Immigration

The most common employer-sponsored path involves three steps: PERM labor certification demonstrating no qualified U.S. workers are available, I-140 immigrant worker petition, and I-485 adjustment of status or consular processing. The process can take years depending on the employee's country of birth.

Employers must verify identity and work authorization for every new hire using Form I-9 within three business days of the start date. Proper completion, document examination, re-verification for expiring work authorization, and record retention are all required. E-Verify may also be mandatory.

The L-1 visa allows intracompany transferees in managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge positions. L-1A covers managers and executives, and L-1B covers specialized knowledge workers. The employee must have worked for the related foreign entity for at least one year.

Employers cannot continue employing workers without valid authorization. Timely filing of extension or change of status petitions is critical. Some visa categories allow continued employment while extensions are pending, but the rules vary by visa type and must be carefully tracked.

Fair use is a defense that permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission. Courts consider four factors: the purpose and character of use (commercial vs. educational, transformative vs. copying), the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount used, and the effect on the market. Fair use is highly fact-specific.

For works created today by individual authors, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. Works made for hire and anonymous/pseudonymous works are protected for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Older works may have different terms.

Yes, software code is protected by copyright as a literary work. Both source code and object code can be registered. However, copyright protects the expression of ideas, not the underlying functionality—patent protection may be more appropriate for novel methods and processes implemented in software.

Our virtual legal services offer streamlined, cost-effective solutions for common copyright needs. Services like copyright registration, assignment agreements, and DMCA takedowns are available online with fixed, transparent pricing. You get the quality of a top IP firm with the convenience of digital delivery.