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"Obamacare," or the Affordable Care Act as it's really called, has a myriad of confusing provisions and if you are a small business owner, you may be confused as to your obligations and deadlines.
The requirements vary depending on how many employees a business has. We found a great resource at the SBA website for those with fewer than 25 employees. The site lays out requirements for small businesses with fewer than 25 and those with over 50 employees. A major upcoming deadline is the Oct. 1 deadline to provide employees with the required notice of the new Health Insurance Marketplace. Any employer covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must provide this notice to employees. Two sample notices can be found on the SBA website, depending on whether the employer offers health insurance coverage or not. I will soon be hosting an informational breakfast in Manayunk for small business owners and their obligations under the Act. Watch this site for details! While many people in America could probably not recite most of the rights enumerated in the first ten amendments to the Constitution, most people do know that in the event of an arrest, they have the right to remain silent. While this is generally good advice in a criminal matter, a civil dispute may turn on speaking up and asserting your own position and doing it in a timely manner.
In a legal dispute, don't bury your head in the sand. If you receive papers in the mail, ignoring them will not make them go away. Court filings have tight deadlines and missing them can make it very difficult to defend a case. Make sure to consult with an attorney right away so you don't lose any of your legal rights. Portlandia- Put a Bird On It In the above episode of Portlandia, the characters mock the phenomena of putting a bird on something and calling it art. If you make products for sale using images that you did not create, there are copyright implications to consider.
Go to a craft show or browse crafty websites and you will find many products for sale using images not created by the seller. If you find a drawing, image, illustration or other picture you'd like to use on products for sale, you need to research the copyright. For example, say you found a drawing of a bird in a recent book. You like the drawing and photocopy it to use on a tote bag that you intend to sell to others. In most instances, unless you can make a "fair use" argument that you are using the copied bird for comment, criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, you may have committed copyright infringement. Many non-lawyers will tell you that instead of copying the bird, if you simply cut the image out of the book and use it directly on an object to sell, it is acceptable under the "first sale" doctrine. That is not necessarily true. The original copyright owner also has rights to any "derivative" works using the image. Courts have split under different fact scenarios as to what is a derivative work and when a new work is protected by first sale. Ultimately, it is up to a court to determine what is "fair use" and what is not if a dispute occurs and there are no bright line rules. In considering whether to use images created by someone else in your products for sale, carefully evaluate the copyright considerations and seek legal counsel. |
AuthorSarah E. Holmes is a Philadelphia business attorney and strategist that helps start ups and established businesses looking to expand, protect their assets and increase their profits in an approachable, down-to-earth way. When you're looking for a business lawyer in Philadelphia, the Main Line or New Jersey, we can help. Categories
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