Intellectual Property
Lately, a few of my start up clients have encountered hang-ups related to intellectual property. Intellectual Property is the bundle of rights and privileges associated with trademarks (names and logos), copyrights (works of art, music, literature) or patents (inventions and secret formulas). Whenever a business is deciding to choose a trade name, it is imperative to conduct a thorough search to determine if someone else already has intellectual property rights associated with the prospective name.
Sadly, it is often very difficult to make changes to a logo or name once the business is rolling along. The best strategy is to create an original name and identity from the beginning.
Every Christmas season, I enjoy listening to the Soul Train Christmas Starfest CD and I really enjoy reading The Other Wise Man, by Henry Van Dyke. This is a story, written in 1895, about a fourth wise man who journeyed to find the Christ and encountered truth and perspective along the way. It’s a great holiday story and I encourage you to discover it. Click 
I was recently honored in being able to pull my first tooth. Normally, this privilege is reserved for my wife (the gentle choice), my brother (the popular choice) or the school nurse (the emergency choice). However, this time, my son, Fischer wanted me to pull it…and it made me feel great. So as not to disappoint and ruin my chance for a repeat request, I was patient, calm, and distracting, and punched him when he wasn’t looking.
While I was putting up some Christmas lights today (we’re going with the “less is more” approach), I was wondering if there were any laws regulating the use or abuse of lights during the Holiday season. Apparently, in California, there are no restrictions against Christmas lights, as long as you don’t live in San Diego and as long it is not past February 2nd. After that date, I read where you could get fined $250. I encourage anyone who receives such a fine to claim that you were putting them up early for the next Christmas season…as this appears to be lawful.
During this holiday season, you will probably be surrounded by your family and relatives. And there is a better than average chance that you will all be present together for a meal, or two. During these times, why don’t you get the conversation ball rolling by throwing out information about your estate plan? While it may sound like an odd thing to discuss, it is never an odd time to discuss these important matters. Your family needs to know that you have an estate plan. They need to know where you keep your documents. You don’t necessarily need to disclose the contents of your estate plan, but it is important to let them know that you’ve taken the steps to make your passing a smooth transition for the family. Your loved ones will appreciate the information. It may even encourage them to visit an attorney to get their own estate planning done.