Contingency Business Litigation Attorney Blog

The maker of Vienna beef hot dogs has filed a federal lawsuit against a rival company owned by a descendent of one of Vienna's founders, alleging trademark infringement, false advertising and unfair competition, among other claims, the Chicago Tribune reports.

New York Business Litigation Lawyers understand that properly protecting your trade secrets and your identity is crucial for any business to succeed in this competitive market. One's identity, its brand and its product are all that separate companies, so using the law to firmly fend off copycats and lawbreakers can be a shrewd move for any business.

Vienna Beef, makers of all-beef hot dogs, is suing the owner of Red Hot Chicago, alleging that he ripped off the company's 118-year-old recipe and has been lying to customers, saying his are the real thing.

The company's owner worked with Vienna as a sales manager until 1983, when he sold his 10 percent stake in the company and signed employment and severance agreements, which included a gag order about Vienna's secret recipes, the newspaper reports. Three years after leaving, he started Red Hot Chicago.

The lawsuit alleges that the company had little success in the marketplace until recently, when it changed its advertising. Red Hot's web site says "a family tradition since 1893." Vienna claims it has been using its identity in the marketplace as its own. Both companies sell hot dogs in supermarkets, online and via street corner hot dog stands.

Small businesses that have become successful are often attacked by large corporations who have the disposable funds to hire teams of attorneys and threaten lawsuits. Many times, this is just a tactic to try to intimidate a competitor. Other times, the small business desperately needs an experienced law firm by its side to help it defend the claims, re-establish its reputation and continue being successful.

Fending off costly lawsuits can be difficult for upstart companies. That's why our law firm offers legal advise and counsel on a contingency basis, meaning we won't get paid unless you win. With a free consultation, we can analyze your case and determine the legal avenues that may be available. We will be up front with you. Through years of experience in the complex area of business litigation, our firm is able to help your company, regardless of the issues involved.

Continue reading "Chicago Hot Dog Companies Have Beef With Each Other Over Trade Secrets" »

Technology giant Apple recently filed -- and later dropped -- a lawsuit against a New York teenager who was making $8,000 a day selling white iPhone kits, The Huffington Post reports.

With technology ever changing and such a critical area of our daily lives, protecting trade secrets, copyright information and trade names is crucial for small businesses that are trying to survive in this competitive field. New York Business Litigation Lawyers are well-versed in this area of law and are prepared to fight to help your company survive accusations from larger companies or rivals.

The Queens teen told the news media recently that he was able to manufacture white iPhone kits by getting parts from a man who once worked at Foxconn, a manufacturing facility for Apple. iPhone customers waited nearly a year while production of the official white iPhones was delayed. But the teen was selling them on the streets and made six figures selling the kits.

And while this teen didn't appear to have a formal company set up to run this business, many small businesses are trying to survive in the ultra-competitive tech world -- like the development of smart phone applications, for instance.

Nowhere is the line more blurred for trade secrets and copyright laws than where app developers are given code to operating systems and encouraged to develop applications to sell on many major company's networks. And while small companies are happy tapping into a market that is reaching billions of dollars annually, they must be protected from lawsuits levied by the giant corporations asking for their application ideas.

Apple's App Store offers more than 350,000 apps for iPhones, iPods and iPads and it will bring in $2.91 billion in revenue in 2011, a recent Bloomberg article reported. So, while developers' information and applications are flying around the Internet, they must be protected.

Continue reading "Apple/Teenager Lawsuit Shows Importance of Protecting Trade Secrets For Small Biz" »