Family law is the general classification assigned to the multiple areas of legal practice that cover domestic relations. This includes a wide variety of topics and issues, from marriage and divorce to adoption and surrogacy. Below are the main points of emphasis in family law.

Entering into marriage – A marriage is not only a sacred vow made between man and wife before God; it is also a legally binding contract. It states that two people are agreeing to share every part of their lives together, including finances, debts, properties, and parenting responsibilities. Some couples make the decision to sign a prenuptial agreement, which preemptively determines how assets will be divided in the event the marriage does not last.

Dissolution of marriage – As unpleasant as it is, the fact remains that nearly 50% of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. Therefore there exists an entire set of laws governing the ensuring complications, such as alimony, division of property and assets, child custody and child support. There are two main ways to dissolve a marriage: annulment and divorce. An annulment retroactively declares a marriage null and void, as though it never took place. The prerequisites to qualify for an annulment, such as insanity and fraud, vary from to state to state. A divorce is the final termination of a marriage contract, which cancels the legal obligations and bond of matrimony between two people.

Child Issues – Understandably, either the beginning or the end of a marriage can greatly affect the lives of any children involved. Issues include, but are not limited to, custody, support, paternity, adoption, abuse, abduction and foster care.

There is also another subdivision of family law devoted to the concerns of unmarried couples, such as common law marriages and same sex partnerships. These laws also vary greatly from state to state. From Florida to California, Miami to Stockton, lawyer firms specializing in family law can help you navigate these turbulent and confusing waters.

Tampa divorce attorneys at the law offices of Carey & Millison, P.A is distinguished in the practice of Marital, Family and Civil Law as well as Family and Civil Mediation. Their Tampa Bay law firm represents clients and their families throughout Florida, including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Hernando, Manatee and Sarasota Counties. Their attorneys provide a full scope of legal services in all aspects of Family Law – paternity, divorce, alimony, child support, child custody, visitation and domestic violence actions as well as premarital and post-marital agreements.

Utilizing more than 60 years of combined experience and specialized knowledge in marital and family law, their attorneys are highly skilled in helping you effectively accomplish what is best for you and your family. If you are facing a divorce, or need compassionate mediation services or require trusted legal advice concerning other marital, family law or civil matters, you may call their law firm to arrange an appointment with one of their attorneys.

Intellectual property, although intangible, is still ownable and your intellectual property rights should be protected. An intellectual property lawyer who is trained to help reclaim patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret rights can help protect your intellectual property. Types of intellectual property include patents, trademarks and trade dress, copyrights, and trade secrets.

Patents

A patent is granted by the government allowing a (usually) 20 year monopoly on an invention previously “not generally known.” Patents are intended to encourage investment in research and development. If you create a new useful process for doing something, a machine, manufacture, or even an improvement on something already in existence, you can patent your invention and prohibit others from “making, using, offering for sale, or selling…or importing” the invention in the U.S. Your right to patent your invention is a constitutional right.

Patent lawyers will research previously granted patents for you to see if a similar product has already been patented or whether you should apply for a patent for your invention. A patent attorney will also tell you if your idea is not patentable because it is a law of nature, a physical phenomena, or abstract. You should find a specialized patent or intellectual property attorney because in order to prosecute a client’s patent application, he or she must be registered with the U.S. patent office. A patent lawyer will also have to have passed a science and engineering exam to better understand and serve clients.

Trademarks

Trademarks are granted for words, names, symbols, or devices which separate and distinguish businesses and services. These include arbitrary names such as Kodak, suggestive names such as Caterpillar (tractors), descriptive names which indicated the business’ products or services, and generic names which are descriptive. Generic and some descriptive names cannot be protected, so a trademark or intellectual property lawyer should be consulted to see if your name qualifies for trademark rights.

Trademark lawyers can also be sought to make sure that your new business isn’t using a registered mark. The consequences for using a registered mark, even though you may have put money and advertising into promoting your business, include being sued for infringement.

Copyrights

Copyrights protect the individual’s expression of an idea, but do not protect the idea itself (see patent). Copyrights are intended to promote scientific progress. If you come up with an idea or invention while working for a company, it is able to be patented or trademarked by the company you work for, but copyrightable work belongs to you, the employee, not the company employing you. However, there are loopholes, and an intellectual property lawyer will help you both with the process of getting your expression copyrighted but will also save you trouble and time in getting over road blocks.

If you are a company, you need an intellectual property lawyer who specializes in copyrights because especially with internet businesses, you will need to make sure that contractually your web site design can be copyrighted to your company and will not belong to the employee or independent contractor who created it. This also applies to software.

Trade Secrets

It is important to protect your business’ trade secrets so they will not be misappropriated. Whereas patents have a limited time of coverage and after 20 years are released, trade secrets are always protected. To qualify as a trade secret, it must have independent economic value to the company.

Orange County intellectual property lawyers at Klein & Wilson are the top trial attorneys in Orange County, California, with extensive experience in representing plaintiffs and defendants in trademark infringement, trade secret, unfair competition claims, intellectual property and copyright infringement claims. They bring nearly a half century of trial experience to the courtroom. The firm routinely and successfully represents large and small clients against some of the largest and most prominent firms in the world. Klein & Wilson’s significant case results speak for themselves, and this is why Klein & Wilson has developed such a noteworthy client list. To speak with their experienced Orange County attorneys, e-mail Klein & Wilson today or call them toll free for a consultation regarding your rights.