*Photo courtesy of Australian Television Program “Sunrise”

Anthony Albanese, Australian transport minister, had this to say in an attack against the Liberal Party Opposition Leader Tony Abbot:

“In Australia we have serious challenges to solve and we need serious people to solve them. Unfortunately, Tony Abbott is not the least bit interested in fixing anything. He is only interested in two things: making Australians afraid of it and telling them who’s to blame for it.”

Does this sound familiar? Michael Douglas gave a similar speech, written by The Social Network screen writer Aaron Sorkin, in the 1995 film The American President:

“We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who’s to blame for it.”

According to the The Hollywood Reporter, the films international distributor, Universal Pictures, has not taken any steps to bring action against the Aussie politician… yet. It could be argued by the studios legal team that Albanese was in violation of Australia’s Copyright Act of 1968, which assures dramatic works from being reproduced in “substantial part.”

“Of course, the speech was hardly a commercial endeavor and it’s possible that the appropriation was merely de minimis under Australian law,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter. “And it should be noted that the quoted excerpt in Sorkin’s screen speech in The American President was preceded by these words: “You want free speech?” asks Douglas rhetorically. “Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs things you would spend your lifetime opposing at the top of yours.”

After the news broke that Albanese’s speech was not an original work, Albanese took to twitter: “D’oh! Stuff up (for the record, that comes from another great American, Homer Simpson),” he tweeted.

You can view the speeches side by side on YouTube, courtesy of the Australian morning television show Sunrise. Sorry Mr. Albanese, you’re no Michael Douglas.

YouTube: Aussie politician caught using lines from The American President in speech

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Denise Guzman seen as mentor, expert in law field

Determination and dedication are just two of the qualities Denise Guzman possesses as a successful businesswoman.

Founding her own law practice when the business world lacked female presence, and giving back to the community through foundations and organizations, Guzman is considered to be a mentor and an expert in her field.

“I don’t believe in accolades,” Guzman said. “I do this to support other people and see them succeed.”

Guzman, a Palos Verdes Peninsula resident, has served as a business and estate planning attorney in the South Bay for more than 25 years.

After earning her bachelor’s degree from USC in 1974, she went on to study at UCLA, where she received her law degree. In 1978, she founded her own Manhattan Beach law practice, Guzman Law Group.

Guzman said success came through perseverance.

Bucking the system right after graduating from UCLA, Guzman associated herself with businessmen, attending professional association meetings and networking events throughout the South Bay.

“My father was an accountant at the time so I would attend many chamber of commerce meetings with him,” she said. “And I made sure to introduce myself to everyone I came into contact with.”

In 1993, Guzman determined that women’s success in the corporate sector was stagnant. And in an effort to change this, she founded the South Bay Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association – a national association that empowers women personally and professionally.

With a Rolodex in hand, “I called every woman I knew,” she said. “It was tough but I am really proud of what I started, bringing businesswomen together from around the local area.”

Guzman, who is no longer involved with ABWA, continues to mentor young women, providing them with personal and professional parameters to be successful businesswomen.

In 2003, she was named Woman of the Year by the Switzer Learning Center – an organization that fosters the growth of children with learning disabilities – for her service to its community.

Aside from her professional involvement, Guzman dedicates her time to promoting arts throughout the community.

She is a member of the board of trustees for the Palos Verdes Art Center, where educational art programs are put in place to reach schools, and is a board member on the Joy2Learn Foundation, an organization that brings a variety of free art programs to schools via the Internet.

“I love the arts and I think it is profoundly missing from the schools,” said Guzman, who was once an English major, minoring in fine arts. “I want young children to have the opportunity to learn arts and music.”

She is also on the board of directors for the foundation P.S. I Love You, a program to help less fortunate children participate in educational and extracurricular activities.

“The one-on-one interaction is such a positive experience for these children,” said Guzman.

In 2010, Guzman was awarded the Woman of Entrepreneurship honor by Comerica Bank, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“It is such an honor to be nominated and have the support of other people,” she said.

By Ashley Curtin
Staff Writer, Daily Breeze
Here is the link to the article on dailybreeze.com

Top 5 Reasons To Beware Of Joint Ownership Between Generations

Celebrities are not the only ones to make mistakes with their estate planning.  It happens to people all across the country on a regular basis.  The end result — just like with the rich and famous — often is an ugly and expensive family fight in court.  One of the most common estate planning mistakes that people make is joint ownership.

For the most part, we’re not talking about when a husband and wife have joint bank accounts or the title to their home is held in both of their names.  While not ideal for estate planning, this is quite common and can often be used without problems, except in many second-marriage situations or large estates that may suffer adverse tax consequences… < continue reading at Forbes.com >

Do you have the next great mobile app idea? Here are 5 tips on the legal side of Mobile App Creation:

Due Diligence. Basically, do your homework. Google your idea and find out if a similar app already exists. Its better to do the leg work at this stage of the game then down the road when you have put money into development.

Preliminary Protection. A lot of the time, people want to talk about their idea to gain feedback or simply want to talk about it out of pure excitement. Please don’t … unless, of course, you have a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement. Not all NDA’s are the same. This is such an important point in the early stages of development that I am going to state it again: Not all NDA’s are the same. You need one specifically for Intellectual Property Rights. Also, be careful of other parties, such as Mobile App Developers, asking you to sign their NDA. Most likely it is written to protect their company’s interest and not yours. Have a lawyer read it over to make sure that you are keeping full control of your intellectual property.

Ownership. Who owns the intellectual property? Once the app is built, who owns the rights? Did you use a work-for-hire agreement*? Are there multiple authors meaning joint ownership? Or, is it just you? Ownership must be established before you can take the next step and acquire advanced protection.

Advanced Protection. Can’t I just copyright the idea? Unfortunately, you cannot. However, you can copyright the code used to write the app, artwork, text, etc. In order to keep the copyright in your name, you would need to write the code yourself or hire a programmer on work-for-hire terms. Once the code is written and artwork designed, then it can be filed for protection with the copyright office. At this stage, you can also search to see if your app is something that can be patented. To be on the safe side, register all your materials with the copyright and patent office before the app is launched.

License / Assignment. For most people, this is the most important part because this is how your app makes its revenue. One of the more common ways is by having companies or individuals purchase a license to your app. There are two types of licenses: exclusive and non-exclusive. An exclusive license means you license your app to a company or individual with exclusive terms of use such as a certain geography or client base. For example, Company A wants an exclusive license for North America. This means you cannot license your app to another company or individual in North America. You could, however, give an exclusive license to Company B in Europe. A non-exclusive license allows you to licenses to Company A in North America, but also to anyone else who would want to purchase a license in North America.

Another option is an assignment. In an assignment, you have the option to sell all your rights or sell (or assign) select rights that you have in copyright. For example, in a copyright, you can assign the right to reproduce and the right to distribute, but you might retain the right to make derivatives. Remember, with any assignment, whether you are assigning all or part of the various rights, you are selling your ownership, just as if you were selling your house.

* Work-for-Hire describes works that are produced for somebody else. The person who hires the creator holds the copyright to the finished work.

Related posts:

• Does your Business Need Cash?
See the four part series on Starting a Business:
• Part I: Laying a good foundation
• Part II: More than one owner
• Part III: Safe-guard your product
• Part IV: Choosing your Corporate Counsel

Posted on Forbes.com October 8th
Estate Of Al Davis Could Face Huge Tax Bill On Oakland Raiders

The estate of Al Davis could potentially face big inheritance taxes on the Oakland Raiders.

Al Davis, who died today, bought a 10% interest in the Oakland Raiders for $18,500 in 1966 and increased his stake to 67% over the years before selling 20% of the NFL team for $150 million in 2007. The Raiders are currently worth $761 million by our count. The ownership of the team is being left to the late owner’s wife, Carol.

But Davis’ son, Mark, who has been involved in some business aspects of the football team but is not listed in the team’s media guide, is going to run the team and he could be face hundreds of millions of dollars of taxes based on the price appreciation of the Raiders if his mother, Carol, eventually leaves the team to him … < continue reading at Forbes.com >

Technically, whenever a business is raising money it’s in exchange for shares of stock or membership units.  Those shares or units are the evidence of ownership as a result of receiving the funds.  These shares or units are securities, and as such, are governed by both state and federal laws.  Granted, many small businesses taking money from friends and family fall within exemptions to state and federal securities laws; yet, it is critical to ensure that your company does in fact fall within and comply with those exemptions. Otherwise, penalties can be assessed, and depending on the circumstances, there can be other more serious consequences if any fraud or misrepresentation to the person or entity giving the money is proved (if a dispute happens down the road).

So if your business needs money and it can’t be obtain through traditional sources, what should you do?

•  Most of the exemptions to securities registration prohibit advertising, so you should not advertise that you need money unless you talk to a lawyer knowledgeable in the area.  There are limited “tombstone ads” that may be placed, but this shouldn’t be done unless you have sought legal advice.

•  Assuming you are just asking a family member or friend for the money, you should definitely have the necessary legal documents drafted. These documents will reflect what needs to be done from the company’s perspective in terms of complying with your Bylaws or Operating Agreement.  Other related documents will address the sale of the share or units in exchange for the funds, and still more documents will address appropriate disclosures to protect your company. Overall, you will generate some paper, but the “bark” here is bigger than the “bite.”

•  Your company will need to file appropriate documentation with the state Department of Corporations. This is done online and is to be done within 15 days of the company issuing any stock in order to avoid penalties.

While all of this may seem a bit burdensome, in the end, doing this will position your company to reduce risk with respect to regulatory compliance and an investor who was your family member or friend, but is now your plaintiff.

This information is intended for general educational purposes and not specific legal advice.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article discussing the essential points of the estate plan. The above image accompanied the article and is a helpful visual about the necessary items needed to prepare your “Death Dossier”. To read the article, please click on the following link: 25 Documents You Need Before You Die.

In 1935, “Happy Birthday to You” was copyrighted as a work for hire by Preston Ware Orem for the Summy Company, the publisher of “Good Morning to All”. A new company, Birch Tree Group Limited, was formed to protect and enforce the song’s copyright. In 1998,[10] the rights to “Happy Birthday to You” and its assets were sold to The Time-Warner Corporation. In March 2004, Warner Music Group was sold to a group of investors led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. The company continues to insist that one cannot sing the “Happy Birthday to You” lyrics for profit without paying royalties: in 2008, Warner collected about $5000 per day ($2 million per year) in royalties for the song.[2], pp. 4,68 This includes use in film, television, radio, anywhere open to the public, or even among a group where a substantial number of those in attendance are not family or friends of whoever is performing the song. For this reason, most restaurants or other public party venues will not allow their employees to perform the song in public, instead opting for other original songs or cheers in honor of the birthday celebrant.

In many countries, including the United States, copyright lasts the lifetime of the author plus 70 years. In this case, since it was a work for hire, the standard is not 70 years post death of the last surviving author, but 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever comes first. Assuming, the song still enjoys U.S. copyright protection, and assuming its first publication date was 1935, the copyright would be valid until 2030.

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