Category: News

What to Look for in a Business Start Up Law Firm

Written by JGPC Business Law on June 29, 2017.

So you have decided to start a new business in California. Along with your investors and startup management team, you will want to have the services of an experienced and knowledgeable California business startup law firm by your side. Even if you have started numerous businesses in the past, there can be countless challenges and obstacles that can derail your business’s plans if they are not appropriately and timely handled. With so many law firms in California clamoring for your business, though,...

What Happens in a Legal Mediation Proceeding?

Written by JGPC Business Law on June 27, 2017.

There are several ways that a California business dispute can be resolved, but litigation is usually not the preferred method for doing so. While many businesses will enter the courtroom in order to protect their rights, litigation may be considered by some businesses only as a last resort when other methods of dispute resolution have failed. Not only is litigation expensive (some businesses will have to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to their legal teams before the dispute even makes...

What is Civil Litigation?

Written by JGPC Business Law on June 7, 2017.

What is Civil Litigation and When is a Lawyer Needed? Disputes and disagreements are commonplace in the business world, and civil litigation is one method whereby these disputes and disagreements may be resolved. Civil litigation is appropriate in circumstances where arbitration, mediation, and other forms of informal dispute resolution are ineffective. While there is nothing that requires California businesses to retain a lawyer to assist them in navigating the civil litigation process, retaining...

Considering Purchasing a Franchise?

Written by JGPC Business Law on June 3, 2017.

Get Your Franchise Lawyer Involved Early For some California residents looking to start a small business, a franchise makes perfect sense. There are many benefits to a franchise: not only are you able to sell a product or service with regional (if not national) brand recognition, but many franchisors offer incentives, financial assistance, and/or guidance for new franchisees. While California residents thinking about opening a franchise may believe that applying for and operating a franchise...

JGPC Law - Alameda County Business and Corporate Mediation Attorneys

How to Properly Describe An Invention for Your Patent Application – Part 1 of a Multi-Part Series

Written by Web Admin on May 29, 2017.

By Author: Gerald R. Prettyman, Patent and Intellectual Property Attorney Writing and applying for a Patent is a trade-off. In return for the inventor having a monopoly for making, using, offer to sell and selling the invention, the patent application must describe the invention so that (1) the Patent Examiner will sufficiently understand the invention to determine whether the described invention qualifies for a patent, and (2) after expiration of the patent, the public knows how to make and use...

What are the Benefits of Patent Pending Status?

Written by JGPC Business Law on April 24, 2017.

It is well-known that patents can provide useful protection to a California business’s ideas and inventions. Even if you or another business owner are not completely clear on what specific protections and remedies are available to you as the holder of a patent, you generally know that a patent protects you from competitors or others who attempt to steal your ideas or inventions for their own gain. Less known, however, is whether “patent pending” status holds any benefit to a business owner in...

Software Patents and Alice in the Looking Glass

Written by JGPC Business Law on April 21, 2017.

Author: Gerald R. Prettyman, J.D., LL.M. The public tends to believe the purpose of the Patent Office is to issue patents. The facts paint a different conclusion. Typically, very few patent applications get approved for a patent on first examination. Saying 1 in 10,000 would not be far wrong. Most patent applications achieve allowance (approval for a patent) through the talents of a patent attorney. Overall, the final average of typically above 50%. Then there is software. Until 1981, the Patent...

How to Legally Protect Your Inventions and Ideas

Written by JGPC Business Law on April 18, 2017.

An idea can be worth a million dollars – to you or to your competitor – which is why it is important to take steps to protect your inventions and ideas. Unfortunately, many California business owners fail to take reasonable and simple measures to prevent competitors from learning about these valuable ideas and inventions. A small business owner can be especially disadvantaged if the competitor not only learns of the idea or invention but takes steps to protect that very same idea or invention...

What to Do Before You Disclose

Written by JGPC Business Law on March 25, 2017.

Author: Gerald R. Prettyman, J.D., LL.M. A question high on the list of first asked questions to a Patent Attorney, is “what do I need to protect my idea before I talk to an investor, (a manufacturer or licensor), etc. The answer, or answers as a inventor should take multiple steps, are not complicated. The first step is to record the idea in writing. While many inventors are reluctant to putting the idea in writing with the thought that doing so limits them to only what is in writing, not having...

Get Financing but Don’t Lose Control of Your Company

Written by JGPC Business Law on March 15, 2017.

How you choose to finance your new business venture can have a dramatic impact on the type of entity you use for the venture, the structure of that entity and the direction your company takes in the first few weeks and months of its existence. Companies that are funded entirely by you and/or your close friends and family members will operate in a dramatically different way than one that is funded by outside investors. Similarly, a company funded by the entrepreneur or owner (or his or her family...