Massachusetts Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

If you are employed by the company and you invented this game in the regular course of your duties, then the game probably belongs to your employer. You won't be able to claim the game as your own without the permission of the company. And games are usually copyrighted rather than patented. Check with the company and see if it is interested in marketing the game and splitting the proceeds with you.... Read Answer

If he is opening the business as part of your partnership, you would have a claim on the assets and proceeds from the business, even if you don't agree with his actions. However, if he's doing it on his own, there may not be much you can do since this is all happening in another state. You don't mention what the business does or whether it advertises or sells on the internet and that may influence what actions you can take.... Read Answer

You may be able to get a court to rescind the contract, i.e. let you return the car for what you paid (plus interest), minus the amount of wear and tear on the car since you bought it, based on the dealer's fraud.  Fraud is a knowing misrepresentation of fact which is reasonably relied on by the other party and causes it damages.  Here, I don't think you'd  have a problem convincing a judge or jury that a car dealership should have know what model it was selling.  The problem could be "reasonable reliance."  If the model was shown on the car's body, a judge or jury may think that your wife should have known what she was buying, and wasn't reasonable in relying on the contrary statement of the dealership.  Overall, however, I'd say you have a pretty good case based on the facts as you've represented them.... Read Answer

If you have a reliable patent search in hand, you may wish to have a patent attorney render a novelty opinion. The opinion will give you some visibility as to how patentable the invention is in view of the prior art you have found. Alternatively, and assuming you are already comfortable with the patentability of your invention, you should file a patent application at your earliest opportunity. The least expensive and quickest route is to file a provisional patent application. But, you can also file a regular utility application or international patent application if you prefer. From the wording of your question, it would appear that you may have engaged the services of an invention submission company. They tend to want to give you all kinds of useless advice about marketing your invention, and bringing it to market. Those sorts of companies tend to be weak in their patent searches because if they find something that anticipates your invention, it will cut off their future income stream from you. Our firm can review your search results against a description of your invention and give you an opinion on patentability also known as a novelty opinion. We would be happy to quote you cost estimates and advise you of your options if you are interested with no obligation. As always, you should always consult with a registered patent attorney to explore all of your options in protecting your intellectual property based on you unique factual scenario and invention.... Read Answer

Yes - there is a grandfather clause in trademark law - the first user of a trademark - as a source identifier - has "common law trademark rights." Mere ornamentation (use of a design or word, not as a trademark) is not protected under common law trademark rights. So the question is - who used the "trademark" properly in the first place - the city or the early vendors ?? Go visit a trademark attorney, bring facts and proof of early use. Then you will know if you call into "common law trademark rights."... Read Answer

There is nothing wrong with the way that your company intends to process your case. The L-1 visa is one that is dual intent – that is, a beneficiary can have both the intent to immigrate and the intent to stay in the U. S. on nonimmigrant visa only. The order of whether to file the EB-1C petition at this time or later should not matter. The adjudication of the EB-1C category case will usually take longer than the processing of an L-1 extension anyway. Generally speaking, trouble with the EB-1C I-140 petition does not have much impact upon an L-1 extension in our experience. However, if you are concerned, you can ask your company to file the L-1 extension through premium processing and wait until it is approved before filing the EB-1C case. . Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

It sounds like your idea would fall under copyright protection, rather than patent protection. But both copyright and patent protect the specific expression of an idea, not the idea itself. So you can create a web site that sells textbook just as this other company has. However, you couldn't copy the look and layout of the website or use a similar name.... Read Answer

Sounds like she is nothing more than a roommate . She has no special rights other than mere possession. Your son can evict her but he may need to take her to court to do it. The fact that they have a child would only matter to the extent that he might be required to,pay support- but not otherwise. Your son should consult a local attorney to determine the best way to proceed.... Read Answer

Dear Anonymous,  The court may grant the removal based on those factors. Removal cases are typically very difficult to win for the removing parent. The parent needs to demonstrate a real advantage and quite often the cases go to trial. If you would like specific information, do not hesitate to contact my office.  Best, ... Read Answer