Each year, on the last Friday in February, The John Marshall Law School presents a conference covering hot topics and current developments in Intellectual Property Law and related areas. The conference features speakers from all over the world for an in depth analysis of recent decisions and future trends. The following were some highlights from this year’s conference

Two Golan & Christie partners, Rita W. Garry and Matthew C. Wasserman, will be presenting an all-day seminar, hosted by National Business Institute (NBI), entitled, “Preventing Business Contract Disputes: What Litigators Want You to Know.” The seminar will be held on June 27, 2016, at the University Center in Chicago from 9:00am- 4:30pm. The seminar will entitle attendees to 6 hours of Continuing Legal Education credits, including 1 hour of ethics credit. Details and registration available here

• From Our Managing Partner
• New Public Notice Requirement
• EEOC’s Proposed Pay Reporting Rules Designed to Thwart Discriminatory Payment Practices
• New Public Notice Requirement for Certain Businesses and Establishments
• Golan & Christie is Pleased to Announce a New Associate!
• Saltiel named Best Lawers' 2016 Entertainment Law
• New Rule Changes Which Employees Qualify As “exempt” From Overtime Pay
• Medical Marijuana In The Workplace
• Report From The 60th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference Sponsored By John Marshall Law School
• Guns In The Workplace
• New Public Notice Requirement For Certain Businesses and Establishments
• Partners Present Seminar

2016 brings ample opportunity and inspiration for hopeful entrepreneurs and young startups in Illinois. Illinois recently enacted House Bill 3429 (“HB 3429”) which amends the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 (the “Act”) to allow Illinois companies and entrepreneurs to raise capital from Illinois residents, subject to monetary limitations, through equity crowdfunding.

As the calendar turns the page to 2016, the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) new reporting requirements officially launch. One of those new reporting requirements mandates that all Applicable Large Employers (“ALE”) must report information regarding their employees’ health care coverage by submitting specific forms to the IRS. Furthermore, ALEs must report this information to all full-time employees.

Courts are now scrutinizing all post-employment restrictions with a fine tooth comb. In the past, non-competition clauses received the most scrutiny. Now, confidentiality provisions and non-solicitations of employees and customers may be unenforceable if they are drafted too broadly.

The last few years have seen a seen a lot of Intellectual Property activity in the Supreme Court. But not all cases make the cut. This term, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear some significant Intellectual Property cases.

• New Hope For The Illinois Entrepreneur
• ACA Reporting Requirements For Large Employers Begin In 2016
• Time To Review Your Employment Agreements!
• Intellectual Property Suits That Will Not Be Heard By The U.S. Supreme Court

Hosted by Executive Network Group of Greater Chicago

What is estate planning all about? It is a process by which a person creates a structure for the management and distribution of wealth during lifetime and after death in the manner which carries out his/her wishes.

The contingent workforce in the United States has grown significantly; as of August 2014, 2.87 million temporary workers made up nearly 2 percent of the United States’ workforce. To keep pace with the dramatic increase in contingent work, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) expanded the jointemployment standard under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).

Since July 1, 2015, all Chicago employees must be paid at least $10 per hour. The new minimum wage ordinance applies, with limited exceptions, to any business that maintains a facility within the City of Chicago and/or is required to obtain a business license, as well as any employees who work in Chicago for two hours or more during a two-week period (which includes making deliveries or sales calls).

The marketplace can be a relentless barrage of trademarks such as brand names, logos and taglines. How can a business distinguish itself in the melee? A well-developed trademark can give a business a competitive advantage. Businesses that develop their trademarks, register them and protect them can distinguish themselves in the marketplace, attract customers and build brand loyalty. The key, of course, is how to go about choosing and developing an effective trademark.

• NLRB Expands The Joint-Employer Standard
• Golan & Christie Welcomes New Attorneys
• City Of Chicago Minimum Wage Rate Now $10 Per Hour, Will Increase To $13 Per Hour
• Obligations Under The Illinois Pregnancy Accommodation Act
• How To Develop (And Keep!) An Effective Trademark

While many employers already provide employees with paid sick leave, not every employer does so and some employers provide it to only certain workers. Currently, there is no law in Illinois that requires employers to offer paid sick leave. However, there is a growing movement across the country - including in Illinois – supporting mandatory paid sick leave for all employees.

On July 28, 2015, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the Veterans Preference in Private Employment Act into law. The new law amends the Illinois Human Rights Act and allows private employers to establish a voluntary veterans’ preference policy.

Entrepreneur, realty show icon and presidential candidate, Donald Trump, usually wants everyone to know his name. But there’s an exception to every rule. Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 9, 2014. Trump Entertainment has a license from Trump’s licensing company to use Trump’s trademarks. Prior to the bankruptcy, Trump’s licensing company had filed suit to revoke the license because the alleged mismanagement of the Trump Entertainment’s casinos were reducing the value of the Trump trademarks. Trump’s licensing company asked the bankruptcy court to lift the automatic stay to allow it to proceed with the lawsuit. The parties eventually settled. The debtors were allowed to keep using Trump’s name on one of the casinos.

In honor of Ken Jensen, our former colleague and friend who passed away earlier this year, more than a dozen of his Golan & Christie coworkers participated in the ABC7 Gibbons 5K. The annual run and walk benefits the Leukemia Research Foundation.

• Golan & Christie Welcomes New Attorneys
• More Cities And States Requiring Paid Sick Leave
• Private Employers In Illinois May Give Employment Preference To Veterans
• Donald Trump Wants His Name To Be Disremembered
• Consumers Can’t Confuse A Fictional Product With A Real One
• Beastie Boys Slay Monster
• Running For Ken

Owners of businesses that are insolvent, regardless of whether the insolvency is determined using the balance sheet test (meaning their liabilities exceed their assets) or because they are unable to pay their debts as they come due, need to act responsibly to prevent creditors from imposing personal liability for business debts. Once a business is insolvent, the owners have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their creditors to either turn the business around and make it profitable or to shut it down to prevent a deepening insolvency on the backs of the creditors.

On March 18, 2015, the Office of the General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB is the federal agency tasked with enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which, generally speaking, protects employees’ right to discuss the terms and conditions of their work and to organize unions), issued a detailed memo concerning certain common employment policies that it considers overly broad and potentially illegal. The following are examples of the types of policies addressed in the memo: