Robin Thicke Has Got to Give It Up

The first time I heard Blurred Lines, I assumed Robin Thicke had sampled parts of Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give it Up, not just because the feel of the songs is similar, I also heard common elements and grooves. Trouble is, the Gaye family also thought Robin Thicke took some…

Robin Thicke Has Got to Give It Up

The first time I heard Blurred Lines, I assumed Robin Thicke had sampled parts of Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give it Up. Not just because the feel of the songs is similar – I also heard common elements and grooves. Trouble is, the Gaye family also thought Robin Thicke took…

Want to make the market more competitive for small business? Tax Amazon.

Showrooming is killing retail stores.  “Showrooming” is when you go to a store, but buy the product later online, because it’s cheaper. The product is cheaper for two reasons: low overhead (no store or employees to pay for) and no sales taxes.  Amazon’s freedom from charging sales tax is unfair…

Lawyer Up Lightly During Your Startup Phase – Just like Jobs and Woz

Today on The Profit and Laws Radio Hour In 1978, Apple had cool new computers, but no operating system and no one on their lean staff who could code one quickly.  They had started publicizing the Apple II, but they couldn’t get to market without an operating system.  Steve…

If you want to go out of business, then just keep treating your employees like replaceable drones.

I don’t care whether you run a bagel shop or a car manufacturer. Once you forget that your employees are living humans, you begin marking time until you close up shop. Why? Because your business thrives on workers who give a shit – about the customer, the business and their…

Lance Armstrong Shows You Why You Want Rules and Refs Regulating Your Business

You are just like any of the guys who rode against Lance Armstrong and lost. Those guys – clean or not – lost to a world-class cheater. Tests and testers failed to pick up on the constant doping and blood-swapping in trailers on the side of the race routes….

Give Subway an Inch and They Get a Mile

Consumers in the US and Australia have sued Subway for cheating them out of 1 inch from their foot long subs. I know what you think – you hate these suits and the lawyers who bring them. It’s one damn inch and these people should get a real job….

Independent Contractor v. Employee

Note to Janice: Janice, thanks for calling in to my radio show today. I’m republishing this post so it is easy for you to find. Keep me posted on your progress. *** A person you hire to work for you is either an “employee” or an “independent contractor.” Trying…

Interns: No Such Thing as Free Labor

It’s May. Soon, the kids – drinking age and younger – will come seeking internships. So, this is the season when accounting and legal bloggers do a post on the legal treachery of using unpaid interns. And, we are no exception. Let’s say you are tempted to take the…

War Story: A Cocktail of Contracts and Liquor

This is a classic war story from first year contracts that shows the treachery cocktail of contracts and liquor. THE WAR: Lucy v. Zehmer Hardy and Ida Zehmer were a married couple living in Virginia in the 1950s.  Together, they owned and operated a a bar, a gas station,…