Starting a New Company? Here’s Your Checklist.

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Starting a New Company? Here’s Your Checklist. In Social Media on April 2013 at 4:25 am Reblogged from Corporate Counsel : Ever wonder what’s required or recommended to set up a new company? Yes, incorporation is an obvious first step, but there is much more to delineating a company as a separate legal entity than just

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Top Six Legal Issues Facing Today’s Online Media Companies

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Social and digital media has grown exponentially in the last decade, with enterprising companies creating uncontested market space in the online and digital industries. Whether your company is engaged in a new search engine, an analytics platform, or ecommerce; social media as a tool has become a necessary component of both the customer acquisition process and marketing

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Instagram’s New Policy: Yes, it does mean what you think.

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You do have the rights to your Instagram photos, but you share the rights to your photos.  That means when someone pays Instagram to use your photos, you can’t do anything about it (like litigate.) There’s been a lot of talk on the web about two issues related to Instagram’s newest policy updates: The tech-lovers pointing

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UK LAW REFORMERS URGE SOCIAL MEDIA CLAMPDOWN

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UK LAW REFORMERS URGE SOCIAL MEDIA CLAMPDOWN In Social Media, Technology Issues and the Law on November 2012 at 5:40 pm Social media is facing an overhaul of the contempt laws prompted by the rise of Twitter and bloggers. The Law Commission, the UK government’s law reform watchdog is set to publish a consultation paper yesterday

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3 Key Things for Your Social Media Training

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Social media is about interaction, and for growing companies that interaction is critical.  However, both companies and employees make mistakes, whether it be on social media platforms or in some other aspect of their job.  Instead of reacting to that mistake, sometimes (most of the time) it is better to preempt that mistake with a

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Angel Financing: 4 Things Startups Must Know

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 Angel financing is loosely defined, as it runs the gamut in terms of executions.  We’ve seen angels simply hand a check to a startup; while other angels hire aggressive large law firms with armies of associates working on an angel financing round. Because the experience with angel financing can vary, it’s important for startups and entrepreneurs to understand some of the basic

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VC Financing for Startups: Understanding Cost Drivers

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Originally published in Corporate Counsel NY There has been a lot of debate on the legal costs associated with financing rounds for startups.  Fred Wilson’s challenge to startup lawyers called for legal costs to be reduced to $5,000.00 for a seed financing round.   The issue, brought up by many lawyers is this: (1) large firms

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Are Twitter Followers a “Client List” – and Who Owns the Account?

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When you start tweeting as part of your corporate position, the lines between what is a personal Twitter account and one made for business purposes is blurred – especially in the world of startups, new ventures, and media companies.  What happens when you leave the company?  Who has ownership rights over the Twitter account - the company, or the

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Are Twitter Followers a “Client List” – and Who Owns the Account?

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When you start tweeting as part of your corporate position, the lines between what is a personal Twitter account and one made for business purposes is blurred – especially in the world of startups, new ventures, and media companies.  What happens when you leave the company?  Who has ownership rights over the Twitter account - the company, or the

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Personal Liability of Corporate Shareholders

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Personal Liability of Corporate Shareholders In Entrepreneurs and Social Media on July 2012 at 6:42 pm  Originally published in Corporate Counsel NY. It’s a little known fact (especially in the startup world) that New York privately held corporations can hold the top 10 shareholders of such corporations personally liable for any unpaid compensation to the corporation’s employees. The reason

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Louisiana law extends sex offender notice to social media

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benish shah, law, law firms, lawmakers, louisiana, politics, sardar law firm, sheheryar sardar, social media Louisiana law extends sex offender notice to social media In Social Media, Technology Issues and the Law on June 2012 at 2:16 pm Article source: http://socialmedialegal.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/louisiana-law-extends-sex-offender-notice-to-social-media/

Netflix’s Facebook app could be illegal – Maybe.

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Netflix’s Facebook app is up and running in all 46 countries where it offers service — all except America.  Because of a law referring to “prerecorded video cassette tapes or similar audio visual materials.” The video streaming service is blocked from creating a Facebook app in America because of a 1980s law.  The law, Video

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Employers Asking for Facebook Passwords Could be Violating Federal Law (Really)

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According to recent reports, certain employers across the country are demanding the social networking information from job applicants as part of the interview process — including photos and personal messages not shared with anyone else; they want user names and passwords for social networking and email websites from all applicants. In one case, the Associated Press

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Uploading Images on Pinterest Can Get You Sued?

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Pintrerest, one of the fastest growing sites in the social media world has created an interesting problem for users.   While scouring the web, you found high quality images on the latest trends in gothic interior decoration that captured your aesthetic. You save them onto your computer and upload them on your Pinterest profile.  It immediately

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Tweet Issues

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During a Kansas Youth in Government field trip to the state Capitol on November 21, Emma Sullivan, a teenager, Tweeted: “Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot.”  She did actually say anything to Kansas Governor Brownback, and stated that the Tweet was in regards to a personal

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Prevent Piracy or Innovation?

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On November 16, 2011 Congress began review of The Protect IP Act (PIPA) is a U.S. Senate bill introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy and its House counterpart Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Since their introduction in May 2011, the bills have been met with severe backlash, with opposers calling them “innovation killers” and “patently unjust.”  On the first day of hearings even Rep.

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Stop Piracy, or Innovation?

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On November 16, 2011 Congress began review of The Protect IP Act (PIPA) is a U.S. Senate bill introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy and its House counterpart Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Since their introduction in May 2011, the bills have been met with severe backlash, with opposers calling them “innovation killers” and “patently unjust.”  On the first day of hearings even Rep.

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The International Landscape: A Broad View on Intellectual Property Protection

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Despite the harmonization of intellectual property law and policy seen in the numerous international treaties between countries, there is no single copyright or trademark law that protects a work in every country in the world. To avoid legal problems, such as property theft, companies which conduct or seek to conduct business abroad should take the

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The International Landscape: A Broad View on Intellectual Property Protection

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Despite the harmonization of intellectual property law and policy seen in the numerous international treaties between countries, there is no single copyright or trademark law that protects a work in every country in the world. To avoid legal problems, such as property theft, companies which conduct or seek to conduct business abroad should take the

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Finra authorizes regulatory notice on non-traded REITs, private placements

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Finra is continuing to shake up the way broker-dealers show the value of illiquid investments such as non-traded real estate investment trusts and private placements on clients’ account statements. Last week, the board of governors of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. authorized staff to issue a regulatory notice on the amendments to the rule.

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Trend: Registering Businesses in Singapore

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The recently released Monthly Digest of Statistics Singapore, by the Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade Industry, shows a sharp increase in the number of new companies registered in Singapore in the year 2010. 29,798 new companies were registered in 2010, recording an 11.4% increase over the previous year total of 26,414 companies. So far for the

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Foreign entrepreneurs?

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Giving more foreign entrepreneurs visas could help lower unemployment and jumpstart the economy, a nonpartisan research organization said. The politically charged recommendation comes out of the Startup Act, a sweeping proposal released by the Kauffman Foundation Tuesday. The Act proposes giving foreign entrepreneurs more access to visas and extending green cards

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Arab Spring & Social Media: about time a book got it right.

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Arab Spring Social Media: about time a book got it right. In Social Media on July 2011 at 12:08 am Sandstorm distills how social media played a role in creating a global generationthat catalyzed a historic “leaderless revolution” in the greater Middle East. The Arab Spring, notably Tunisia and Egypt, harnessed the power of social media as a means to facilitate the

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Facebook ‘Face Recognition’ Feature Draws Privacy Scrutiny

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Facebook ‘Face Recognition’ Feature Draws Privacy Scrutiny In Social Media, Technology Issues and the Law on July 2011 at 3:34 am European Union data protection regulators said on Wednesday that they would investigate Facebook over a feature that uses face-recognition software to suggest people’s names to tag in pictures without their permission, and a privacy group in the

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Why you should never use legal documents on the Internet. Seriously.

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Why you should never use legal documents on the Internet. Seriously. In Entrepreneurs and Social Media, Technology Issues and the Law on May 2011 at 7:10 pm With the Internet so accessible it is easy to forget the unreliability of the content found online. Specifically, when it comes to legal documents, if found online, one should

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ISLAMIC FINANCE & INVESTMENT: THE NEXT WAVE

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With the legal market saturated with lawyers in every conceivable practice area, from corporate to litigation, there are few opportunities to distinguish one’s own practice. Islamic finance however, is gaining ground as a mainstream vehicle for individual and institutional investments, mergers, property development and acquisitions. Islamic finance refers to principles of funding and investment based

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American Investors & Middle East Private Equity

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Private Equity Legal Issues The current economic climate has forced American investors to reassess their general investment strategies in the Middle East private equity market (MEPE). Legal protections are becoming more pronounced due to the tightening of credit. Vested parties are conducting critical due diligence, assessing both the creditworthiness of the debtor parties and Return

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Social Stock Trade

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Ayesha Tanzeem of Voice of America interviews Sheheryar Sardar on the risks associated with social media in stock trading and securities. Social Stock Trading Video For more information contact: Sheheryar T. Sardar, Esq. Sardar Law Firm LLC 917-740-5097sardar@sardarlawfirm.com Article source: http://globaldealflow.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/social-stock-trade/

Protecting Your Blog from Violative Content

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One of the most important statutes to consider when discussing the legal liabilities and obligations of the social networking sites is Section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Section 512(c) removes liability for copyright infringement from websites that allow users to post content, as long as the site has a mechanism in place whereby the copyright owner can request the

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Corporate Social Media: Why Adoption Must Be a Collaborative Endeavor

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Corporations tend to fragment specific tasks, and for good reason. Efficiency requires structural fragmentation, a calibrated process to move along something as complex as a large company, a living organism complete with working parts.  Each department has its mandate and performs within the bounds of its directives, whether it’s marketing, compliance, communications, or accounting. But,

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Protecting Your Blog From Violative Content

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Protecting Your Blog From Violative Content In Technology Issues and the Law on January 2011 at 9:41 pm One of the most important statutes to consider when discussing the legal liabilities and obligations of the social networking sites is Section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Section 512(c) removes liability for copyright infringement from websites that allow users

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Assess, Influence & Evolve: 2011

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Social Media use surpassed expectations in 2010.  Goldman Sachs is now pumping money into Facebook, Maryland has a law regulating social media use by political candidates, and New York courts don’t seem to attach privacy to Facebook use.  With this, companies need to start taking social media risks very seriously, to follow the pace of  social

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Social Media Helps PREVENT a Lawsuit?!

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Social Media Helps PREVENT a Lawsuit?! In Social Media, Technology Issues and the Law on November 2010 at 6:17 pm With companies running afoul of most regulations and boundaries through social media use, it was almost refreshing to find this story of when social media is actually a PREVENTION tool for a lawsuit. Rae Hoffman blogged

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Top 4 Legal Issues in Clean Tech (we know its not Social Media, but it’s still interesting!)

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Clean technologies are receiving increased attention from a variety of stakeholders today. All levels of government, from local to federal, are providing tax abatements, grants and subsidies for the development of clean technologies involving solar, wind, carbon sequestration and nanotechnology. With global warming a household name and the “green” label in vogue, clean technology is

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What Social Media Companies Should Know About the Contract

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Sheheryar T. Sardar discusses Social Media companies and their potential contract issues. Social media has grown exponentially in the last decade, with enterprising companies creating uncontested market space in the online and digital industries. Whether its new search engines or unique services offered to niche markets within the browsing population, social media has transcended all

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Employment Law in a Downturned Economy

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Sheheryar Sardar, Esq. recently spoke at New York University on employment law and discrimination issues.  The event was sponsored by the Council on the Advancement of Muslim Professionals, New York chapter (CAMP-NY). Professionals of diverse backgrounds attended the event, keen on understanding how they can protect their rights under federal and state law in a

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E2: Investor Visas

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Foreign investors who invest a “substantial amount of capital” in a US business, and who will develop and direct the business may apply for the E2 investor visa, if their country of citizenship has the required treaty (Pakistan has this treaty) with the US. Foreign companies whose owners are nationals of a treaty country may potentially petition their employees for the E2 visa.