Commercial Courts: An Ideal Venue to Resolve Complex Business Cases

by Rachel Bir

Indiana’s Commercial Court project was approved by the Indiana Supreme Court in January 2016 and the project became operational in June 2016. Initially, the Commercial Court project launched in six counties across the state. However, since then, the project has grown and now there are Commercial Courts located in Allen County, Elkhart County, Floyd County, Hamilton County, Lake County, Madison County, Marion County, St. Joseph County, Vanderburgh County, and Vigo County, taking the total to ten counties throughout Indiana.

...Read More

Update: Non-Compete Agreements Face A Potential Federal Ban

by Jackie Gessner & Tessa Steffens

As an update to our previous blog post on non-compete laws (found here), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a rule yesterday that would ban non-competes in employment contracts.

...Read More

Gutwein Law Names Audrey K. Wessel and Ross T. Yates Partners

by Gutwein Law

Gutwein Law is pleased to announce that Audrey Wessel and Ross Yates have been elected partners in the firm. “Audrey and Ross represent the best of Gutwein Law,” said Stuart Gutwein, Managing Partner. “They have been vital in continuing the growth of our firm with their extensive knowledge, hard work, and extraordinary service to our clients. We are pleased to celebrate their achievements.”

...Read More

Amazon APEX: What It Is, The Process, and How It All Works

by Greg Geiser

Recently I had the pleasure of presenting at the Midwest Intellectual Property Summit hosted by the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF) on an effective tool and process for removing accused patent infringing products on Amazon.com called the Amazon Patent Evaluation Express Procedure (APEX). The APEX program, at its core, is a streamlined process utilizing a neutral party (“evaluator”) to evaluate a single patent claim of an asserted U.S. patent to determine if an accused infringing product is more likely than not to infringe the asserted patent. The process requires the submission of a brief providing legal argument and information to either support or defend a parties claim of infringement.

...Read More

Misclassification of Employees and Independent Contractors

by Jackie Gessner & Tessa Steffens

An independent contractor is a worker who contracts with individuals or entities to provide services and is distinct from an employee. When workers are classified as independent contractors, they are not entitled to the benefits and protections afforded to employees. If an employer misclassifies workers as independent contractors rather than employees, even if by accident, there can be severe penalties.

...Read More