Articles/News
Supreme Court Rules Trademark Disparagement Provision Unconstitutional
Background Simon Shio Tam filed an application for the mark “THE SLANTS” for “entertainment in the nature of live performances by a musical band.” The examining attorney at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) refused to register the mark, citing that under § 1052(a) of the Lanham Act, the mark was “likely disparaging […]
Read »Associates Bao D. Nguyen and Samantha A. Heep Join the Firm’s Oakland Office
Bao joins Donahue Fitzgerald’s Litigation practice focusing on employment and intellectual property issues. Prior to joining Donahue Fitzgerald, Bao practiced civil litigation at a mid-sized law firm. During law school, Bao externed at the Department of Labor for District Chief Judge Jennifer Gee’s office and worked on administrative law matters, addressing complex multi-agency issues related […]
Read »Waiting on Guidance on Berkeley’s Paid Sick Leave Law
The Berkeley ordinance requires employers to pay employees for their time away from work when they or their family members are sick. This local ordinance ups the employer requirements and employee benefits provided by California’s statewide paid sick leave law. Like the California law, Berkeley’s law requires that leave accrue at a rate of at […]
Read »Donahue Fitzgerald Partner, Jonathan Osder, Receives 2017 Client Choice Award
On February 2, 2017, the International Law Office and Lexology named our partner Jonathan Osder as a recipient of the 2017 Client Choice Awards. Jonathan earned top honors for the state of California for intellectual property in the area of copyright law. Congratulations to Jonathan for being selected for the award from a pool of […]
Read »Donahue Fitzgerald Ranked In Top Tier of 2017 “Best Law Firms”
Firms included in the 2017 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must have a lawyer listed in The Best Lawyers of America, which recognizes the top 4 percent of practicing attorneys in the U.S. Receiving a […]
Read »Donahue Fitzgerald Congratulates Our Partner, Eric A. Handler, as ACBA’s 2017 President
Donahue Fitzgerald LLP congratulates partner Eric A. Handler on his installation as president of the Alameda County Bar Association for 2017. Eric joins a distinguished list of Donahue Fitzgerald attorneys who have served in this position, starting with the late Justice O.D. Hamlin, Jr., who served as ACBA president in 1929. “Eric’s installation as ACBA […]
Read »How will recent changes to federal wage and hour law affect your business?
More specifically, the DOL increased the minimum salary level—from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $913 per week ($47,476 per year)—that certain employees must earn in order to be considered “exempt” from the FLSA’s overtime requirements. While there are a variety of exemptions from overtime, the revised regulations only apply to those employees who […]
Read »Donahue Fitzgerald Honored to Present Award to Maximum Games
Donahue Fitzgerald LLP sponsored the San Francisco Business Times‘ 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies Awards held on Thursday, October 13, 2016 at the Four Seasons in downtown San Francisco. Partner Michael Sebree presented an award to Maximum Games, which was named 10th out of 100 companies. Sebree stated, “Congratulations to Christina Seelye and her team […]
Read »Protecting your Brand – Inception to Global Market
Owners of emerging businesses may feel there are no new marks, that all the marks have already been used. But new businesses form every year and have created some of the most memorable new trademarks, such as Facebook, YouTube, OrganicGirl, Lyft and Airbnb. Selecting a new mark and protecting it as soon as possible by […]
Read »The Effects of the Defend Trade Secrets Act
Prior to the enactment of the DTSA, injured parties could only file civil trade secret misappropriation claims in state court under state law. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) published by the Uniform Law Commission provided a framework to help states establish standard guidelines. Most states, including California, adopted the UTSA in some form, however […]
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