Columbia Non-Profit Attorneys & Lawyers

What Is a Contract Checklist?

A contract checklist is a step-by-step list that helps you organize a contract's key parts before finalizing it. This helps reduce miscommunication, set expectations, and make sure both parties are on the same page.

Why Is a Contract Checklist Important?

Contract disputes are common issues that require legal action to resolve. If one party doesn't hold up its end of a bargain, it might face a breach of contract lawsuit. A contract checklist tries to reduce the chance of this happening. It covers every aspect of the contract to make sure it's airtight. It removes vagueness and focuses on concrete terms that describe every aspect of the contract. Without a contract checklist, contracts might become problematic for one or both parties.

Because there are many types of contracts, a checklist becomes even more important. Many people don't realize that even a warranty, consulting agreements, noncompet

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What Is Cybersquatting?

Cybersquatting examples show Cybersquatting (a.k.a. domain squatting) is the act of registering, trafficking in or using a domain name in bad faith. Cybersquatters neglect the existence of a trademark to profit from others. In fact, domain names are cheap and are sold on a "first come, first served" basis. 

As the internet started becoming popular, internet users knew businesses would need a website. Some users started buying domains to create sites that looked like they were from reputable companies.

Example: A cybersquatter could buy Heinz.com if the company hadn't created a website yet, looking to sell the domain to Heinz at a later date for profit, or use the domain name to attract traffic and generate money through advertising.

If a business has a good reputation but no website, the company either pays the owner of the domain name to transfer the domai

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What Is Specific Performance?

Specific performance is the legal concept that anyone who signs a contract is bound to the terms of the contract. It encompasses the idea that all parties to a contract are bound by the exact terms stated in that contract and that there are remedies that a wronged party can pursue when someone is in breach of those terms. These remedies include filing a lawsuit to collect damages or seeking a court order requiring the infringing party to live up to their obligations. The latter remedy is specific performance. 

Specific performance remedies require taking a hard stance as to the language in the contract. It is important because it carries the weight of the courts behind it to hold contractors to their agreements. If a party fails to uphold their end of the bargain, they can be fined, held in contempt of court, or even arrested. 

Specific performance, very simply, is a court order that mandates everyone comply wit

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What Is Unfair Competition?

Unfair competition occurs when another company uses wrong or deceptive business practices to gain a competitive advantage. The major category of unfair competition relates to intentional confusion of customers as to where the product came from, while the secondary category relates to unfair trade practices. Some of the most common forms of unfair competition include:

• Bait-and-switch selling technique, such as substituting a lower-cost product from a different brand for a more expensive, higher-quality product.  
• False advertising or making false claims about a product to promote it.
• Misappropriation or use of confidential information, such as stealing a competitor's special formulation or other trade secrets.
• Trade dress violation, or copying the physical appearance of a product and/or packaging in the attempt to fool a customer into buying it.

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What Are Cumulative Dividends?

If a dividend is sharing company profits to shareholders, then a cumulative dividend is a distribution made to the holders of special "preferred" shares regularly. It is unrelated to company profits.

Regular or "noncumulative" dividends are voluntary. This means the Board of Directors has the option of awarding them. This usually depends on how the company has performed each year.

However, paying cumulative dividends is mandatory. If the company can't pay out a cumulative dividend in any given fiscal year, the amount for that year is carried forward. It must always be paid out before any payments to common shareholders.

Not all "preferred shares" have the right to receive cumulative dividends. Some cumulative preferred shares carry limitations. For example, the company may only have to pay cumu

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