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A Breakdown of Fair Use

Is your small business trying to spruce up your website by adding some new pictures? Want to raise money for your nonprofit by hosting a community movie night? Trying to update your marketing materials with a brand-new promotional video with cool background music? If so, you could be opening yourself up to potential copyright lawsuits and should read up on the doctrine of fair use! An important aspect of starting a small business or nonprofit is exposure, and as organizations work to market themselves and increase awareness of their goals and activities in the communities they serve, they could open themselves up to legal danger. Litigation is expensive, and the cost can be especially devastating to small businesses and nonprofits. In all promotional or informational materials (including brochures, flyers, websites, etc.), organizations need to be sure that they are legally protected from copyright infringement claims.   What is Fair Use? Fair use is a legal doctrine that per...
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The Bankruptcy Code and Black Business Owners: An Overview on the Racial Disparities that Exist in Bankruptcy Proceedings

"sisyphus paradox."   by   percipio symphony   is licensed under   CC BY 2.0   In a recent podcast for Bloomberg Law, University of Texas at Austin School law professor Mechele Dickerson discussed how the Bankruptcy Code favors white debtors over Black or Latino ones in various ways. [i]   Interviewer : “Is there a racist element in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code?” Professor Dickerson : “Intentional? No. But if you look at the way the Code is structured for human beings that file for bankruptcy, there are clear biases and it so happens that these biases favor a certain profile which I have called in the past an ideal debtor…” [ii]   This is a reality that has not gotten much attention in legal and business communities. Although there have been dozens of studies that have found Black debtors file for bankruptcy disproportionately more than other racial groups (yet get less permanent relief) there has been no definitive answer presented as to why. [iii] ...
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Navigating Liability Across Multiple Ventures for Michigan Businesses: Alternatives to Series LLCs

  The Problem: Managing Liability Across Different Ventures   Many business owners manage multiple ventures. This often entails dealing with different types of risks and liabilities. Whether selling different lines of products or operating multiple services within a business, it is really important to keep liabilities isolated to protect assets. For example, consider a business owner who owns both a restaurant and a catering business. In the event that a customer sued the restaurant for something like a slip-and-fall accident, the owner’s catering business could also be at risk if the ventures are not legally separated. Without proper legal structures, a lawsuit or financial issue affecting one part of the business could easily spill over, putting the entire business at risk. For this reason, business owners should look for ways to separate liability across their ventures and ensure that issues in one area don't threaten the stability and success of the others.   Liab...
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