Business and Commercial
Our Business and Commercial practice can assist your business with most legal problems. Perhaps more importantly, we work closely with our clients to keep legal problems from arising. Our principal practice areas are the following:
- Business Formation. We can help you select the appropriate form of business organization. Choosing the proper form requires consideration of tax and liability issues, as well as personal preferences and inter-relationships among principals. We will help you select and establish the form that is best for your individual situation, whether it be a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or other entity.
- Internet and Computer Law. Whether you are creating a new Internet based business or expanding your traditional business onto the Internet, we can help you navigate the laws, practices, and technical problems that arise in today's complex business environment, from negotiating a web site development agreement to domain name arbitration. New legislation, such as the Maryland Computer Information Transactions Act, makes it particularly important that licensors and licensees of computer information carefully review new and existing agreements.
- Copyright. The growth of the Internet has brought a new importance to the protection and licensing of intellectual property. Virtually every creator of a web page implicates rights under the Copyright Act that he or she needs to protect. Web site owners need to be careful not to infringe intellectual property rights of others, whether by direct copying or indirectly by linking and framing. We can assist you in protecting your intellectual property on the Internet.
- Trademark. Trademark law has also assumed a new importance with the expansion of the Internet. Domain names must be selected carefully to ensure that no marks are infringed. Recent federal enactments, such as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, impose severe penalties for infringement. We can assist you in registering your trademarks or service marks, protecting your marks (whether they are domain names or otherwise) and in seeing that others do not trade on your goodwill.
- Homeowners' Associations. We can assist you in creating an association, in ensuring that your association acts in compliance with its by-laws and the Maryland Homeowners Association Act, and in resolving disputes that arise between members.