Many companies and individuals generate a significant amount of material protected by copyright, including video, print, music and merchandise. Unfortunately, this material can be infringed or “reused” by others with relative ease given the ubiquity of the internet and tech-enabled counterfeiting capabilities. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) offers a means by which copyright holders can seek recourse in the event of infringement. This article will provide a roadmap for leveraging the provisions of DMCA to protect your copyrighted material, starting with a brief history on how this law came into existence.

Independent contractor (IC) arrangements are as diverse as they are commonplace in today’s business. An IC may be engaged to perform a simple, limited project, such as providing flowers for a conference, or to lead a more complex project, perhaps as an architect or software developer.

In this article, Lakshmi Sarama Ramani, a member of our Washington D.C. area team, explores non-profit executive compensation and the IRS parameters relating to it, highlighting the Board's fiduciary duty to ensure that such compensation is reasonable and within the best interests of the organization. 

When you least expect it, your company may face a subpoena relating to a lawsuit to which your company is not a party (for example, litigation involving a customer or supplier). When this happens, you may be caught off guard and unsure about next steps, especially if your company does not routinely handle litigation matters. Your options are either: (1) handle it yourself (which can be tricky for many reasons, including subjecting your company to potential liability), or (2) engage outside litigation counsel (which is likely to be expensive).

Washington D.C.-based member Lakshmi Sarama Ramani tackles the perennial subject of nonprofit board fiduciary duties in her latest ACC Docket article. Read on to refresh your understanding of these important responsibilities and the consequences of failing to fulfill them. 

Licensing arrangements are a major source of revenue in many industries, including entertainment, (film, TV, music), sports, corporate brands, and colleges/universities. Each year, rights holders collectively earn billions of dollars from licensing revenue.

In my role as part-time GC and senior legal advisor, I work with a diverse portfolio of companies. Although my clients differ in size, management structure and stages of growth, among other things, my relationship with them is similar in one fundamental way. Besides helping to manage and address their day-to-day legal work, I serve another important role – that of counsellor. And by “counsellor”, I do not mean acting as their legal “counsel”; rather, I am referring to the support I provide as an unofficial mentor/sounding board - whether to a solo in-house lawyer, a larger client legal department, a paralegal, or a non-legal professional overseeing the client’s legal function.