By Matthew R. Burkett Your startup has hit the ground running. The gang of millennials under your employ is trailblazing and innovation is flourishing. It’s time to consider how to protect your advancements from the competitors you didn’t know you were about to have. It is also important to consider how to protect certain innovations internally. Depending on the field of technology in which your company dabbles, protection from competitors could mean choosing between obtaining a patent and publicly disclosing some innovations, and keeping other innovations private -- particularly trade secrets. Patents are granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In exchange for public disclosure of an invention, a patent gives you a limited duration, territorial property right for your claimed invention. Trade secrets generally refer to any...

Rachel A. Smoot was recently named the District 8 Trustee of the Ohio Women’s Bar Association Board of Trustees. As the District 8 Trustee, Rachel represents OWBA members of Cuyahoga County and is responsible for writing at least one substantive article and holding at least one event. Her goals over the next year include forming a Young Lawyers Committee of the OWBA, increasing OWBA membership and coordinating a joint OWBA/ABA/CMBA professionalism and ethics event. Fay Sharpe is honored to sponsor Rachel’s first event Party At Playhouse, which will be held September 7 from 5PM to 8PM. The event will consist of a behind-the-scenes tour of the playhouses followed by a networking reception with live jazz music at Bin216. For more information or to register for the event, please follow the link below. http://owba.org/events ...

By Theresa A. Rakocy In today’s business world, with increased competition and businesses facing unpredictability because of non-practicing entities, it is important for a business to minimize risk to itself and address uncertain outcomes by seeking a legal opinion. After investing time and money on new products, businesses seek to potentially leverage the marketability of a new product by pursuing potential protection. On the other hand, being unable to produce or sell the product due to infringement concerns, or worse, being sued over a product is not something any company wants to face. • Do you have a new product and want to know whether you can obtain a patent to protect it? • Are you concerned that the new product might infringe an existing patent? • Do you have questions about the validity of existing patents that could impact your business? These are just a few reasons that you should seek a legal opinion in...

By Theresa A. Rakocy & Rachel A. Smoot For the past four decades, Led Zeppelin has proven itself a pioneer of rock and roll, cementing its place in history with such hits as “Whole Lotta Love,” “Black Dog,” “Kashmir,” and - arguably rock and roll’s greatest hit – “Stairway to Heaven.” Released in 1971, “Stairway to Heaven” was the most requested song on FM radio stations in the United States during that decade. Over forty years later, “Stairway to Heaven” is still making waves, albeit legal ones, rather than radio waves. In May 2014, Michael Skidmore, the trustee for the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust filed suit against Led Zeppelin and Warner Music Group Corporation, alleging copyright infringement (among other charges) of “Stairway to Heaven.” Randy Craig Wolfe, also known as a Randy California, was a member of the musical group Spirit, which existed and toured on occasion with Led Zeppelin. One of...