client base made up of large multinational companies, universities and research groups, start-up firms and solo inventors. The Group also works with an extensive network of international associate IP firms.

Source: LinkedIn Public Company Page

[pilotseason2019]

NBC- Newly Ordered Series

Drama

Bluff City Law: here

The lawyers of an elite Memphis law firm specialize in the most controversial landmark civil rights cases. Led by legendary lawyer Elijah Strait and his brilliant daughter, Sydney Keller, they take on the toughest David-and-Goliath cases while navigating their complicated relationship.

Council of Dads: here

Scott Perry and his family’s lives are thrown into upheaval when he gets a potentially terminal diagnosis. Facing his mortality, he and his wife, Robin, assemble a unique group of carefully chosen friends to support his family and guide them through the ups and downs of life’s many challenges.

Lincoln: here

Legendary forensic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme was seriously injured during his hunt for the diabolic serial killer known as the Bone Collector. Called back into action when the killer re-emerges, Lincoln forms a unique partnership with Amelia Sachs, a young beat cop who helps him hunt the deadly mastermind while also taking on the most high-profile cases in the NYPD.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: here

A whip-smart but socially awkward girl in her late 20s is suddenly able to hear the innermost thoughts of people around her as songs and even big musical numbers that they perform just for her. With this new ability at her disposal, she is able to use her “gift” to not only help herself understand people in her life, but also to help others around her.

Comedy

Indebted: here

Young parents Dave and Rebecca end up having to take care of Dave’s parents, who have mishandled their finances and need help to pay down a sizable debt. Formerly titled Uninsured.

The Kenan Show: here

A newly widowed dad is determined to be everything for his kids while begrudgingly letting his persistent father-in-law become more involved in their lives. Formerly titled Saving Kenan.

Perfect Harmony: here

A rural church choir get the director they never thought they needed when a salty, Ivy League music professor stumbles through their door. Formerly titled All Together Now.

Sunnyside: here

Former New York City Councilman Garrett Shah finds his calling when faced with six recent immigrants in need of his help and in search of the American Dream. Formerly the Untitled Kal Penn Comedy.

Returning Series:

The Voice: not as popular as it once was, still high though

Law & Order: SVU, s21: will it be the final one?

This is Us, s4

Will & Grace, s11 (s3 for the revival)

Chicago Fire s8, Chicago PD s7, and Chicago Med s5: Weds night One Chicago!

The Blacklist s7 and Blindspot s5&final

Superstore s5, Brooklyn Nine-Nine s7 (s2 NBC), The Good Place s4

Good Girls, s3

New Amsterdam, s2

Manifest, s2

Cancelled:

Freshmeat: I Feel Bad

???

AP Bio and Abby’s

The Enemy Within and The Village

The Inbetween- definitely feels like a summer show so it shouldn’t matter

Primetimer posted their fantasy schedule; our thoughts:

first off, wow, that’s a lot of shows (that being said, the mod hopes they’re not going to cancel Abby’s! it’s a personal favorite)

is it too much cancer drama to partner medical drama New Amsterdam (where the lead Max has throat cancer) with new family drama Council of Dads? would that just be too heavy for viewers?

could SVU’s record-breaking season be used to launch crime drama Lincoln? or would that push be better served on a show without the IP-advantage Lincoln already has?

the network definitely ought to find a way to slot in its new comedies with the existing Thursday night comic block, but I Feel Bad, just this season, showed it’s tough; is it just me or would Perfect Harmony and The Good Place be a match made in heaven? perfectly harmonious? I couldn’t decide which pun to go with!

new comedy Sunnyside, meanwhile, feels like it could be a great fit with new drama Bluff City Law

is there any way they could cut back on the Voice, maybe move it down from three hours a week to two? Or move the results event into the tail-end of Sunday Night Football? Something to free up some space, and maybe even reenergize the Voice during its airing time?

Note: Primetimer has another article about the NBC Upfronts here.

[theinvinciblenoob]

With a planned cartoon series coming up, partnerships in place with Major League Baseball, NBCUniversal and other media companies of heroic proportions, the founders creating the kids clothing phenomenon, Cubcoats, are on a roll.

Peak Theory, launched by longtime friends Zac Park (who’s 29) and 35-year-old Spencer Markel, is the company behind Cubcoats, a hoodie that transforms into a puppet (or a puppet that transforms into a hoodie?). With their first product, the two founders have achieved the kind of viral success in its first year that most companies only dream of.

Markel, a former mergers and acquisitions lawyer with DLA Piper, and Park, a product director at the design agency AKQA, first met in San Francisco through a mutual friend, and almost immediately began planning their escape from the corporate world.

Peak Theory founders Zac Park and Spencer Markel

“We thought to ourselves, what can we create that would bring over a novel and sticky concept that could sell well to parents and create a lasting brand relationship with kids,” Park said, in a statement. “We wanted a product that a child would get attached too, grow up with, and want to gift to their future kids.”

The two self-described kids at heart hit upon the idea of Cubcoats through a mutual love of Transformers and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as children (and maybe as adults as well).

“We don’t have any kids, we were just big kids,” said Markel. 

They started the process of creating hundreds of prototypes in September 2016, and by November of 2017 had hit upon the final designs for eight different puppets that turned into zippered hoodies for children. Each animal-inspired puppet had different characteristics and personalities and each came with a story tied to it.

The two-in-one clothes went viral. In its first full year, Cubcoats expects to pull in somewhere between $2 million and $5 million in revenue, according to the two founders. By July, 2018, the company had sewn up $5 million in financing from a who’s who of entrepreneurs and celebrity investors.

Institutional investors, including strategic partner Major League Baseball and celebrity investor Will Smith’s Dreamers Fund, came on board. So did individual angel investors like FabFitFun co-founders Daniel and Michael Broukhim, the actress Hilary Duff, Schwarzenegger scion, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Jen Rubio, the co-founder of Away.

The Harmon Brothers video production company, which is behind a number of direct-to-consumer marketing hits like the mattress company Purple and others is collaborating on a series of videos with the Peak Theory team and investing in the company, as well.

“The idea of the company is to create a brand that’s not just the two-in-one Cubcoat,” said Markel.  “We’re trailblazing a new area of consumer products that we think will be pretty hot. There’s a burgeoning space in two-in-one products. We’re uniquely situated to design these two-in-one products and build our own IP in terms of content.”

Big media and entertainment companies are already clamoring to work with Peak Theory, the company said. Professional sports teams and leagues like Major League Baseball are only the first companies to publicly disclose their interest in the company.

“We’re two big kids at heart with very whimsical dreams,” said Markel. “We’ve tried very hard to be two people who are not necessarily from the industry to come in and create a novel industry and rethink some of the way we do consumer products… it’s been really fun.”

The company plans to expand the Cubcoats line to Canada, Australia and across Asia in 2019 — meaning popular favorites like Kali the kitty and Tim the puppy will be popping up in cities from Sydney to Seoul in addition to Seattle.

Peak Theory has partnered with Nordstrom for the holiday season to sell its Cubcoats in roughly 100 of its locations and will have pop-up shops of its own at The Grove mall in Los Angeles and the Americana mall in Glendale, Calif.

via TechCrunch

[fmservers]

Peak Theory lines up media partners and funding as Cubcoats becomes a phenomenon

With a planned cartoon series coming up, partnerships in place with Major League Baseball, NBCUniversal, and other media companies of heroic proportions, the founders creating the kids clothing phenomenon, Cubcoats, are on a roll.

Peak Theory, launched by longtime friends Zac Park (who’s 29) and the 35 year-old Spencer Markel, is the company behind Cubcoats, a hoodie that transforms into a puppet (or a puppet that transforms into a hoodie?). With their first product, the two founders have achieved the kind of viral success in its first year that most companies only dream of.

Markel, a former mergers and acquisitions lawyer with DLA Piper, and Park, a product director at the design agency AKQA, first met in San Francisco through a mutual friend and almost immediately began planning their escape from the corporate world.

Peak Theory founders Zac Park and Spencer Markel

“We thought to ourselves, what can we create that would bring over a novel and sticky concept that could sell well to parents and create a lasting brand relationship with kids,” Park said, in a statement. “We wanted a product that a child would get attached too, grow up with, and want to gift to their future kids.”

The two self-described kids at heart hit upon the idea of Cubcoats through a mutual love of Transformers and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as children (and maybe as adults as well).

“We don’t have any kids, we were just big kids,” said Markel. 

They started the process of creating hundreds of prototypes in September 2016 and by November of 2017 had hit upon the final designs for eight different puppets that turned into zippered hoodies for children. Each animal-inspired puppet had different characteristics and personalities and each came with a story tied to it.

The two-in-one clothes went viral. In its first full year Cubcoats expects to pull in somewhere between $2 million and $5 million in revenue, according to the two founders. By July, 2018 the company had sewn up $5 million in financing from a who’s who of entrepreneurs and celebrity investors.

Institutional investors including strategic partner, Major League Baseball, and celebrity investor Will Smith’s Dreamers Fund, came on board. So did individual angel investors like FabFitFun co-founders Daniel and Michael Broukhim, the actress Hilary Duff, Schwarzenegger scion, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Jen Rubio, the co-founder of Away.

The Harmon Brothers video production company, which is behind a number of direct-to-consumer marketing hits like the mattress company Purple and others is collaborating on a series of videos with the Peak Theory team and investing in the company as well.

“The idea of the company is to create a brand that’s not just the two-in-one cubcoat,” said Markel.  “We’re trailblazing a new area of consumer products that we think will be pretty hot. There’s a burgeoning space in two-in-one products. We’re uniquely situated to design these two-in-one products and build our own IP in terms of content.”

Big media and entertainment companies are already clamoring to work with Peak Theory, the company said. Professional sports teams and leagues like Major League Baseball are only the first companies to publicly disclose their interest in the company.

“We’re two big kids at heart with very whimsical dreams,” said Markel. “We’ve tried very hard to be two people who are not necessarily from the industry to come in and create a novel industry and rethink some of the way we do consumer products… .it’s been really fun.”

The company plans to expand the Cubcoats line to Canada, Australia and across Asia in 2019 — meaning popular favorites like Kali the kitty and Tim the puppy will be popping up in cities from Sydney to Seoul in addition to Seattle.

Peak Theory has partnered with Nordstrom for the holiday season to sell its Cubcoats in roughly 100 of its locations and will have pop up shops of its own at The Grove mall in Los Angeles and the Americana mall in Glendale, Calif.

Via Jonathan Shieber https://techcrunch.com

[pixelproductions]

Strategy on how to protect your intellectual property

Can I copyright my idea? How do I protect my Idea before it’s public? If you’re a small business owners asking these questions you need a strategy to protect your intellectual property – learn how!

Every small business owner has faced the same dilemma: “How do I protect my idea?” Intellectual property is one of the most important things for your business, and it’s only natural to protect it.

It doesn’t only protect the product or idea, but the asset of the business as well. There are different things you can use to separate your business from others, but one thing is for sure – it must stay protected.

According to the NCPC,

The U.S. economy loses $58 billion each year to copyright infringement alone—crimes that affect creative works. That includes $16 billion in the loss of revenue to copyright owners and $3 billion in lost tax revenue.

Social media has exponentially increased the ability for a business to reach it’s audience, but it has also increased the chance of theft. Taking all of that into account, there are some strategies to protect your intellectual property.

1. Be careful about sharing your ideas

One of the most frequent mistakes people make is confiding their ideas in someone they think they can trust. Often, though, it proves that the person you confided in isn’t so trustworthy after all. That’s why, to minimize your chances of theft, keep your ideas to yourself.

Remember that there will always be people who want to profit off others ideas. That’s why it’s not a bad idea to pursue a patent when applicable.

If you’re working with an outsourcing partner, you’ll need to be very careful. They need to have adequate security placed on your IP when working on it. The need for more carefulness arises when your partner is overseas, as the risk of theft becomes greater.

No matter what you do with your IP, look into ways to keep it secure. You never know who might be eager to get a hold of it.

Whenever sensitive information needs to be shared between two parties it is a good idea to use a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement. This agreement will help formalize the relationship and provide legal remedies if the confidential information is released.

You can quickly and easily create an NDA for your business here.

Overall, being discreet will go a long way in helping to protect your intellectual property.

2. Talk to a lawyer

Professionals have more experience with issues like this because they deal with them every day. After all, that’s their job. That’s why it’s an excellent idea to look to a lawyer for guidance.

You can protect your IP with a patent, trademark or design rights. What you need is specific to the line of work you do, and an expert will be quick to tell you which one suits your business most. It’s always a good ideas to research professionals near you for example if you were located in Sydney Australia you would contact professional Sidney lawyers, or IP attorneys close to whatever your location may be.

Some business owners may be too proud to seek professional help, but that kind of attitude isn’t right for anyone who wants to succeed. There’s nothing wrong in accepting well – needed guidance for the good of your business.

A good business lawyer is also good for informing you about all the details – what you need to protect, how to do it, the timelines for applying (when and where).

Finally, an expert will help you with your budget and finances regarding protecting your intellectual property.

3. Have good security measures

Security measures are a must when dealing with delicate subjects such as this. The minimum you can do is label the source code with a confidentiality notice. That will warn that no one unauthorized is to use the code. Simply, it seals the production within your company and doesn’t allow anyone on the outside to use it.

What’s more, you can have authorized personnel, which means only a limited circle of people will be allowed to work on the code. Those people should be your most trusted employees.

To clarify; companies often hire or invest in employees to develop new products, improve processes, create new technologies, in short – intellectual property. With this investment, it should come as no surprise that employers generally own the intellectual property created by its employees in the course of their employment.

However, intellectual property that is created by an employee, other than in the course of employment, is owned by the employee not the employer.

This distinction can lead to confusion when it comes to who actually owns the rights to IP created – it pays to understand this fact and have signed contracts in place for additional clarity.

In regards to software, one final step you can take is when your software is released to the public; you can use third – party digital encryption to ensure nobody will get the hold of your code. There are a number of options for that online.

It’s important to remember that there are more ways of keeping your property discreet than just being careful about who you tell about it. That’s why these minimal security measures are a must.

4. Make sure you’ve covered the legal basis

Working with a developer always asks for strong legal agreements, regardless if that developer is local or from overseas. Those legal agreements need to be enforceable and valid in the developer’s local court system, too. It can be tiresome to keep track of them, and sometimes you aren’t even sure if you’ve done everything correctly. That’s why it’s advisable to get some help from a lawyer on this issue, as well. An expert will make sure all your legal agreements are strong and enforceable.

Another important thing you need to make sure is done properly in this domain is the encryption. It needs to be strong and handle the most sensitive of IPs. What’s more, the partner you are working with needs to have the same levels of encryption as you.

Though this may seem like a lot, it’s much safer and cheaper than leaving it up to chance. As it was already mentioned, having a lawyer will help deal with these issues without the stress.

5. Keep a log of everything

Though you may be doing everything well, and business is prospering, it’s a good idea to write everything down. You never know when a crisis or an attempt of theft might occur. Keeping a log of your actions will help you deal with that efficiently, and save you your nerves.

This is another step you can take aside from having a patent. It will help you deal with theft if it occurs in a far quicker manner. Think of it as further evidence of the intellectual property being yours, as it holds all the data of what you’ve done to protect it.

You should start with your idea and include as much detail as possible. Update your log after every meeting while the outcome of it is still fresh in your mind. Make sure not to forget the dates and times.

Conclusion

As you can see, protecting your intellectual property doesn’t have to be hard or scary. The process may seem complicated, but with the right help, you’ll be protected in no time. Every responsible business owner will look into the next smartest steps for their business, and if success is your goal, you’ll be one of them. We’re confident that you’ve got the right assets, and now the knowledge, to make your company everything it can be.

[rdainabenus-blog]

How Do I Know If I Am An Employee In NSW?

In order to determine your status as an employee in NSW, it is important to first look to the applicable legislation which governs the rights and obligations of employees and provides the necessary protections based on the classification that a you, may as an employee, fall under. commercial lawyer sydney

The main statute that governs employment law in New South Wales is the Fair Work Act 2009 (“FW Act”).

Background 

At the time of enactment of the FW Act in 2009, it had covered most employees in NSW. 

In 2010 a referral of powers to the Commonwealth by all states (excluding Western Australia) came into effect. As a result in NSW alone, 500,000 more jobs from the NSW private sector moved to the national system. 

The reason for this is that for over a century the states worked concurrently with the Federal Relations System. This is because the Australian Constitution gave the states the responsibility primarily for regulating their own industrial relations, while at the same time providing the Federal Parliament with restricted law making power in the same area. 

The reality being that the referral of powers from the states to the Commonwealth was necessary and dealt with the increasing complexities that were arising due to the duplication of regulations. Mostly funded by the taxpayer. 

NSW  - who is an employee? The National System– who does it not cover?

 Effective from January 1, 2010 all NSW private sector employees came under Federal Industrial Relations system governed by the FW Act. 

This FW Act is not applicable to all employees of NSW and excludes government agencies as such it does not apply  to  public sector  employees  or  the local government sector. A public sector employee  are employees of the NSW public Service or any other NSW state service provided to the Crown. 

To be an employee in NSW private sector you must therefore come under the definition and classifications of the FW Act which identifies certain employees as National System Employees. National system employees are employed by National System Employers. 

Division 3, ss13-14 of the FW Act is where we find the definition for the meaning of an employee as a “national system employee” and an employer as a “national system employer” 

Section 13.20 

“National system employee” is defined as an employee employed or “usually employed” by a national system employer.

Section 14.20 “National system employer”

“National system employer” is defined by reference to the constitutional heads of power which support the FW Act. 

A “national system employer” may be: 

o   a constitutional corporation;

o   the Commonwealth;

o   a Commonwealth authority;

o   a person who in connection with constitutional trade or commerce, employs or usually employs a flight crew officer, maritime employee, or waterside worker;

o   a body incorporated in a territory; or

o   a person who carries on an activity in a Territory and employs or usually employs an individual in connection with the activity carried on in the territory.When is an employee not an employee? 

Not all individuals performing services are considered employees. 

To assess your rights under the FW Act as a worker, you must determine first whether you fall under the classification of an employee or that of a contractor. 

Contractors (independent or freelancers) provide specialised services without control by the employer. Being classified as a contractor or an employee has important and significant impact in terms of the conditions of employment superannuation and IP. 

The difference between employees and contractors  

The test most used as the means to determine the difference between employees and contractors is based on control.The ability of the employer in directing  how the work is undertaken by the worker.

If there is a significant independent nature in the manner in which the worker is running his/her own work and workflows. The worker is more than likely a contractor. 

If on the other hand the worker is operating as a representative of the business of the employer and demonstrates little or none independence in the conduct of the performance of his operations he/she is most likely an employee. 

There are situations that differ to this test and in particular where specialised skills are required. Workers in these situations exercise more discretion in their work and do not have much to do with the employer. 

The employer is also unlikely to give specific directions or tasks concerning the way the work is done and it is the workers job to undertake his job in a skilful and professional manner. 

In this latter scenario, such a person maystill be considered an employee in determining the employer’s legal obligations. 

An "organisational test" is usually more appropriate In these situations, in determining whether the worker is an employee or a contractor although not used as extensively as the control test, but still remains relevant: 

The person is an employee if he/she is employed as part of the business and his/her work is an integral part of it

Conversely, the person is a contractor if his/her work is not part of the business but only in addition to it. 

There are also other factors that may be considered in the determination of  whether a worker is an ‘employee’ or a ‘contractor’. 

These include: 

Employee - Receiving a periodic and consistent wage or paid  or being Contractor – Paid on a per project basis

 Employee –sell their labour Whether the worker sells his/her labour Contractor – seels the product of their labour·         

Employee - supplied with equipment  to do their job Contractor - provides their own equipment·         

Employee - whether the worker is simply an individual worker Contractor – being a sole trader of part or a company·         

Employee - the worker works exclusively for the employer·         

Contractor- work is non-exclusive and advertises business to third parties. 

No one factor is conclusive on its own and in determining your status as an employee, it is necessary to examine your entire relationship with the employer.

Volunteers 

If you are a volunteer, it is very unlikely that you will have an enforceable employment contract with an organisation. 

Volunteers do not fall under the classification of employees nor do they as contractors. The concept is that as a volunteer you make a gift of your work without compensation by way of pay.In this scenario you are working in a charitable context and have no intentions to enter into a legal relationship with the organisation you are offering your services to.