Category: Business

Advertising, Business, Creative Content, Ecommerce, Entertainment, Internet, Marketing

Ping® by Adlerlaw – Ultimate Guide to Google Ads Suspension Solutions

Has your Google Ads account been suspended? Do you find the suspension notice to be vague and unsubstantiated? You’re not alone! Do you want to know what to do when Google Ads shuts you down? Here are some suggestions.

First, read the Notice! Google’s Policies are intentionally vague and cover a broad range of conduct.

Second, review the response guidelines. Determine what type of response is required and gather “evidence” in support of your position before you respond.

Third, Consult your lawyer!. It’s easy to make mistakes. Presenting your best case in the first instance will improve efficiency and effectiveness.

To learn more about specific steps and responses to Google Ads Account Suspension Notices, please read the full article on the Adler Law website here.

For more information, contact an attorney at the Adler Law Group.

Business, Corporate Law, Corporations, LLCs, Small Business, Start-ups, Uncategorized

Ping® by Adlerlaw Should My LLC Be Taxed As An S Corporation And Why?

It has become customary for many businesses to set up a limited liability company (LLC). Especially when it is a 1 or 2-person business.  Among the many advantages of LLCs are simple default tax classifications: sole proprietor for 1 member, partnership for more than 1 member, also known as “pass-through.” This is the same regardless of the type of member. However, have you asked your lawyer, accountant, or business advisor if it makes sense to simply take the default classification? Small businesses should consider whether making the election to be treated as a “S-corporation” makes sense.

Read the full article here.

If you are unsure about the benefits or the choices discussed above, feel free to contact us by email or by calling 1-866-734-2568. For over 27 years, we have guided business owners in this important depiction-making process.

Business, Copyright, Creative Content, Entertainment, Law, Media, Music

Ping® by Adlerlaw – The Copyright Implications Of AI-Generated Music

Do you feel like the subject of AI has entered almost every conversation?

This month’s issue of the Ping® Newsletter looks at the Copyright Implications of AI-Generated Music.

For creative professionals and especially musicians, trying to evaluate the impact of AI on both creative and commercial rights and music, raises more questions than it answers. For our quick and by no means exhaustive summary of some of these questions, read more below.

The Copyright implications of AI-generated music is fast becoming a major issue as AI tools capable of creating music that mimics human artists have proliferated. Some key questions include whether AI-generated music can be copyrighted, who owns the rights to AI-generated music, and whether using copyrighted works to train AI models constitutes infringement.

For a discussion of four questions on this topic, visit the Ping® post on adler-law.com. Those questions are:

1. What Is The Current Legal Stance?

2. How Much Human Involvement is Necessary?

3. What Is The The Originality Requirement.

4. What Is Shaping The Ongoing Debate?

Read the full article here.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments or concerns you may have around this issue.

Advertising, Branding, Business, Entertainment, Privacy, Publicity Rights

Ping® by Adlerlaw January 2024 – A Brief Comparison of NY and IL NIL laws.

This month’s issue of Ping® highlights some trends in digital advertising. On June 29th, 2021, Illinois passed a Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) law for their colleges and institutions allowing a student-athlete to earn compensation commensurate with market value while enrolled at a postsecondary educational institution, and obtain and retain a certified agent for any matter or activity relating to such compensation.  This has prompted some discussions around different states treatment of right of publicity laws. This month’s issue of Ping® briefly compares NY and IL NIL laws.

Illinois vs New York Right of Publicity Acts: Key Differences and Protections

A Brief Comparison of the Illinois & New York Right of Publicity Acts

The Illinois Right of Publicity Act

The Illinois Right of Publicity Act is a state law that protects the commercial value of an individual’s identity. It prohibits the unauthorized use of an individual’s “Identity,” which means any attribute of an individual that serves to identify that individual to an ordinary, reasonable viewer or listener, including but not limited to (i) name, (ii) signature, (iii) photograph, (iv) image, (v) likeness, or (vi) voice. The act also allows individuals to transfer their right of publicity to their heirs after death. However, the Illinois law is unique in that it provides for a broad definition of “commercial purpose,” which includes any use that is “primarily intended for commercial advantage or monetary gain.” This means that even non-commercial uses of an individual’s identity could be considered a violation of the law if they are intended to promote a product or service.

Learn More About Illinois Right of Publicity Act

The New York Right of Publicity Act

The New York Right of Publicity Act is another state law that protects an individual’s right to control the commercial use of their name, image, or likeness. However, unlike the Illinois law, New York’s law only applies to uses for advertising or trade purposes. This means that individuals in New York may have less protection against non-commercial uses of their identity. Additionally, the New York law does not provide for the transfer of an individual’s right of publicity after death, meaning that the right to control the commercial use of their identity ends when they pass away.

However, the New York Act provides some post-mortem protection for certain commercial exploitations of individuals’ rights of publicity for 40 years after death for those persons whose publicity rights had commercial value, at the time of or due to, their death. There are a number of other limitations, exceptions and nuances, including that protections only arise from deaths after May 29, 2021.

Learn More About New York Right of Publicity Act

Business, Compliance, Contracts, Entrepreneurs, New York

Ping® By AdlerLaw – NYC Written Contracts & Freelance Workers

Ping® by Adlerlaw Reminder: NYC Requires Written Contracts For Freelance Workers

New York City’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act defines freelance workers as any individual hired or retained as an independent contractor by a hiring party to provide services for compensation. Commonly referred to as gigs, tasks, projects, side or contingent work, working on contract or spec, freelancing, contracting, subcontracting, consulting, moonlighting, entrepreneurship, alternative arrangements, self-employment, etc., you can contact DCWP if you have questions about classification as a freelance worker, independent contractor, or employee.

If you employ independent contractors in New York City (NYC), you may need to have written contracts with your workers. Since May 15, 2017, NYC’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act (the “Act” or “FIFA”) established and enhanced protections for freelance workers, a/k/a “independent contractors.” The Act provides the right to a written contract between the hiring party and the contractor, the right to be paid timely and in full, and the right to be free of retaliation. The key terms that must be included in the written contract are (1) the work to be performed, (2) the pay for the work, and (3) the date payment will be made. The contractor and the hiring party must keep a copy of the written contract.

To read the full Article, go to adler-law.com or click here.

Business, Contracts, Corporate Law, Entrepreneurs, Mergers & Acquisitions, Venture Capital

Ping® by Adlerlaw – Structuring and Planning M&A Transactions

Ping® by Adlerlaw – Structuring and Planning M&A Transactions

I was honored to participate in a recent webinar about Merger & Acquisition Transactions as part of the Financial Poise  M&A BOOT CAMP 2023. Our program, the kick-off episode in the series,  “Structuring and Planning the M&A Transaction,” covered a broad range of topics related to preparing for, structuring, and executing M&A transactions.

Whether you are a buyer or a seller, you may have questions, such as “What are the primary types of M&A transactions?” The panel discussed some of the key similarities and how they are structurally different. For example, I discussed the reasons why a buyer might want to structure a deal as an Asset Deal. Other panelists discussed the reason for choosing a merger (combining two companies); stock sales and purchases such as buying a company through a purchase of stock of the selling company from its shareholders. The panel also discussed financing options like  ESOPS and use of debt.

You can learn more here.

Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, Business, FTC, Marketing

Ping® By Adlerlaw – FTC Notices Concerning Product Claims In Advertising

Advertisers delight in activating values and hidden desires of consumers using the language of the advertising claim. The “claim” is the part of an ad that makes some claim of superiority for the product being advertised. These days it is difficult to recognize those that are misleading and even downright lies, because most fit into the category of neither bold lies nor helpful consumer information. When consumers see or hear an advertisement, whether it’s on the Internet, radio or television, or anywhere else, federal law says that ad must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence. 

Read the key take away from the Notice HERE.

Advertising, Branding, Business, Design, Infringement, Law, Trademarks

Ping® By Adlerlaw – The Importance of Trademarks for Lighting Designers.

A recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision is noteworthy for the lighting-design industry. This trademark application rejection sheds light on strategies for lighting designers seeking to protect their trademarks. This begins with the approach to the application process itself. 

In In re B-K Lighting, Inc., Serial No. 88769422 (January 27, 2023) [not precedential], the USPTO refused to register “AGI2” for “lighting fixtures,” finding confusion likely with the registered mark “AGI & Design” for lights, lighting assemblies, and light fixtures for architectural signage. As is often the case, applicant B-K Lighting was left scrambling to distinguish its trademark from the cited “AGI & Design” registration. The TTAB’s analysis of nature and relatedness of the goods, the trade channels, and the classes of purchasers, may be helpful to other brands in the lighting industry when trying to protect their trademarks.

Read the full article here.

Business, Contracts, Design

Ping® By Adlerlaw – Illinois Evidence Rules on Admissibility of Cell Phone Video

This month’s issue of Ping® highlights Illinois rules regarding use of iPhone-recorded video in a criminal trial. In case you missed it, my article, “Six Things You Can Do to Improve Your Contracts,” from ASID Impact Illinois Magazine, Issue Two, 2022, is discussed below.

Six Things You Can Do to Improve Your Contracts.

In case you missed it, my article “Six Things You Can Do to Improve Your Contracts” appeared in ASID Impact Illinois Magazine, Issue Two 2022, pages 22-24.

Here’s a quick summary.

If you have questions about your business, or about contracts, or if you need assistance navigating the process, please feel to contact me for more information. (866)734-2568 and David [at] adler-law.com

Illinois Rules About iPhone-Recorded Video in a Criminal Trial.

Cell Phone Video. We all have it. We all use it. But what if we need to rely on it in a Court of law to prove – or disprove – a version of the story that’s being told.

We all know how easy it is to fake video and there’s a whole category that’s so credible is hard to prove it’s fake. A free press should tell the truth. But as Pontius Pilate asked, “What is truth?” Who decides what is true? And who should compel the press to “tell the truth”? 

In his article, “Illinois Supreme Court Rules on Admissibility of Cell Phone Videos,” Criminal Law FLASHPOINTS, January 2023, author Matthew R. Leisten of the Ogle County State’s Attorney’s Office, discusses People v. Smith, 2022 IL 127946, an Illinois Supreme Court case upholding the state’s use of iPhone-recorded partial video clips from a building’s surveillance cameras in a burglary trial. Read more here.

Business, Copyright, Creative Content, Entertainment, Scriptwriting

Ping® by AdlerLaw – Important Reasons To Register Your Copyright

Copyright law protects the expression not the idea.

Many writers worry about “idea theft,” using it as the reason they don’t tell people about their projects, won’t publicaly post their loglines, or won’t apply for contests and fellowships. But the fact is, copyright law only protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Lots of films and television shows have similar concepts.

But what do you do if you believe your actual script or deck, or other materials were stolen? I recently received a call from a prospective client with that very concern. Read more here.