On September 4, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission's sweeping non-compete ban will go into effect profoundly impacting businesses and workers alike. In this article, we lay out what you need to know about the ban, including who the ban applies to and how to comply. We also discuss how businesses can protect their confidential information and trade secrets without non-competes.

What to do when you’re faced with a cease & desist letter (C&D) claiming you’ve breached your non-disparagement obligations? First, breathe. Next, make sure you know your rights and your options. No one wants a C&D, especially from a multi-billion dollar company with seemingly endless resources. Even baseless C&D’s are anxiety-inducing. Call us. You have options.

The word “empower” undermines the women’s equality movement in at least four ways. One, the term “empower,” which implies that women must be given power by others (i.e., men), perpetuates a power imbalance. Two, “empower” implies dependency. Three, “empowerment” initiatives individualize structural issues and limit what is achievable for gender equality. Four, “empowerment” ignores intersecting forms of discrimination and leads to an exclusionary approach to gender equality that fails women who face multiple forms of discrimination. Image: black and white photo of a powerful woman sitting on a couch with her arm resting on a baseball bat.

This article discusses trends in venture capital funding for women-only founding teams and discusses key legal strategies that women founders can implement to position their companies for growth and future investment.

Real talk about why founders with long-term growth plans should seriously consider forming a legal entity, like an LLC, for their business sooner rather than later. LLCs give founders liability protection for their personal assets, tax benefits, a credibility boost for their company and more.

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Starting in January 2024, tens of millions of US businesses must report personal information about the individuals who own or control their business to the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). LLCs, non-public corporations, partnerships, business trusts, and other business entities who are not exempt and fail to report risk civil fines and criminal penalties.

Trademarks protect more than you might think. The most common question we get at Audette Law is: what can be trademarked? In this article, we talk about trademarking company names, individual product/product line names, slogans/taglines, logos and symbols, trade dress features, podcast, blog, webinar, and YouTube channel names, and more.

Tips for identifying and avoiding trademark scams.

Trademark application and other trademark filing fees are going up on November 1, 2024. We break down the cost increases and how they might affect your plans to protect your IP in 2024.