Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to register a trademark to have rights in the mark. Rights in a trademark arise in the United States from use of the mark. What is a trademark?  A trademark is generally a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods.  Marks typically protect brand names and logos used on goods and services.

Do employers have a duty to protect their employee’s data? In Dittman v. UPMC, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined, among other things, that the defendant employer had a duty to use reasonable care in protecting employee data. See __ A.3d __, No. 43 WAP 2017 (Pa. 2018). Dittman concerned a data breach that allegedly compromised the personal information of employees and former employees of the defendant. The defendant required employees to provide this personal information as a condition of employment. The claims asserted, among other things, that the defendant was negligent by not taking appropriate steps towards safeguarding employees’ sensitive information.

Are you an employee or an independent contractor? If you're doing business in California, then pay attention to the new classification test for your workers.

Even a wisp of data collected by hackers, thieves, or other nefarious cyber-criminals as a result of a breach may leave you open to a lawsuit. To protect your company, it is important to have security measures in place to safeguard sensitive data.  While not legally required in all 50 states, a written information security program (WISP) can help your company protect its data, and, if necessary, react to a breach.  Essential elements of a WISP include laying out procedures for your company to store and transfer sensitive data and assigning an employee to maintain and implement these security procedures.