Read the full article at The Globe & Mail.
7.20.2010
Ignoring this franchise advice could ruin a business
Make sure you and the franchisor provide for Canadian withholdings tax applied on royalties crossing the border...
7.07.2010
What to consider as a Canadian dealing with a U.S. franchisor
The first in a series of columns looking at cross-border issues that could affect your business...
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail.
7.06.2010
Confidential information and why you must protect it
In the ‘information age,’ ensuring your trade secrets remain secret isn’t something limited to big companies with magic formulas locked up in vaults...
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail
6.08.2010
When to patent something and how to do it
If you have an original and useful invention there are three basic registration criteria...
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail.
6.07.2010
Copyright issues that can affect your business
Some companies don’t know when they need protection, or when they may be infringing on someone’s turf...
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail.
5.11.2010
Limiting your personal exposure
Terrified of losing it all? By creating a corporation, one can reduce personal liability in the event the business fails...
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail.
4.28.2010
Ignore metadata at your peril
The history of an electronic document is important to anyone trading information, including companies and politicians...
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail.
4.13.2010
Human rights emerging as cost concern
Explosion in litigation could have serious ramifications for small and medium-sized businesses in particular...
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail.
3.30.2010
Don't leave branding to the lawyers
What they should be doing is clearing your company's proposed name with the appropriate registry in your province...
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail.
3.16.2010
Legal advice on starting a franchise
First of all, don't listen too much to your lawyer, and avoid long, complicated agreements...
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail
3.02.2010
Want to buy a franchise? Read this first
If you're considering “buying” a franchised business in Canada and you live in Ontario, Alberta or PEI (and soon, New Brunswick), consider yourself lucky because they have specific legislation that protects franchisees.
In the current Canadian “disclosure jurisdictions” of those three provinces, the franchisor is required by law to give prospective franchisees a Franchise Disclosure Document, and a franchise agreement cannot be entered into until at least 14 days after the delivery of that document to the franchisee. In Ontario, no deposit can be provided or any other contract entered until that time period passes.
Read the full article at The Globe & Mail
2.12.2010
Nothing Official - Olympic Tickets You REALLY Won’t Get
Sports the IOC also rejected
The case of women ski jumpers not getting the chance to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics was the most public (and indeed the saddest) of the sports the IOC rejected this year. Having had their day in court, I confidently predict that one day soon, they will have their day in the air. But there were other sports that were also rejected by the IOC and won’t be seen in Vancouver or Whistler this month. These are a few of them.
Contact Grand Slalom. As boxing evolved into UFC, Grand Slalom has evolved into a contact sport where seven skiers and four snowboarders leave the gate at the same time; the goal being to get to the finish line first. And alone. Physical contact between athletes isn’t just permitted, it’s required. The addition of four snowboarders to each race makes the sport a more realistic fracas; accurately reflecting the experience of middle-aged skiers like me on a sunny Saturday afternoon on Vancouver’s local mountains. Gold is the only medal awarded, because, of course, if there’s a Silver or Bronze, the Gold Medal winner hasn’t done the best job of neutralizing the competition. Rumoured to be a demonstration sport in Sochi, Russia in 2014.
Rollerderby Speed Skating. Just as it sounds, Rollerderby Speed Skating is an offshoot of its hard-hitting rollerblading cousin, only faster. Much faster. And just like Contact Grand Slalom, no medals are awarded for Silver or Bronze because the idea is to be the last man (or woman) skating. Very popular in Chile and South Korea, but unheard of since it was dropped for insurance reasons immediately after the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980.
Synchronized Snow Boarding. This sport, though popular in Sweden and other Skandahüvian countries, was not approved by the IOC on purely grammatical grounds. Like “Extreme Curling,” the IOC rejected this sport not because it wasn’t athletic or artistic enough, but because it was an oxymoron.
Winter Dressage. Dressage (for those of you who can’t be bothered to look it up) is an “equine sport” where the best riders receive Gold, Silver or Bronze for completing a jumping circuit on a horse. Winter Dressage is essentially “Dressage in the Snow,” but as a result of pressure from Animal Rights Lawyers at my firm, the medals are, quite rightly, awarded only to the horse.
IOC Baiting. This is a sport where residents of the host city put five car tires together in the shape of the Olympic Logo and see how long it takes the IOC’s lawyers to threaten trademark infringement lawsuits.
My favourite, though, was Olympic Ticket Purchasing. Contestants from all over the world sit in front of their computers for hours and hours (and hours) trying to buy tickets to any Olympic event in the host city. But they fail to get a thing.
I was so good at this sport, I deserve a medal.
This article was published in the February 2010 issue of Bar Talk
The case of women ski jumpers not getting the chance to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics was the most public (and indeed the saddest) of the sports the IOC rejected this year. Having had their day in court, I confidently predict that one day soon, they will have their day in the air. But there were other sports that were also rejected by the IOC and won’t be seen in Vancouver or Whistler this month. These are a few of them.
Contact Grand Slalom. As boxing evolved into UFC, Grand Slalom has evolved into a contact sport where seven skiers and four snowboarders leave the gate at the same time; the goal being to get to the finish line first. And alone. Physical contact between athletes isn’t just permitted, it’s required. The addition of four snowboarders to each race makes the sport a more realistic fracas; accurately reflecting the experience of middle-aged skiers like me on a sunny Saturday afternoon on Vancouver’s local mountains. Gold is the only medal awarded, because, of course, if there’s a Silver or Bronze, the Gold Medal winner hasn’t done the best job of neutralizing the competition. Rumoured to be a demonstration sport in Sochi, Russia in 2014.
Rollerderby Speed Skating. Just as it sounds, Rollerderby Speed Skating is an offshoot of its hard-hitting rollerblading cousin, only faster. Much faster. And just like Contact Grand Slalom, no medals are awarded for Silver or Bronze because the idea is to be the last man (or woman) skating. Very popular in Chile and South Korea, but unheard of since it was dropped for insurance reasons immediately after the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980.
Synchronized Snow Boarding. This sport, though popular in Sweden and other Skandahüvian countries, was not approved by the IOC on purely grammatical grounds. Like “Extreme Curling,” the IOC rejected this sport not because it wasn’t athletic or artistic enough, but because it was an oxymoron.
Winter Dressage. Dressage (for those of you who can’t be bothered to look it up) is an “equine sport” where the best riders receive Gold, Silver or Bronze for completing a jumping circuit on a horse. Winter Dressage is essentially “Dressage in the Snow,” but as a result of pressure from Animal Rights Lawyers at my firm, the medals are, quite rightly, awarded only to the horse.
IOC Baiting. This is a sport where residents of the host city put five car tires together in the shape of the Olympic Logo and see how long it takes the IOC’s lawyers to threaten trademark infringement lawsuits.
My favourite, though, was Olympic Ticket Purchasing. Contestants from all over the world sit in front of their computers for hours and hours (and hours) trying to buy tickets to any Olympic event in the host city. But they fail to get a thing.
I was so good at this sport, I deserve a medal.
This article was published in the February 2010 issue of Bar Talk
2.02.2010
The ins and outs of leasing - The Globe and Mail
Another article just published on The Globe & Mail...
The ins and outs of leasing - The Globe and Mail
The ins and outs of leasing - The Globe and Mail
1.20.2010
Do your homework before you buy a franchise - The Globe and Mail
My first article for my column in The Globe & Mail is now available!
Do your homework before you buy a franchise
Franchised businesses are never supposed to fail. But on occasion, they do.
That's why doing your homework before you “buy” is so important, so the prospective franchisee can avoid disastrous mistakes and the agony of defeat. Legally, franchising is very document-intensive and it is important for prospective franchisees to understand what they are signing.
Read More...
Do your homework before you buy a franchise
Franchised businesses are never supposed to fail. But on occasion, they do.
That's why doing your homework before you “buy” is so important, so the prospective franchisee can avoid disastrous mistakes and the agony of defeat. Legally, franchising is very document-intensive and it is important for prospective franchisees to understand what they are signing.
Read More...
12.29.2009
Blessings and Curses from 2009
Columns that appear during the last week of December tend to have two common attributes. First, they run the risk of not being read by anyone.
After all, if you’re really smart this week, you’re in Mexico, Maui, or the Caribbean. Second, columns appearing in the last week of December tend to look reflectively and nostalgically at the year just passed.
I hope to disappoint you on both fronts, without saying anything about Tiger Woods, Avatar, or the balloon boy.
12.01.2009
Barristers, Solicitors and Zombies
I’m tired of trying to figure out if a telephone call was a “point 1” or a “point 2,” and whether confirming an appointment, or advice given over lunch is recordable. I’m tired of trying to figure out how to bill the $8,000 my competitors are charging for an agreement that, due to my own efficiencies and experience, might only take $2,000 in time to produce.
And I’m fed up with having to deal with $13,000 worth of Work-In-Progress that the client is only prepared to pay $6,000 for. I. Hate. Billable. Hours.
11.09.2009
Franchising in Canada
It’s hard to visit any major street or shopping centre in Canada these days without seeing many franchised businesses operating from every corner. Whether it’s bagels or burgers, fast food or fast lubes, franchising as a means of doing business is firmly entrenched in Canada as a means for entrepreneurially minded business people to embark on their own business while being a part of a larger organization.
11.01.2009
In the News - The North Shore News
Spent a full hour in the beautifully renovated offices of The North Shore News in North Vancouver with the lovely Jessica Barrett, reporter for the @Work section.
I even had a quick photoshoot before the interview and my publicist, Sarah, went to work right away, Tweeting from her phone during the interview, giving her followers a "play-by-play" of the entire event!
The article was published in the @Work section over the weekend, entitled Getting the most out of going into business.
10.26.2009
It's Monsoon Season. Again.
Ahh, autumn. In Vancouver, it’s the time of year when we clean out the gutters, check the sump pumps and the drain tile, invest in a new raincoat and umbrella, and try to figure out how to escape the monsoons that will keep hitting the west coast until oh . . . January.
Ironically, we call these annual monsoons “pineapple expresses” because the rain comes from Hawaii and other places we’d prefer to be by now.
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