Weekly IP Buzz for the Week Ending November 20, 2020
In this week's post, we see that new changes in Korean trademark law now allow for treble damages to be available in some trademark infringement claims.
Plus, if you are starting up a new business, determine if you need to hire independent contractors or employees.
Recent Changes in Law Allow for Treble Damages in Korean Trademark Cases
Protection of intellectual property in the United States has long been written into American law since the days of our founding fathers. Across the globe, however, Asian countries, especially China, have often been criticized for what many consider to be a more lax view on intellectual property rights.
Since the early 2000’s, however, Asian countries have increasingly been strengthening the laws that are designed to protect intellectual property nationally and abroad. As such, it behooves trademark attorneys and other brand managers to follow any significant changes in Asian intellectual property law as the Asian market brings in millions for big brands every year. In China, Korean, and Japan, changes to intellectual property rights are made every year. And often using the U.S. Lanham Act as a guide, South Korean legislators recently made amendments to both their national Trademark Act as well as their Design Protection Act. Combined, these new changes finally make treble damages available in certain trademark infringement claims, which has long been available under U.S. law.
Read the full article here.
Employment Basics: Employees and Contractors
An independent contractor is a worker that is typically independent from your main or core business. Very often independent contractors include workers that do not have a permanent position, work only on special projects, or only work when needed. This is not a complete list of the types of independent contractors or their potential iterations within your business. Further, any independent contractor in your business should have a written agreement in place that lays out the rights and responsibilities of the contractor.
Additionally, you must ensure that your relationship and agreement with the contractor does not involve too much control over the contractor, which could lead to the contractor being classified as a employee.
As a company, you will normally have more control over the actions and direction of the employee. The laws regarding employment vary by state, but at-will states can hire and fire for any reason. However, a written employment agreement can change this basic rule. An employment agreement should cover the rights and responsibilities of the employee and company and any other special provisions for which you would like to bind the employee.
Find more about employees and contractors here.
Click to read the previous Weekly IP Buzz on Thriving Attorney.
For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.
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In addition to publishing Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer as well as IP mediation services. For more on the latest developments in IP law, see Ideate blog and IP Questions Answered blog.