Cal Poly Pomona Executive Speaker Series presents "Starting Your Own Business...Avoid Costly Mistakes!"

The 2010-2011 Cal Poly Pomona College of Business Administration Executive Speaker Series, Presented by the CBA Alumni Chapter, brings you:

"Starting Your Own Business...Avoid Costly Mistakes!" on Tuesday, October 26, 2010.

Cal Poly Pomona AGRIscapes Conference Room

6PM Networking
7PM Keynote Speaker: Megan K. Pionkowski, Esq.
8PM Post Event Networking

$10 Alumni Association Members
$15 Non-Alumni Association Members
$5 Parking

RSVP by October 21, 2010 by calling the Office of Alumni Affairs toll free at 866.277.2586 or email cpalumni@csupomona.edu.

Bank of the West: Helping Businesses Succeed

Retirement Investment Strategies Workshop and Dinner

This complimentary workshop is geared towards an audience that is nearing retirement (age 50 and over) or already retired. Attendees will receive a free 20-page workbook on Retirement Investment Strategies.





You have the choice of attending:

Tuesday, Sep 14th , 6:30PM

Wednesday, Sep 22nd, 6:30PM

Thursday, Sep 23rd, 6:30PM

Location: Clubhouse at Anaheim Hills Golf Course

To RSVP Contact Candice at (877) 248-0222 ext. 200, or email ekaram@bfretirementservices.com

Free Insomnia & Sleep Disorder Clinic

Megan Pionkowski Featured in OC Metro's Top Attorneys Issue

Megan K. Pionkowski is the founder of Atlas Law Group, an innovative law firm dedicated to protecting and promoting their clients’ intellectual property and businesses. Her emphasis is in trademark and copyright prosecution, domain name disputes, entity formation and drafting licensing and business agreements.

She represents individuals, companies, and entrepreneurs across a multitude of industries. Megan takes a compassionate approach, tailoring her services to each client’s business needs and goals. “My clients work hard to develop and promote their talents, image, and companies. That’s why I work with them to not only protect their accomplishments, but to provide them with additional resources for growth” Megan emphasizes.

While knowledge and experience have been essential to Megan’s success, her community involvement has also made a difference. Her speaking engagements educate individuals on starting a business and her participation in Walk MS helps raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

See the featured profile in OC Metro Magazine: http://digital.ocmetro.com/publication/?i=43743

iPhone App - Scan Your Business Cards Instantly!

I recently downloaded the Scan Biz Cards Application for my iPhone and have to say it's pretty amazing. It costs $6.99, but is well worth it. You take a photo of the business card with your phone and then it scans the information and places it in the proper fields. It scans to your Address book, allows you to create custom folders, connect to LinkedIn, create calendar reminders, export to Excel, and more.

There is a free application, but I believe you are only allowed to scan one business card a day. If you do a lot of networking or just like to stay organized, take advantage of all the features the paid application has to offer.

FREE iPod Touch with New Bank Account!

Open any consumer or business account with Bank of the West during the campaign and receive an iPod Touch for meeting the following requirements:

Consumer Checking Bonus Requirements:

1) Two direct deposits of $500+ are posted to the account by 10/31/10 Or
2) 10 online bill payments using the Bill Pay feature of Bank of the West’s online banking service by 10/31/10 Or
3) 20 POS transactions (signature or PIN, no minimum dollar amount) by 10/31/10

Business Checking Bonus Requirement:

1) 5 POS transactions of $25 or more (signature or PIN) within 60 days of account opening


Note: These offers are additive. A new household that opens both consumer and business checking accounts, and meet eligibility requirements for both, will receive 2 iPod Touch bonuses. However, there is a maximum one consumer bonus per address and one business bonus per business address per year. Existing household without a checking relationship will be eligible for campaign offers.

CALL BANK OF THE WEST TODAY! (949) 262-2575

Starting Your Business…Avoid Costly Mistakes!

DATE: July 22, 2010
TIME: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: 1960 Anaheim Way
Anaheim, CA 92805
SPEAKER: Megan K Pionkowski, Esq.
REGISTER: Business Expo Center
PRICE: $30


Choosing a name and corporate structure for your business can be a lot more complicated than one may think.

The first portion of the workshop will provide information on naming your business and the trademark issues that go along with it.

The Name Game:
• What basic factors you should considered: from spelling to uniqueness
• What is the likelihood I will obtain Federal Registration: factors the USPTO considers
• How can I protect my name: Federal Registration vs. State Registration
• The benefits of Registering your Trademark
• Properly using the symbols tm and ®

The second portion of the workshop will provide a general overview of how to form your chosen business legal structure.

Choosing the Best Legal Structure for Your Business:
• Licenses & Permits
• Most Common legal Structures
• Formation requirements & Liability protection
• Resources

About the Speaker:

Megan K. Pionkowski is the founding attorney of Atlas Law Group, P.C. primarily focusing on intellectual property matters, including trademark and copyright prosecution, domain name disputes, entity formation, and drafting and negotiating licensing and business agreements. Her background includes work for Burkhalter, Kessler, Goodman & George, LLP and for the Consumer Products Division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.

Ms. Pionkowski graduated from the University of Central Florida with a B.A. in Legal Studies. She earned her J.D. at Whittier School of Law where she also earned a certificate in intellectual property law.

REGISTER AT: http://www.businessexpocenter.com/events/event_details.asp?id=112939

Spokeo.com: Invasion of Privacy

Spokeo.com is a search engine that aggregates social networking information about a person and sells it to anyone who is willing to pay with payday loans or otherwise. This aggregated data may include demographic data, estimated property and wealth values, and estimated interests. Search results on Spokeo offer to provide a "Credit Estimate" and "Wealth Level" information, as well as information about a target's mortgage value, estimated income, and investments.

The Spokeo website contains an opt-out form that allows users to prevent specific Spokeo pages from displaying search results for their names, phone numbers, or email addresses. If you don't want your information to be available to anyone that is willing to purchase it, then remove your listing from the site.

How to Remove Yourself:

1. Search for yourself on their site to find the URL of your page http://www.spokeo.com/
2. Copy your URL
3. Go to Privacy Page http://www.spokeo.com/privacy
4. Paste your URL in the space provided and submit

FREE Business Workshops for JUNE

The Orange County Workforce Investment Board and Coastline Community College are working together to provide entrepreneurs and small businesses FREE workshops on a number of topics.

The classes are held in Irvine at the Orange County One-Stop Center 125 Technology Dr, Suite 200, Irvine CA 92618.

Classes for JUNE:

Developing a Business Plan
June 9th from 6-8:30 p.m.

Online Marketing...in Plain English!
June 10th from 6-8:30 p.m.

Website Optimization
June 16th from 6-8:30 p.m.

Record Keeping
June 17th from 6-8:30 p.m.

The Role of Human Resources in your Small Business...avoid costly mistakes!
June 23rd from 6-8:30 p.m.

Build Your Own Website
June 24th from 6-8:30 p.m.

To Register Call Arienne at (949) 341-8026 or Email projectsuccess@coastline.edu

CA Trademark Registration VS. Federal Trademark Registration

A California trademark registration costs less and provides less rights than a federal trademark registration.

The filing fee for a California trademark application is $70 per class versus the federal application fee which is between $275-$375 per class (depending on certain criteria). California also has less demanding requirements than the USPTO for granting trademark registration.

However, a California trademark registration provides more limited trademark rights and these trademark rights can only be exercised within California. Furthermore, the registered symbol ® may ONLY be used after you receive federal registration. (Please see my blog regarding the use of Trademark Symbols TM vs. ®)

If federal registration is not an option for you, due to cost or the more stringent requirements, then filing for a California trademark registration may be the way to go.

Using Trademark Symbols: TM vs. ®

Trademarks include words, names, symbols, sounds, or colors that distinguish goods and services.

Proper Use of Symbols:

You can use the symbols TM (trademark) or SM (service mark) to indicate that you claim rights to the marks without having federal registration.

The federal registration symbol ® can only be used after the mark is actually registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Benefits of Registration:

Federal registration of a trademark heightens the protection a trademark receives, deters others from using your trademark, and increases the remedies should someone infringe upon your trademark.

Federal Trademark registration provides the owner with a number of exclusive rights, including the prevention of unauthorized use and the exclusive right to use the mark in connection with the products or services for which it is registered. Federal registration also provides greater deterrence by alerting others to your trademark registration and preventing the defense of innocent infringement.

Remedies:

Trademark registration (1) grants the trademark owner the right to recover up to triple damages and attorney's fees from a trademark infringer; (2) The owner of a trademark registration receives the presumption of being the valid owner of the trademark; (3) it increases the likelihood of the successful filing of a dispute resolution policy for an infringing Internet domain name; and (4) The owner of a trademark registration has an automatic right to sue in federal court.

California Business Collector - NOT A STATE AGENCY

A company by the name of California Business Collector (CBC) is sending out mailers asking businesses to complete a Disclosure Form of Directors and Shareholders and submit a fee. This organization is not affiliated with the State of California. The fine print on the document states that this is a solicitation and not a bill.

There is no obligation to make any payments! Please always read the fine print before sending anyone money.

FREE Business Workshops

The Orange County Workforce Investment Board and Coastline Community College are working together to provide entrepreneurs and small businesses free workshops on a number of topics.

Clases:

Starting Your Business...the Right Way!
May 6th or May 12th from 6-9 p.m.

Financing Options and Record Keeping Techniques
May 13th from 6-8:30 p.m.

Developing a Business Plan and Marketing your Business
May 19th from 6-8:30 p.m.

Online Marketing...in Plain English!
May 20th from 6-8:30 p.m.

The Role of Human Resources in your Small Business...avoid costly mistakes!
May 26, 2010 from 6-8:30 p.m.


To Register Call (949) 341-8026 or Email projectsuccess@coastline.edu

Building Your Business One Piece At A Time: The Name Game

Picking a name for your business can often times be a lot more complicated than one may think. There are many aspects that you should consider before choosing a name for your business. Ask yourself:

What industry am I in?

*Is this name unique?

*Is this name memorable?

*Is it easy to spell?

*Is someone else already using this name?

*What do I want my name to communicate?

*Is the domain name already taken?

You want to be able to brand yourself and a great name will help you achieve that goal. Once you've come up with a couple options its a good idea to consult a professional on whether your name will be able to obtain trademark registration.

Although you may be dealing with a startup budget, registering for a trademark is a great investment. A trademark attorney will be able to provide an extensive trademark search to determine whether the name is already registered or being used through out interstate commerce. You don't want to run the risk of infringing on another's trademark. This could potentially lead to you having to change your name. The stress and the loss of money put into that name is worth a lot more than the cost of performing the proper searches.

Federal Trademark registration gives you national trademark protection, puts competitors on notice, allows you to recover statutory damages, may entitle you to attorney's fees, and becomes incontestable after 5 years.

In this entrepreneurial world, branding has become one of the most valuable assets for individuals and companies. Your name will inspire customer loyalty and promote the goodwill of your business. Build your empire today, starting with your name.

Trust Summit: Honoring OC's Most Trustworthy Brands

Atlas Law Group, P.C. is one of the Trust Measure Sponsors for OC Metro's Trust Summit, honoring Orange County's Most Trustworthy Brands. Join us as we honor Orange County's Most Trustworthy Brands, as voted by you, Orange County. You'll get the chance to meet the people behind the brands, hear their stories, and learn what endears them to so many.

http://www.ocmetro.com/mosttrustworthybrandsevent/index.html

Walk MS 2010

Atlas Law Group is registered for Walk MS and would like it if you would join my team or show your support by giving a donation. The 2-3 mile walk takes place on Saturday April 10th at UCI. Please Join Atlas Law Group in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis.


In April, I will be joining thousands of walkers at Walk MS 2010, benefiting the Pacific South Coast Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. By joining my team, you are taking the first crucial step towards creating a world free of MS.

Walk MS is a great chance for us to come together for a fun-filled event while making a tremendous difference in the lives of those with multiple sclerosis. We will walk together at one of three Walk MS sites, along a terrific route chosen to show off the beauty of Orange and San Diego counties!

The National MS Society helps people by funding research to find the cause and cure for this disabling disease and by offering services to those affected by MS. MS is the most common neurological disease leading to disability in young adults, and typically diagnosed in the prime-of-life years, ages 20-50, though an estimated 8,000-10,000 children under the age of 18 also live with MS. You can help me help them by joining my team today!

To donate, click on the link below and you will be taken to my donation page. If you wouldl like to send a check, please write my name in the memo portion of the check and mail to my personal address or send to:

National MS Society Walk MS 5950 La Place Court, #200 Carlsbad, CA 92008

Click here to visit my personal page. If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/CASWalkEvents?px=7807570&pg=personal&fr_id=13689&s_tafId=147405

Click here to view the team page for Atlas Law Group If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/CASWalkEvents?team_id=200608&pg=team&fr_id=13689&s_tafId=147405

Click here to view the company page for Atlas Law Group If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/CASWalkEvents?company=Atlas+Law+Group&pg=company&fr_id=13689&s_tafId=147405

Verizon & Red Bull Violate Olympic Rules by Tweeting

The Olympic Rules strictly state that if you are not one of the official sponsors, then they may not associate themselves with the Games. Apparently, Verizon, Red Bull, or any other like company would have to pay tens of millions of dollars to show their support for the Games on twitter.

Although the penalties are vague I'm sure the U.S Olympic Committee will put an end to what they call "ambush marketing."


Read Article At: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/02/22/red-bull-verizon-tweets-run-afoul-of-olympics-rules/

In Need of a Real Estate Agent?

I have found that when you deal with a real estate agent some are just looking out for their take. Not this time. I have worked with Nazila Pace twice now and she has been a great agent and friend throughout the process. She is professional, approachable, and responsive.

If you are looking to buy or lease I definitely suggest contacting her at (714) 904-8302 or check out her website at www.exclusivepropertiesca.com

Fight Against Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease, without a cure, that affects approximately 400,000 people in the US alone.

Law Students for Safe Access is throwing a benefit concert at Whittier Law School to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on Thursday, March 4th. The night will be filled with Music, Food and Drinks, Games, and we will be raffling off 2-three day passes for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, with the winner getting both sets of tickets!

I will be attending and donating bottles of wine for the event. If you would like to help out please contact Arge Vasilakos at ismenet@gmail.com.

Opening Reception was a Success

The Opening Reception for Atlas Law Group was a great success. Thank you all for coming and showing your support. The food was great and I had a great time talking with everyone.

Privacy Concerns with Google "Buzz"

Google is now reacting to the poor privacy settings on Google "Buzz." So not only is Google Buzz very similar to Twitter/Facebook but it's not protecting it's users. Why exactly do we need this?

For more information on the privacy settings and what Google is doing to improve them see the link below.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10452412-265.html

WWW.ATLASLAWGROUP.COM

Atlas Law Group is now on the web. Please check out my site and the full screen feature. I hope you enjoy it. www.atlaslawgroup.com

Publishers Fight to Raise E-Book Prices

After Apple's iPad was unveiled, Amazon.com was given an ultimatum by Macmillan Publishers to raise the prices on their electronic books or to wait six months after Macmillan had made new titles available to other outlets such as the iPad.

I assume that Macmillan has a contract with Amazon.com regarding the prices on their electronic books. Is it really fair or good business to strong arm someone because they didn't plan for new technologies?

Super Bowl Attracts Counterfeiters

Super Bowl XLIV not only provided a victory for the New Orleans Saints but it also provided counterfeiters with the opportunity to take advantage of loyal NFL fans. Consumers should protect themselves by shopping in established stores, researching the item before purchasing, and checking the quality of the merchandise. Remember, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

Intellectual Property WebCast

One thing I love about the internet is all of the free information you can access. I found a great website called BrightTalk: Webcasts. There are different channels in a multitude of industries that you can subscribe to. I personally subscribe to three different channels:

Intellectual Property
Managing IP: trademarks & internet
Global Compliance Channel