On August 12, 2016, Madhu and I had the pleasure of meeting with Ashish Lakhani, the President and Founder of Reliable Products and PureFarms Organics, along with his father, Vipin Makhani. Ashish has a great story and interesting background that sets him apart from his competitors. Ashish was born and raised in Rajkot, India. He […]
What is COPPA? In today’s cyber world, security and privacy concerns are paramount. This rings especially true for parents seeking to safeguard their child’s online identity. Lawmakers addressed parents’ concerns by creating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”). Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), COPPA applies to websites and “online services” […]
Before May 11, 2016, only three out of four forms of intellectual property – patents, trademarks and copyrights – were protectable and enforceable at the federal level. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) now provides federal protection for – you guessed it – trade secrets. Prior to the DTSA, trade secrets were enforced […]
Recently, I received an email from an existing client. They had interviewed several law firms including several larger ones before deciding to engage with Foundry. They appreciated our experience and approach. They wrote to let me know that their investors have expressed a preference that they work with a larger, more established law firm. This […]
Social Purpose Corporations (SPC) are an interesting and (relatively) new corporate form available in Washington State that gives directors and officers the luxury of exploring ways to positively impact their employees, community, and environment, with less fear of repercussions via legal action from angry shareholders. If you are starting a company that has one of […]
As a cannabis business owner you have probably invested quite a bit in your brand and creating a market for your product. The last thing you want is for someone else to tell you that you have to change your brand or you see someone using something very similar to your brand. We have all […]
I have been telling my cannabis industry clients and constituents for two years to be patient; the regulations which, to a great extent, have choked the development and growth of the legal cannabis industry in Washington, will loosen up eventually. Washington’s restrictive and conservative approach, which has purposefully stayed under the federal oversight scrutiny, appears […]
For many budding entrepreneurs, Kickstarter.com can be their answer to beginning their businesses…or a nightmare of angry “backers,” broken promises and refund demands. Kickstarter provides a crowdsourcing platform for potential businesses and creative projects to gain not only funding, but also customers – before products or services are even launched to the public. According […]
Many of us know that we should keep our private lives relatively separate from our work lives. However, this isn’t just a recommendation. It may very well serve as a precaution. As social media’s prevalence grows, businesses have become more and more active online, leading to a host of various legal and business concerns. The […]
Recently, we’ve been asked several times about the nature of a certain work as it relates to copyright infringement. “Is my work a derivative of theirs? I should be fine, right?” “Sure, I incorporate some of their copyrighted work, but mine is transformative enough, so I’m good, right?” As with most gray areas, […]