-
For Email Newsletters you can trust About the Smartfast Blog
The pace of business keeps you on the run. You need to make (SMART) decisions and take action quickly (FAST). Business attorney Jean Sifleet created the SMART FAST® blog to help. Whether you’re a start up company or an established company, SMART FAST® provides information that can help you make more informed business decisions. This is information – not legal advice.
If you’ve found this blog useful, you can:
- Post a comment.
- Sign up for my free newsletter below.
- Visit the SmartFast bookstore to purchase my books.
- Call 508-361-0916 to arrange a personal consultation (minimum consultation fee is $300).
Category Archives: Intellectual Property
Google Books – – What is “Fair Use” in the digital age?
Google Books (http://www.books.google.com) provides access to digitized copies of books. Google scans and indexes the books, making them searchable online. This greatly enhances access to information – from anywhere on the planet. Is this “copyright infringement” or “fair use” in … Continue reading
Posted in Business Practices, Copyright, Intellectual Property, Legal, Uncategorized
Tagged Copyright, Intellectual Property
Leave a comment
Social Media – Goals & Guidelines for Business and Personal Use
Social Media (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) are used by individuals and companies – and really blur the lines between what’s business and what’s personal. In the workplace, employers set the standards for conduct and acceptable speech. Outside the workplace, … Continue reading
Beer — a new approach to resolving name disputes
Check out the article in the August 2011 ABA (American Bar Association) Journal concerning two competing micro brewers who decided to resolve their dispute over brewing a Belgian ale that they both named “Salvation.” http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/bottoms_up_litigation_down_microbrewers_forsake_litigation_opt_for_collabor/ Instead of using adversarial legal tactics and … Continue reading
Posted in Intellectual Property, Uncategorized
Tagged Beer, Collaboration, Intellectual Property, Trademark
Leave a comment
Convert “Pirates into Partners”
At a conference on Innovations in Learning, sponsored by Brandon Hall Research (See: www.brandon-hall.com), I learned about how new technologies are being used to create “communities” that engage users – and help to improve products and services and build businesses. … Continue reading
Posted in Business Practices, Business Systems, contracts, Copyright, Innovation, Intellectual Property, Legal, Social Media, The Cloud, Uncategorized, Web-based services
Tagged Amazon, Collaboration, Copyright, eBay, Fair Use, Harry Potter, Intellectual Property, Partners, Pirates, Star Wars
Leave a comment
“Being Wrong” – Learning from Mistakes
There is an old adage that you learn more from your mistakes than your successes. But “being wrong” is hard to face. The natural human tendency is to want to be “right” and to dig into positions based on “beliefs” … Continue reading
Legal Issues in the “Cloud”
Web-based services are cost effective – and legally complicated. The “Cloud” refers to computing services performed in the Internet – and it is morphing and evolving every day. From simple email and remote backup services, to processing on-line transactions of all sorts, transmission … Continue reading
Franchises — Advantages and Disadvantages
Want to own your own business? Don’t want to start from scratch? Is a franchise right for you? Franchises are a way to get into business quickly, with a brand name, proven methods of operation and a support structure. Franchises … Continue reading
Key Business Value Drivers — Intangibles and Employees
“Value drivers” distinguish successful companies from their competitors. While it’s easy to be distracted by all the demands competing for the business owner’s time and attention, successful companies focus on the key value drivers – which are frequently “intangibles” and … Continue reading
Posted in Business Model Profitability, Business Practices, Business Systems, Employment, Innovation, Intellectual Property, Legal, Non compete, Uncategorized
Tagged Copyright, Employees, infrastructure, Intellectual Property, Professional Services, Restaurants, Retail, Technology, Value Drivers
1 Comment
10 Examples of Failed Projects Resulting in Successful Products
Even failed projects can result in successful products if people can see potential applications and learn from the experience. For example, Post-it notes resulted from a failed glue project at 3M. Kevlar (bulletproof fibers) resulted from a failed project at … Continue reading
Posted in Business Practices, Innovation, Intellectual Property, Uncategorized
Tagged aspirin, Intellectual Property, ivory soap, Kevlar, levi's, microwave, mistakes, penicillin, Post-it, scotchgard, sweetners, velcro
4 Comments
“Law of Two Feet” – Catalyst for Innovation
I heard about “the law of two feet” at Innovation 2010, an UN-conference sponsored by Mass Technology Leadership Council. Basically, it means “If at any time you find yourself in any situation where you are neither learning nor contributing, use … Continue reading
Posted in Business Systems, Innovation, Intellectual Property
Tagged Innovation, Intellectual Property, Law of Two Feet
Leave a comment