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Questions Answered by Ayesha Chidolue
1 Answer | Asked in Copyright, Business Law, Contracts and Intellectual Property for Florida on
Q: I work as a copywriter for a marketing agency and would like to put some of my best works in a physical portfolio.

I want to show future prospective employers this portfolio. Does this break copyright or NDA laws?

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Feb 15, 2018

The answer to your question depends on the employment contract you signed with the marketing agency and whether you can share the portfolio. I would look to see what their requirement states first.

As far as copyright law, technically if you were hired as a work for hire with all...
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1 Answer | Asked in Business Law and Contracts for Florida on
Q: I am an equal partner of a FL LLC with 2 others. They gave themselves raises and a bonus without my knowledge.

Business question here. I am an equal partner of a Florida LLC with two other people. I was out of town for some medical reasons for about a month, but I still continued to work. Anyway the other two decided to give themselves raises and a bigger bonus at the end of the year. I am just finding... View More

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Jan 27, 2018

What does your operating agreement say about distributions? That should be your first place to look at. If you guys don’t have one, this could potential cause a big issue especially since it’s a partnership, so have an attorney draft one for you guys that governs the different decisions that... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Intellectual Property for Florida on
Q: Can I reserve a name to be trademarked before I even start my new company?
Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Jan 5, 2018

You can file for application for intent to use. However you will need to start using the mark within 6 months or pay to file an extension if you haven’t started using the mark by then.

2 Answers | Asked in Business Law and Real Estate Law for Florida on
Q: Isn't an action without a meeting a violation on the Board's part of the Florida Sunshine Law?

Our Board President is out of town for five months of the year and will not allow any other Director in our HOA to run a meeting. All meetings in these five months are actions taken without a meeting.

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Jan 3, 2018

Here in Florida, meetings by the board are determined by or in accordance with the Bylaws of the Corporation, so that would be a good place to start. In any event, a special meeting can generally be called by The president, chair of the board of directors; board of directors; other officers or... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Business Law for Florida on
Q: I was president of a company and of the board. I went and paid the employees of the company without board approval now

they say I over paid them and they want me to pay the difference or they will bring bring me to court as they are dissolving. These women were hardly paid the entire time we were in business so anything over paid I feel as president is a bonus. they were put through a lot and not provided truthful... View More

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Dec 18, 2017

Hi, your best bet would be to contact a business attorney who can review either your operating agreement or Bylaw to see what the expense clause says and how much you can use for a payment settlement without the approval of the board. That would be a good place to start from.

1 Answer | Asked in Business Law, Contracts and Copyright for Florida on
Q: I created a character,at a small business I started, then I dissolved the business,can an ex employee, make claim to it

I created a company with a few friends called G7 studios,I created a comic book character , later we dissolved the company can any ex employee make claim to it

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Nov 21, 2017

Without more it is difficult to determine but the question would be, did the employee create it while under your employment and did you have an agreement that basically said anything created by an employee for the employer belongs to the company etc or did you yourself create the character?... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Tax Law, Business Law and Employment Law for Florida on
Q: I'm salary non exempt manager for a dunking donuts work 50 hours a week but only getting paid for 40 hours.

Do I have the right for back overtime pay from my company

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Nov 10, 2017

If you are non exempt and are working more than 50 hours a week but only getting paid for 40, you most likely have a right to over time and possibly back payment of any overtime you haven’t been paid for. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible

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2 Answers | Asked in Business Law and Employment Law for Florida on
Q: I owe my boss money from a loan can they take my my check

I have a payroll deduction of 100$ every pay period already on this loan

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Nov 10, 2017

The information you provided is quite vague. The answer would depend on if you signed a repayment agreement or promissory note, Is your boss the employer or owner of the company? What type of loan did you take out, a 401k etc? Having an attorney review your loan agreement will be your best option.

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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for Florida on
Q: Can I just use a LegalZoom form to create a will or do I need to hire an attorney?
Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Nov 3, 2017

The answer to the question will be dependent on you and what is more important to you. If you value having a trusted advisor who knows your case in and out and you can come back to at any point in your life, you would be better off hiring an attorney. There are many able and skilled attorneys on... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Contracts, Business Formation and Education Law for Florida on
Q: I'm in a nursing program and every week we have to do clinicals or class hours which are accounted differently .

You would have to pay 450 dollars to make up a clinical day but if you miss class hours you can miss up to 6 days and be fine. bit of backstory we ended up having to go to class because we could not be at the clinical facility that day I had a issue at home so I asked if I could miss the next day... View More

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Nov 1, 2017

Your best bet is to have an attorney review the program and attendance requirements and to help you determine your next cause of action.

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2 Answers | Asked in Intellectual Property for Florida on
Q: How many trademarks can a person have? Is there a maximum?
Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Oct 27, 2017

There is no maximum amount of Trademark am individual or a company can own.

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3 Answers | Asked in Trademark and Intellectual Property for Florida on
Q: Can I re active my trade mark if is was cancelled?
Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Oct 24, 2017

A trademark Owner may file a request to reinstate a registration if the registration was cancelled or expired for failure to file a section 8 affidavit, trademark renewal or response if they can provide proof that the cancellation was due to USPTO error or that the registrant didn’t receive the... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Business Law and Business Formation for Florida on
Q: My business partner & I are starting an online graphic design company.Should we operate as Sole Proprietors or as a LLC?

We will be designing brochures, logos, flyers, etc. for businesses nationally.

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Oct 24, 2017

By virtue of the fact that you have a business partner, you won’t be able to operate as a sole proprietor. It would be a partnership. The decision to operate as an LLC, partnership or a corporation will vary depending on the type of business, growth trajectory of the business, such as if you... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Entertainment / Sports for Florida on
Q: How do trademarks and copyright differ?
Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Oct 24, 2017

Well a trademark protects items that help identify a brand such as the name, logo or slogan of the brand. Copyright on the other hand protects literary and artistic works, such as books, artwork and videos etc. For both of these you can’t protect an idea that’s only in your head but there are... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Business Formation for Florida on
Q: How can a corporate switch from C-Corp to LLC within the 1st year?
Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Oct 23, 2017

I would suggest you have an attorney assist you with the process as this won't be simply changing from a Corp to an LLC on the Secretary of States site, you will also need to update tax documents with the IRS, if there are shareholders and a bylaw, these amongst other things will also need to... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Intellectual Property and Internet Law for Florida on
Q: If I test my app on a company phone, does the company have a claim to the IP?

If I used my own personal computer to write the code for an app, but tested the app on a company phone, do they have any claim to it? Wouldn't that be the same as downloading an app from the app store in terms of not having a claim to IP?

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Oct 23, 2017

The answer will largely depend on if you built the app for your company or while working for your company for their benefit and also what if any, your employment agreement or handbook states about Intellectual Property while working for the company. I suggest you contact an attorney so your... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Business Law, Intellectual Property, Internet Law and Trademark for Florida on
Q: Is it legal to sell Michael Jackson tshirt, muhamad Ali tshirt, frida kahlo tshirt online, can I get in trouble for that

I own a small ecommerce website where I sell some items bearing the names of very famous people from the past, like Michael jackson, muhamad ali, marilyn monroe, etc, can I get in trouble for doing that? A corporation recently contacted me regarding using the name of Frida Khalo on my site, she is... View More

Ayesha Chidolue
Ayesha Chidolue
answered on Oct 23, 2017

Perhaps. Privacy and publicity rights protect personal interests of the people who are represented in, or by, the work so in this case the artists you mentioned above. There are a few states currently that have statutes where the right of publicity survives the death of the person and protection... View More

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