http://www.acumenlawgroup.com Commercial Litigation and IP Law Mon, 17 May 2010 20:39:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en According to a recent survey conducted by Symantec Corporation (2009), 59% of individuals who were laid off, fired, or quit their jobs admitted to misappropriating company data.  Of those individuals who misappropriated data, a staggering 67% used the data to leverage a new job.  In a time where information can ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/keeping-trade-secrets-secret/ On January 1, 2010, Illinois will become one of only 5 states to recognize the low-profit limited liability company (“L3C”).  The L3C is a variation of the familiar limited liability company (“LLC”), and is only available to for-profit entities whose primary goal is to achieve a socially beneficial objective.  Put ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/the-low-profit-llc-a-new-entity-in-illinois/ Important business transactions are regularly decided and agreed upon via email these days.   Email is instantaneous, easy, (mostly) secure, and with the proliferation of smart phones, allows big decisions to be made as quickly as one can type on her Blackberry.  Despite the obvious advantages of  email in business, there ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/contracts-by-email-writer-beware/ The Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act, 815 ILCS 513, is a statute obligating residential contractors to (i) have a written contract, (ii) include certain terms in the contract, such as price, insurance, and dispute resolution, (iii) provide the homeowner with a brochure informing them of certain rights, and (iv) ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/illinois-home-repair-and-remodeling-act-a-cautionary-tale-for-contractors/ In Illinois, if any aspect of an agreement is deemed to be a "credit agreement" under the Illinois Credit Agreements Act, 815 ILCS 160/1 et seq. , and if the credit agreement is not a writing signed by both parties, then debtors may be barred from asserting certain claims, counterclaims, ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/the-illinois-credit-agreements-act-a-lenders-best-defense-a-debtors-biggest-obstacle/ One of the most litigated issues in employment law is the legality of restrictive covenants like non-compete agreements. A non-compete agreement is a contract between an employer and an employee, in which the employee agrees not to engage in certain activities for a set period of time should she ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/enforceable-non-compete-agreements-in-illinois/ Many business owners are unaware of their exposure to liability for the misconduct of their notary-employees.  This legal principle recently cost one Illinois employer $233,000 in damages, and likely a comparable amount in legal fees. In Vancura v. Katris, the Illinois Appellate Court held that a Kinkos copy shop was liable ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/employers-liability-for-the-misconduct-of-their-notary-public-employees/ Any time one creates an original work, such as a photograph or musical composition, that work is automatically copyrighted under common law.  With common law rights, a copyright owner can file suit against an infringer in state court and seek actual damages and “disgorged” profits. While copyright registration is not ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/electronic-copyright-registration/ Consider the following scenario: A small business owner finds a graphic designer on Craigslist to design a logo for his business cards. The graphic designer designs the logo, the business owner pays the graphic designer, and both parties happily go their separate ways. No agreement is ever ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/implied-copyright-licenses/ In purchasing a business, buyers typically have 2 options: either a stock or asset purchase agreement. Under a stock purchase transaction, the buyer acquires a majority of the seller's shares or, if an LLC, membership units in the business. The business's underlying assets -- e.g., equipment, furniture, real estate, inventory, ... http://www.acumenlawgroup.com/publication-categories/purchasing-a-business-how-to-avoid-inadvertent-assumption-of-a-sellers-liabilities/