The TiE Houston Legal Workshop liveblog will be starting in 10 minutes.
Here is a quick run-down of the agenda for today's TiE Houston event:
Protection for your Business
Charles Meyer, Tim Lothe, Ira Domnitz
The workshop done entirely in Questions-Answer format, will share realistic practical issues these 3 attorneys have dealt with in their careers. Here's a sample slide, and what kind of questions to expect:
Mr. Jay works for your company. He has come to you and claims to have invented a new widget. What should you do? Who owns the invention? Discuss
To have a successful business you need to safeguard it from legal pitfalls, unnecessary liability and have a strategic plan for dealing with your company's assets.
Come, attend TiE Houston's workshop that will solve your everyday business problems using real world problem scenarios. Lead by Ira Domnitz (Attorney, Winstead) and Tim Lothe (Former Associate General Counsel, COMPAQ), the workshop will be moderated by Charles Meyer (Former Chief Legal Officer, RIM). Please come prepared with questions for the panel.
At the end of this workshop you will have:
* Simple solutions for common employment issues
* Working knowledge of the various methods to protecting and growing your companies assets
* Insight and information to foresee and prevent large scale liability
* Ability to cut down on you company's long term expenses through early problem assessment
Next up is Charles Meyer (Former Chief Legal Officer, RIM)
Ira Domnitz (Attorney, Winstead) is up next.
Of course, being lawyers, this workshop starts with legal disclaimers. The information presented in this workshop (or on the StartupHouston liveblog) is not actual legal advice.
Charles Meyer (Former Chief Legal Officer, RIM) is starting with an example of Mr. Jay, the Disgruntled Employee
Tim Lothe (Former Associate General Counsel, COMPAQ) is talking about Non-Compete and Non-Disclosure Agreements
Ira Domnitz (Attorney, Winstead) is talking about Trade Secrets
Seems obvious, but you need to tell you employees explicitly what is a trade secret and what is not
Can you keep your employees from jumping to competitors? If you have the right non-compete covenant, the answer is 'Yes.'
Question about Confidentiality Agreements. If the company signs a confidentiality agreement with someone, how long is the employee bound by that? What is time limit? If they leave the company, how long are they still party to the confidentiality agreement?
Answer: If you work for a company, then you are held to the same agreement. How long it applies depends on the terms of the agreement.
No Compete, Confidentiality, and Trade Secret agreements can be combined in one document or in separate. Charles Meyer (Former Chief Legal Officer, RIM) sees that most often that Non-Disclosure agreements are typically made with external parties to the company, while Non-Compete and Confidentiality agreements are made with employees.
Question: How long is the typical Non-Compete agreement.
Answer: Tim Lothe (Former Associate General Counsel, COMPAQ) says that most Non-Compete agreements he sees are between 12 - 18 months.
On to Case #2: Mr. Jay, the Industrial Spy
A situation where company secrets seem to be turning up in the hands of competitors.
You can prevent employees from going to other companies if you can prove that they have stolen your trade secrets and that that information will irreparably harm your company.
On to Case 3: Mr. Jay the Future Employee
Its OK to find out things about people during the interview process that other people tell you.
What do you say if someone asks you to verify someone's employment? Legally, all you can tell them is what their title was and the time period they worked there. Anything else can get you in trouble.
Ira Domnitz (Attorney, Winstead) adding a pointer on electronic discovery and talking about Facebook, Twitter, etc. When people post questionable things on social media sites, that information is fully usable by potential employers.
Question: Why can't businesses say anything about whether you were a good employee or not?
Answer: Because they can be held liable for providing a "negligent reference," regardless of whether it is a good or bad reference.
On to Case 4: Ms. Jay and her Hidden Condition
Could be pregnancy or any other hidden condition
There are creative ways to ask about health situations, but it is probably better not to ask about health issues, other than "Is there anything we should be aware of that would prevent you from being able to perform the necessary duties for the position for the next year."
If you are a small business with less than 15 employees, then you are better protected than larger companies.
Question: At what age does the Age Discrimination act kick in?
Answer: 40, but courts aren't as sympathetic to 40 year olds (or even 50 year olds) as they are to 60 and 70 year olds
On to Case 5 - Analysis
Talking about Copyright issues, especially regarding information that gets reused from other people's websites
Make sure that any information you are putting on your website is vetted and not infringing on other copyrights.
Grey area: Taking other people's content and "artistically" modifying it and using it.
Talking about Domain squatting and new Cybersquatting Laws. Have to prove that you are using the website for a legal business purpose.
Question: What about reusing other companies terms and conditions that you found on their website?
Answer: Technically, you are violating their copyright. But, it may, or may not be practical for them to pursue legal action against you. If you receive a Cease and Desist, make sure you Cease and Desist immediately.
Things also depend on whether consumers might confuse your product for someone elses. Example is how TV programs blur out logos on their shows.
Reasons to copyright things on your web site. For both defensive and offensive purposes. If someone charges you with copyright, you need to prove when you created it.
Charles Meyer (Former Chief Legal Officer, RIM): You don't need to go and register every image on your website, unless you are selling them. In the legal section of your web site, it is easier to just include a statement that all images used on the website are covered by copyright of your company.
If the image is central to your product, then it makes sense to register it. (Registering a copyright costs a *lot* less then filing a patent)
We are pausing for a 5 minute break.
If you have any small business questions, technology related or otherwise, feel free to post them here in this liveblog and we will ask them to the moderators!
Just click on the "Make a Comment" link in blue at the top of this live blog window.
