Posted in: Sweepstakes Law
Key Takeaways Most sweepstakes legal work is flat-fee. Typical engagements include drafting official rules, state registration and bonding filings, and legal review of a planned promotion. The main cost drivers are prize value, the number of states involved, whether entry is tied to a purchase, and whether the promotion involves judging or user-generated content. Registration […]
Continue ReadingPosted in: Sweepstakes Law
Key Takeaways In nearly every U.S. state, a private homeowner or business cannot legally raffle a house. A raffle that combines a prize, random chance, and paid entry is a lottery, and states reserve lotteries for licensed charities. Licensed charitable nonprofits can run raffles in many states, under strict state-specific licensing, reporting, and proceeds rules. […]
Continue ReadingPosted in: Startup Law
Key Takeaways AI is useful for research, issue spotting, and a first draft. It cannot prepare terms you can rely on. Every app needs terms and conditions. The real question is who prepares them, and what happens to the draft afterward. AI only drafts a document, while enforceability depends on how your users agreed to […]
Continue ReadingPosted in: Sweepstakes Law
Key Takeaways AI is genuinely useful for understanding sweepstakes law in general terms and for preparing first draft legal rules for review by an attorney.. It cannot tell you whether your specific promotion is legal. Applying the law to your facts is legal advice, and that is a highly inadvisable way to use AI. Any […]
Continue ReadingPosted in: Influencer Law
Key Takeaways AI can read an influencer contract in seconds and produce a useful summary. It can also miss the specific terms that create real financial and legal exposure. The things AI catches well: obvious one-sided language, missing standard sections, unclear payment terms, and confusing legal jargon. The things AI regularly misses: FTC disclosure obligations, […]
Continue ReadingPosted in: Sweepstakes Law
Key Takeaways Giving away a house is legal in most U.S. states, but only if you structure the promotion to avoid triggering lottery laws. The three elements of a lottery are prize, chance, and consideration. Your promotion has to remove one of the last two to stay legal. Two structures work in practice: a skill-based […]
Continue ReadingPosted in: Sweepstakes Law
Key Takeaways AI can draft sweepstakes rules that read fluently and still miss the specific requirements that make rules legally compliant. The most likely failures: missing state-specific registration triggers, generic “void where prohibited” language that doesn’t actually void anything, unclear alternate methods of entry, and non-compliant odds and prize disclosures. AI can conflate sweepstakes, contests, […]
Continue ReadingPosted in: Trademarks and Copyrights
Registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office costs between $45 and $125 in government filing fees, depending on what you’re registering and how you file. If you work with a copyright attorney, expect to add roughly $500 for a standard single registration, or more for group registrations and complex works. The exact cost depends […]
Continue ReadingPosted in: Trademarks and Copyrights
Short answer: As of July 2026, yes; but with significant caveats. Most of the confusion around this question comes from mixing up trademark law with copyright law. Trademark law is about source identification: does this mark tell consumers where a product or service comes from? It does not require human authorship. The USPTO does not […]
Continue ReadingPosted in: Trademarks and Copyrights
Choosing a trademark lawyer is a meaningful business decision, and the consultation is where most of the useful information lives. The right questions tell you whether the attorney has the experience to handle your situation, whether the fees are structured in a way you can actually plan around, and whether the person in the meeting […]
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