Georgia Sales Tax on Electronic Products: Is There a Rule of Thumb for Thumb Drives?

Georgia companies that make electronic products should carefully consider how those products are delivered, as it has important tax consequences. Generally speaking, Georgia taxes the retail purchase, retail sale, storage, use, and consumption of tangible personal property; it does not,...
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Even the Most Well-Qualified Companies Should Consider Foreign Qualification

Legally speaking, doing business is not the same as being qualified to do business. A state can require companies incorporated in another state to “qualify,” or meet certain requirements, before those companies are granted full legal privileges within the state....
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Getting Hip to HIPPA: Does HIPAA Apply to Your Company?

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which is a federal law that protects the health information of individual citizens. HIPAA imposes a laundry list of requirements on companies, and failure to comply with those...
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Arbitration Provisions: What are the Pros and Cons?

Arbitration is a method of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) the terms of which are agreed upon by the parties of a written contract well in advance of a legal dispute. Should the parties to the contract have a dispute, the...
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Is it Illegal for Employers to Ask about Salary History?

In addition to numerous federal, state, and local employment laws, which prohibit gender and racial discrimination against employees, several states and cities are banning inquiries into salary history in an effort to address pay inequities for women and minorities.  Employee...
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Matal v. Tam: Supreme Court Strikes Down 71-Year-Old Law Banning Disparaging Terms in Trademarks

On June 21, 2017, the Supreme Court struck down a law prohibiting offensive or disparaging trademarks, holding that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prevents the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) from declining registration of trademarks deemed “offensive” or “disparaging”. ...
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Trump Proposes New Tax Rate for Pass-Through Business Entities

Businesses are required to pay a laundry list of taxes throughout the year, including: federal income tax; state income tax; alternative minimum tax (AMT); business, professional, and occupational license taxes; tangible personal property taxes; payroll taxes; and sales tax.  Last...
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TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods: Patent Forum Shopping Case Currently Before SCOTUS

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods, a case focused on the federal venue statute that affects the forum in which a plaintiff may bring a patent infringement lawsuit (28 U.S.C. §...
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Beware: Common Business Compliance Scams and What to Do If Your Business Has Been Targeted

Recently, Sparks Law has been contacted by several clients with questions concerning a form that they received in the mail, from an entity called “Georgia Council for Corporations.”  This form offers to complete and file annual corporate minutes with the...
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Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Clauses: What’s the Difference?

We are frequently asked by our clients to review non-compete and non-solicitation provisions. Clients sometimes get the two types of clauses confused and ask us (1) what exactly are the parties to the contract allowed to do, and (2) what...
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