Domestic violence is a problem that affects every community across the country. It crosses all races, social and economic backgrounds, cultures, religions and relationship types. It is reported that 1 in 4 women suffer from domestic violence in USA. Domestic violence is a frequent occurrence, and this tragic personal situation can carry over into a woman’s professional life.

Domestic violence is not confined to any one socioeconomic, ethnic, religious, racial or age group and knows no geographic or educational boundaries. It also occurs within teenage relationships and among same-sex partnerships.

Types of Domestic Violence:

Physical violence is the intentional use of physical force with the potential for causing death, disability, injury, or harm.

Sexual violence is divided into three categories: 1) use of physical force to compel a person to engage in a sexual act against his or her will, whether or not the act is completed; 2) attempted or completed sex act involving a person who is unable to understand the nature or condition of the act, to decline participation, or to communicate unwillingness to engage in the sexual act, e.g., because of illness, disability, or the influence of alcohol or other drugs, or because of intimidation or pressure; and 3) abusive sexual contact.

Threats of physical or sexual violence use words, gestures, or weapons to communicate the intent to cause death, disability, injury, or physical harm.

Psychological/emotional violence involves trauma to the victim caused by acts, threats of acts, or coercive tactics. Psychological/emotional abuse can include, but is not limited to, humiliating the victim, controlling what the victim can and cannot do, withholding information from the victim, deliberately doing something to make the victim feel diminished or embarrassed, isolating the victim from friends and family, and denying the victim access to money or other basic resources.

What are the signs of domestic violence?

If you believe you may be in an abusive relationship, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Have you ever been physically hurt, such as being kicked, pushed, choked or punched, by your partner or ex-partner?

Has your partner ever used the threat of hurting you or members of your family to get you to do something?

Has your partner ever injured or abused your pets?

Has your partner ever destroyed your property or things that you care about?

Has your partner tried to keep you from seeing your family, going to school or doing other things that are important to you?

Do you feel like you are being controlled or isolated by your partner? For instance, does your partner control your money, transportation, activities or social contacts?

Have you ever been forced by your partner to have sex when you did not want to or to have unsafe sex?

Is your partner jealous and always questioning whether you are faithful?

Does your partner regularly blame you for things that you cannot control, or for his/her violent outbursts?

Does your partner regularly insult you?

Are you ever afraid of your partner or of going home? Does he/she make you feel unsafe?

There are other signs of domestic violence that observers might see in a relative or friend who is in an abusive relationship. They include:

being prone to “accidents” or being repeatedly injured

Having injuries that could not be caused unintentionally or that do not match the story of what happened to cause them

Having injuries on many different parts of the body, such as the face, throat, neck, chest, abdomen or genitals

having bruises, burns or wounds that are shaped like teeth, hands, belts, cigarette tips or that look like the injured person has a glove or sock on (from having a hand or foot placed in boiling water)

Having wounds in various states of healing

Often seeking medical help or, conversely, waiting to seek or not seeking medical help even for serious injuries

Showing signs of depression

Using alcohol or other drugs

Attempting suicide

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Before you decide to become a guardian, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you want legal responsibility for the child?
   You will have the same legal responsibilities as a parent, including responsibility for intentional damages the child may cause or for negligent supervision of the child. As guardian, you must also manage the child’s finances, keep careful records, give the court reports and ask the court for permission to handle certain financial matters.
2. How will the guardianship affect you and your family?
   You will be like the child’s parent. This can affect your relationship with other family members. Think about your time, energy, and health to decide if you want to be, or can be, a guardian.
3. Do you have enough money?
   The child may get income from social security, public assistance, child support from the parents, or an inheritance from a deceased parent. But child support does not always arrive, even if it is ordered by the court, and the money you get for the minor may not be enough. You may have to spend your own money to raise the child.
4. Will there be problems with the child’s relatives?
   If the child’s parents are alive, will they support you as guardian, or will they be angry with you and try to interfere? Some parents may fight the guardianship, or the court may say that they can have regular visitation.

Rights and responsibilities of guardians

As guardian of the person, you will have these responsibilities:

• You decide where the child lives. If you move, you must tell the court in writing right away. If you want to move out of California, you have to get the court’s permission.
• You decide where the child goes to school. You must stay involved in the child’s education, and help the child get any special services, like tutoring, that he or she needs.
• You must take care of the child’s medical and dental needs, making sure he or she gets proper care. In most cases, you can also make decisions about any medical treatment the child needs.
• You must get the child counseling or other mental health services if the child needs them. But you cannot place the child in a mental health institution without a court order unless the child agrees.
• At least once a year, you will turn in a status report to the court. You must also meet with any court investigators or social workers sent by the court and come to court when the court tells you to. The court can also order you to take on other duties or can place special conditions on you as guardian, if needed.

Also:

• In most cases, guardians, like parents, are responsible for harm or damages the child causes, including graffiti or getting in a car accident. Like a parent, a guardian is responsible for the intentional acts of the minor, and also for negligent supervision of the minor or the negligent entrustment of a motor vehicle (giving the child access to a car when he or she is unlicensed or otherwise not capable of handling the responsibility).
• You cannot let the child live with his or her parents or anyone else. The child must live with you unless the judge says otherwise. You can let the child stay with other people for visits or short periods of time without a court order, as long as the child continues to primarily live with you, the guardian.
• The parents may be able to visit and see their child, but you (or the court) decide when and how often. The parents may get custody of their child back in the future if the court decides that the child no longer needs to have a guardian.

You will have the right to make these decisions affecting the child:

• You may give the child permission to apply for a driver’s license. Or you may choose to not give him or her permission.
  • If you let the child apply for a license, you must also get car insurance for the child.
  • If the child has an accident while driving your car, you may be responsible for any damages caused by the accident.
• You may give the child permission to enlist in the military.
  • If the child enters into active duty with the armed forces, the guardianship will end. California law will consider the child to be an adult.
• Both you and the court must give permission for the child to get married.
  • If the child gets married, the guardianship will end. California law will consider the child to be an adult

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You must have heard this word, Tort, but so you really know its meaning? Here in this post we are going to give you a specific definition of Tort liability. Under the tort liability law, also known as “the law of negligence“, a person is considered liable for committing a tort, if they have failed to satisfy the standard of care – a standard determined by the behavior of a reasonably prudent individual.

A tort is a legal term describing a violation where one person causes damage, injury, or harm to another person. The violation may result from intentional actions, a breach of duty as in negligence, or due to a violation of statutes.  A tort is a non-criminal action (or omission) which caused damages to be suffered by someone. Negligent maintenance of a traffic signal is a tort.

Though every state all through the union requires Auto culpability coverage, some says operate below a tort system, which allows anyone hurt by a man to take lawful movement for wrongdoing. The vast majority of tort liability, however, is negligent liability. Negligence usually requires the plaintiff to show four elements in order to be entitled to compensation for his or her injuries. A duty of care from the tortfeasor to the plaintiff as well as a breach of that duty of care must be shown.

Liability in a tort situation can sometimes involve many different factors. For example, a tortfeasor may become liable to several different victims if they have injured a group of people. Or, several different tortfeasors can be held liable for the injuries of a single victim, such as when a person is attacked by a group.  It is even possible for the victim themselves to incur liability, for example if they contributed to their own injury apart from the tortfeasor’s actions.

In any system, there are always those who would choose to take advantage of the law for their own personal gain. To keep this from happening, many states now limit the circumstances under which the injured may sue—and how much money juries may award in tort liability cases.

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United States trademark rights are acquired by, and dependent upon, priority of use and distinctiveness. Generally, whoever first uses a trademark in commerce has the ultimate right to use that trademark in that way. However, there are many benefits of federal trademark registration. These rights, or common law trademark rights as they are known to lawyers, come from the continuous prior use of a mark in commerce.

A trademark is a word, symbol, or phrase, used to identify a particular manufacturer or seller’s products and distinguish them from the products of another. Trademarks make it easier for consumers to quickly identify the source of a given good. Owning a federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides several advantages, including:

Public notice of your claim of ownership of the mark;

A legal presumption of your ownership of the mark and your exclusive right to use the mark nationwide on or in connection with the goods/services listed in the registration;

The ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court;

The use of the U.S. registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries;

The ability to record the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods;

The right to use the federal registration symbol ® and

Listing in the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s online databases.

The rights to a trademark can be lost through abandonment, improper licensing or assignment, or genericity. A trademark is abandoned when its use is discontinued with an intent not to resume its use. Such intent can be inferred from the circumstances. Trademark rights can also be lost through improper licensing or assignment. Where the use of a trademark is licensed (for example, to a franchisee) without adequate quality control or supervision by the trademark owner, that trademark will be canceled.

In trademark law, “using” a trademark means putting it to work in the marketplace to identify goods or services. This doesn’t mean that the product or service actually has to be sold, as long as it is legitimately offered to the public under the trademark in question.

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Recently we hear much more about patent right, and each day there are so much news about it. Today our best legal website shows you a  piece of patent right news, saying about the two big brands- Apple and HTC.

Apple Inc., embroiled in global patent litigation to protect sales of its iPhone, was ordered by a U.K. judge to disclose to HTC Corp.  which features of its competing mobile phones may infringe Apple’s European patents.

At a hearing yesterday in London, Apple was given until today to describe which aspects  of HTC’s handsets allegedly violate the company’s “swipe-to-unlock” function and other features covered by Apple’s four patents in the case. Apple said it was already planning to provide the information by today.

“I will make an order that Apple identifies the features of the accused devices that are relied upon as  embodying the features” of the claims in the patent, Judge Richard Arnold said at the hearing. A trial of the case is scheduled for April.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, is involved in a worldwide fight with Samsung Electronics Co. and HTC, the largest seller of smartphones in the U.S., over handsets and tablet computers. Apple sued HTC for patent infringement in Germany in July, triggering a countersuit by HTC in London. Apple also filed a new lawsuit against HTC and Samsung in September in the U.K.

HTC, based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, sought the order on Nov. 22, saying Apple had failed to give adequate responses to requests for information it needed to prepare a defense of its handsets, court records show.

“We need to make sure that we do not, at a later stage, have an argument blowing up in trial,” HTC’s lawyer, James Abrahams, said at yesterday’s hearing. HTC was forced “to come to court to get the clarity” imposed by the ruling, he said.

If HTC wins the London case and invalidates Apple’s European patents, it could use the judgment in a parallel German trial. Under German legal precedent, judges in the country give weight to British judgments on a patent’s validity when considering whether the patent has been infringed.

Apple was prepared to hand over the additional information and didn’t do so earlier because HTC’s questions weren’t clear enough, Apple’s lawyer, Guy Burkill, said at the hearing.

The companies are preparing for trials in Europe after HTC lost a separate patent case against Apple in the U.S. in October. The U.S. International Trade Commission said Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices don’t violate HTC’s rights to four U.S. patents.

The case is: HTC Europe Co. Ltd. v. Apple Inc., High Court of Justice, London, HC11C02703

–With assistance from Christopher Scinta in London. Editors: Christopher Scinta, Heather Smith

Best legal website aim to inform you of more legal knowledge and information of law field. More useful information please read other posts on our site.

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We all know this term Intellectual property, but we just have heard that, to better understand what is intellectual property, we write this post to share with all of you. Please read through to see whether this is helpful, we would be very glad to see any comments.

Modern usage of the term intellectual property goes back at least as far as 1867 with the founding of the North German Confederation whose constitution granted legislative power over the protection of intellectual property. Intellectual property is any innovation, commercial or artistic, or any unique name, symbol, logo or design used commercially.

Intellectual property is protected by

Patents on inventions;

Trademarks on branding devices;

Copyrights on music, videos, patterns and other forms of expression;

Trade secrets for methods or formulas having economic value and used commercially.

In today’s competitive landscape, demand for intellectual property lawyers is growing. As long as invention and innovation exist, intellectual property lawyers will be needed to procure the rights to new ideas and protect the ownership of existing creations. Today, most organizations understand the importance of IP, “IP also facilitates the organization in gaining sustainable competitive advantage in the market.”

The term carries a bias that is not hard to see: it suggests thinking about copyright, patents and trademarks by analogy with property rights for physical objects. These laws are in fact not much like physical property law, but use of this term leads legislators to change them to be more so. Since that is the change desired by the companies that exercise copyright, patent and trademark powers, the bias introduced by the term “intellectual property” suits them.

Do You Need an Intellectual Property Lawyer?

If you are an artist, author, engineer, or manager (especially in industries with a great deal of employee mobility), you are likely to encounter intellectual property issues at some point.

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While every relationship depends on trust, it’s important to keep the Property (Relationships) Act (PRA) in mind. Not only could this affect you, but others close to you such as your children.  In this article we will briefly explain how the PRA works and discuss the things that you can do to protect your property from possible claims.

The PRA applies to de facto (including same sex) couples whose relationship has generally lasted at least three years. This also includes married couples and takes into account the time they lived together immediately prior to marriage.  When a relationship ends, all of the property that the couple owns is classified as either ‘relationship property’ or ‘separate property’. Relationship property includes the family home and chattels, whenever acquired, and all property acquired by either party during the relationship (subject to certain exceptions).

Separate property generally includes property acquired before the relationship began that has been kept separate, and property that has been acquired by succession, survivorship or gift from a third party e.g. an inheritance. Relationship property is divided equally except in extraordinary circumstances. As a general rule, the longer the relationship, the less likely it is that there will be much in the way of separate property.

If you do not like how your property would be classified and divided under the PRA, you can “contract out”. This means that you and your spouse/partner can put in place your own rules as to how you would like your property divided should your relationship end. A contracting out agreement, sometimes known as a “pre-nuptial agreement” can be completed at any time.

A trust is an ideal structure to protect assets acquired before a relationship starts.  Property held by a trust generally falls outside of the PRA regime. When a relationship ends, trust property will continue to be managed by the trustees in accordance with the trust deed. However, there are some provisions in the PRA that enable the court to compensate a spouse/partner where the transfer of relationship property to a trust has had the effect of defeating their rights under the PRA.  If you are already in a relationship and have been for some time, it is unlikely that transferring property to a trust will help. However, if your relationship is in its early stages, there may be some benefit in transferring your property to a trust and/or “contracting out”.

While a trust may not protect your assets from claims arising from your relationship, it may help protect assets for your children. For example, if your child uses money you have given them to buy a family home that they share with their spouse/partner, it automatically becomes relationship property.  If you are concerned that the money you have given them may end up being shared, you may wish to consider providing for them through a Family Trust.  Similar issues arise with property left to your children under your will.

An Inheritance Trust can help protect your child’s inheritance from potential relationship claims. It also avoids your child having to transfer their inheritance to their own trust for protection; which means they do not have to gift those assets at a rate of $27,000 a year.  If you leave their inheritance in an Inheritance Trust set up for their benefit, the transfer can be completed without the need for gifting.

What should you do next? It is essential that you obtain professional advice in respect to the asset planning measures discussed in this article.

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Do you have a job now? Is there an employment contract between you and your employer? Do you know how to sign an employment contract? An employment contract is a basic and vital employment right. By signing an employment contract, you can secure certain rights related to your new job. You’ll likely come across terms related to salary, vacation days and other benefits.

In most states, employment is generally considered “at will,” meaning that the employer can terminate employment (or the employee may voluntarily leave) at any time. However, there may also be some pitfalls to avoid or things to watch out for. Read on for the top 10 facts about signing an employment contract that you should be aware of. The specific terms of your contract will vary depending on the company and specific job involved, but you’ll need to be familiar with aspects of the negotiation and contract process in advance.

Express terms in an employment contract are those that are explicitly agreed between you and your employer and can include:

Amount of wages, including any overtime or bonus pay

Hours of work, including overtime hours (there is a legal limit for most employees on the maximum number of hours they can work per week)

Holiday pay, including how much time off you are entitled to (nearly all full-time workers are entitled by law to 28 days’ paid holiday – they may be entitled to more under their contract. Part-time workers are entitled to a pro rata amount)

Sick pay

Redundancy pay

How much warning (notice) the employer must give you if you are dismissed.

The employee must agree never to disclose vital information about the company such as how new products being developed, plans for future products, formulas, proprietary data, special equipment, pricing or sales data. Read those provisions of the contract that limit what you can do during and after the contract period. Employment contracts can limit your ability to use confidential company information for your own or others’ benefit, during and after your employment.

Employment contracts are set in place to protect the employee and the employer alike. Such documents ensure that both parties are on the same page and understand each other’s expectations. Having a clear understanding of the detail in your employment contract will prove to work to your advantage when integrating into your new company and team.

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TOUGHER laws on knife crime were today welcomed by the families of South Tyneside murder victims.

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke’s decision to extend mandatory prison sentences to youths aged 16 and 17 who threaten people with knives has been widely commended.

And in the borough, those who have suffered the tragedy of losing a loved one to a knife hope the crackdown will mean fewer devastated families in the future – but they also urged courts to use the heavier sentencing as a deterrent.

They included the loved ones of Glen Corner, the former Harton Technology College pupil stabbed to death on his 16th birthday as he celebrated his GCSE results in August 2006.

His grandmother, Pat McDougall, said: “The pain of Glen’s death is with me every day, so for the Government to be finally moving in the right direction is brilliant.

“This is something that should have been done a long time ago.

“But the big thing is whether the magistrates and judges are going to carry this through.

“The Government now seems to be listening to the public. I now just hope those in the court system do too.”

Glen’s killer, Lee Firman, 18 at the time, of Thornholme Avenue, South Shields, was jailed for life.

Mrs McDougall, 63, hopes as part of the training and detention order teens will be given, demonstrations about the devastating effects of carrying knives with horrendous consequences are laid bare to them.

Mrs McDougall added: “Carrying knives and threatening people with them is not a game and they need to be shown that. I think they should be forced to work with families that have been affected by knife crime.”

Clare Carlson, treasurer of the Glen Corner Trust, added: “This is fantastic news. It’s about time they did this.”

The mother of Deka Kennedy has given a reserved welcome to a tougher stance against knife-wielding thugs.

The 29-year-old was stabbed to death in January 2009 after he stepped in to protect a woman being attacked in Frederick Street, South Shields.

Today his mother, Jean, 51, welcomed the decision, but fears “it doesn’t go far enough”. Mrs Kennedy, of John Williamson Street, South Shields, said: “This is something, but people carrying knives will still get off too lightly. There should be harsher sentences that reflect the seriousness of the crime.

“If offenders get a tough sentence, they will think twice about carrying knives in the future.”

Paul Morrison was jailed for at least 17 years after being found guilty of Mr Kennedy’s murder at Newcastle Crown Court.

Gazette editor John Szymanski said: “South Tyneside has, along with other communities, suffered from the senseless waste of young lives being tragically lost due to knife crime.

“The loss and outrage sparked the Gazette and its readers into identifying there was a dangerous culture developing. It needed to be stopped in its tracks and, ultimately, our streets would be safer for it.

“That is why the Knives Ruin Lives campaign was launched, and why thousands of South Tynesiders joined us in pressing for the law to hand out tougher deterrents and sentences.

“It has been a long, hard road to get where we are, but it has been worth it in ensuring the justice system provides more protection for all – and leaving offenders in no doubt that carrying a knife will have serious consequences for them.”

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Have you heard about or encountered birth defect? Each year the number of babies suffering birth defect is rising rapidly. Women should pay more attention especially; there are many medicines to be avoided during or before pregnancy. Depression is very common a disease that bothers most of the pregnant women, thus they turn to antidepressants, but in fact most of the antidepressants have side effects to varying degrees. Birth defect is a one of these side effects of antidepressants; now let’s see a piece of birth defect news from cardiology today.

Women who take ACE inhibitors to treat hypertension during the first trimester of pregnancy appear to be at no greater risk for having babies with birth defects than women who take other types or no anti-hypertension medication, according to a new study from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The results suggest that the underlying hypertension itself may increase the risk for birth defects, rather than antihypertensive medications taken during the first trimester of pregnancy. Researchers conducted a population-based, retrospective cohort study that linked automated clinical and pharmacy databases from 1995 to 2008 that yielded more than 465 mother-infant pairs in the Northern California region.

The prevalence of ACE inhibitor use during the first trimester was just 0.9/1,000, and the use of other antihypertensive medications was 2.4/1,000, according to the results. When the researchers adjusted for maternal age, ethnicity, parity and obesity, ACE inhibitor use during the first trimester only was associated with increased risk for congenital heart defects in offspring compared with women who did not have hypertension or take related medications while pregnant (3.9% vs. 1.6%; OR=1.54; 95% CI, 0.90-2.62). A similar association was observed with use of other antihypertensives (2.6% cases of congenital heart defects; OR=1.52; 95% CI, 1.04-2.21).

Compared with women with a diagnosis of hypertension who did not use antihypertensives (2.4% cases of congenital heart defects), ACE inhibitor or other antihypertensive use during the first trimester was not associated with increased risk for congenital heart defects (OR=1.14; 95% CI, 0.65-1.95, and OR=1.12; 95% CI, 0.76-1.64).

Prior research, including a 2006 study of 30,000 births during 15 years to mothers in Tennessee, has reported a link between ACE inhibitor use early in pregnancy and subsequent birth defects. However, researchers concluded that this study, which was based on a much larger population, found that birth defects occurred at the same rate among all hypertensive women, regardless of use of ACE inhibitors or other antihypertensive medications or no medication.

It remains to be determined whether hypertension is to blame for the increased birth defects; however, taking steps to reduce BP before pregnancy may reduce the risk.

“Maternal use of ACE inhibitors in the first trimester has a risk profile similar to the use of other antihypertensives regarding malformations in live born offspring,” the researchers concluded. “The apparent increased risk of malformations associated with use of ACE inhibitors (and other antihypertensives) in the first trimester is likely due to the underlying hypertension rather than the medications.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

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