Mobile App Developers: Are You Developing a Secure Mobile App?

Who is asking? The U.S. Government. Specifically the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. With the continuing growth of mobile applications, the FTC has increased its awareness of the mobile marketplace. This increased attention is highlighted by the recent actions against mobile app developers (e.g. Credit Karma, Inc. and Fandango, LLC).The two companies mentioned above… View Article


Real Estate Developers Beware: United States Securities Laws Often Apply in the Condo/Hotel Context

For purposes of this post, condominium hotels, or “condotels,” are essentially real estate projects or properties that combine the convenience and control of condos with the amenities of a hotel (room service, maid service, valet parking, etc.). Condotels often include a rental and/or management component that allows a third party to rent the condo owner’s… View Article


Certain Inherited IRA Accounts are NOT Exempt in Bankruptcy

The title of this post is essentially the holding of the Supreme Court of the United States in Clark v. Rameker, 573 U.S. ____ (2014). Many debtors qualify to exempt certain “retirement funds” in a bankruptcy filing/case. However, in Clark the Supreme Court held that inherited IRA accounts, what most people would still consider “retirement funds,” are not exempt under… View Article


ADA Compliance for Websites and Mobile Applications

The Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) is widely known for its accessibility requirements relating to certain buildings and other spaces (e.g. hotels, restaurants, and other commercial improvements). Recently, however, more consumers have initiated class action litigation for ancillary items used by these places of “public accommodation.” For example, several class-action lawsuits have been filed… View Article


Exporting through the Cloud – Where is Your Data Going?

Use of Cloud-based services has grown rapidly over the last five years. Cloud service providers (“Cloud Providers”) are increasing in numbers and cloud-based offerings are being offered to the general public with increasing frequency. Many companies are choosing to host Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products and other offerings in “the cloud.” And many companies, from start-ups to… View Article


Google Play: Android Developers – Read the Fine Print

This post is about the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement (the “GP Agreement”) only. There may be a future post on the iOS Program Developer License Agreement but . . . no guarantees.The Android operating system is positioned well for the “internet of things” and is growing fast. With over a million individual applications and tens of… View Article


Don’t Wait to Enter into a Buy-Sell Agreement

Buy-sell agreements are so important that you should often incorporate buy-sell agreement terms into an LLC agreement, operating agreement, shareholder agreement or other agreement, to avoid the need for a secondary document and/or being without buy-sell agreement terms in place.What is a buy-sell agreement? Essentially, a buy-sell agreement consists of a set of terms (agreed… View Article


Amendments to Minnesota Business Corporation Act

If you are a shareholder of a Minnesota corporation you may be aware of the “squeeze out” process that occurs through a reduction of shares to a fractional share and the subsequent exercise of the corporation’s rights to cash out and redeem that fractional share (e.g. you previously owned 30,000 shares and after the reduction… View Article


SBA Eliminates the “Personal Resources Test”

The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) recently released its Final Rule for its updates to the popular 504 and 7(a) loan programs. Before April 21, 2014, an applicant for one of these popular SBA loans was required to show that the desired funds were not available from the personal resources of any owner of 20%… View Article


Good Contracting and Agreement Practices for Businesses and Individuals Providing Fee-Based Creative, Development and Marketing Services

Whether you are a freelance independent contractor or an established company that develops websites or applications, creates graphic design work-product, or engages in SEO/SEM work, you may have experienced many customers or potential customers who want “something for nothing” (i.e. for the possibility of something in the future). For example, many start-ups or established companies… View Article