DuetsBlog Collaborations in Creativity & the Law

Brad Walz

View my professional biography

 My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). I always knew I’d perpetually be in some sort of faceoff—only I didn’t know it would be in the courtroom. A fierce, natural-born competitor, I am always looking for the advantage...and how I can exploit it. Known as the “Bulldog” around the office, I’m all about holding people accountable for their actions. Just as if we were on the ice, it ain’t over until my team wins. When I’m not metaphorically equating my law practice to hockey (though I can’t stop altogether, I AM captain of the firm’s pond hockey team), I’m advising clients on a broad range of complex and strategic legal and business matters regarding trademarks, copyrights, and domain names. Other than law and hockey (and really, who can separate the two?), I enjoy playing golf and analyzing the stock market.

Posts by Brad Walz

Indemnification for the Marketing Firm

By on Posted in Marketing

Having worked with a number of marketing firms to negotiate a Master Services Agreement, indemnification is always a discussion point.  Especially when dealing with big companies, the customer will want the marketing firm to indemnify it for all intellectual property claims that may arise out of the work product delivered pursuant to the agreement.  Depending… Continue Reading

Nine Steps to Integrating the Cloud into Your Business

By on Posted in Technology

Last December, I was interviewed by Finance and Commerce magazine for an article titled “Tech Toolkit:  IT planning for the year ahead.”  Part of the article included cloud computing and what companies can do to include the cloud in their businesses.  Early the same month, I posted on the technology trends for 2012, and the… Continue Reading

Is the OPEN Act the Answer to Online Piracy?

By on Posted in Mixed Bag of Nuts

The Stop Online Piracy Act (“SOPA”) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (“PIPA”) have been put on hold.  But the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (“OPEN Act”) is moving its way through the U.S. House of Representatives.  The OPEN Act would allow copyright holders to file complaints about copyright infringement on foreign websites… Continue Reading

Europe Ups the Ante on Data Privacy

By on Posted in Technology

Last Wednesday, the European Commission unveiled the changes to its data privacy laws. If the changes are adopted, companies will deal with a single, national data-protection authority in the EU country in which they have their main base. Individuals can tender complaints to the data-protection authority in their own country even when their data is… Continue Reading

Enterprise Social Media the Next Frontier

By on Posted in Almost Advice

Is your company thinking of adopting a social media platform to replace its current website?  If it is, then your company is part of the majority of companies that have either implemented a social media platform, is planning to implement a social media platform, or will implement a social media platform but has no current… Continue Reading

Technology Predictions for 2012

By on Posted in Almost Advice

What does the future hold for technology in 2012?  Not surprising, but many of the predictions involve the continued movement to the cloud.  Randy Muller of Global Knowledge predicts the cloud movement will be "THE mantra this year and will certainly be more pervasive and louder in the years to come," and that "that SaaS… Continue Reading

Cloud Computing Residue

By on Posted in Almost Advice

One of the often touted benefits of cloud computing is the ability to scale. Scale up when demand increases and scale down when demand recedes. Scalability is about doing what you do in a bigger way. It is all about allowing more people to use your application. Generally, when people refer to scalability in the cloud context they… Continue Reading

The Microsoft Cloud is Entering China

By on Posted in Almost Advice

The United States may still be leading in cloud computing sales, but China’s appetite for cloud computing services may be growing faster than the United States. Gartner found that 55 percent of Chinese respondents are willing to spend 10 percent of their total IT budget on cloud computing compared to 42 percent in Europe and 49… Continue Reading

If You Build It, They May Not Come Anymore.

By on Posted in Almost Advice

Over the years, the increase in Internet use and projections for future Internet use caused a boom in the construction of data centers. Data centers house and link the servers and other hardware that form the backbone of the Internet.  And many companies and states want a part of the action. Minnesota, for example, passed a… Continue Reading

Let the Cloud Platform Wars Begin!

By on Posted in Almost Advice

Microsoft is joining the battle for cloud platform supremacy through the release of Office 365. In doing so, Microsoft joins the likes of Google and VMware to see who will emerge as the new power brokers of the IT industry.  Microsoft held the distinction of being the power broker in the PC era, but the cloud… Continue Reading

International Internet Governance

By on Posted in Almost Advice

Memorial Day is a time for saying goodbye and, in one sense, saying goodbye around this time of year to a group of people has become automatic for many of us. I am referring to the many graduating seniors from high schools and colleges around the nation. Those institutions say goodbye to one class of students in… Continue Reading

Data Security in the Cloud

By on Posted in Almost Advice

It didn’t take long for the lawsuits to start after Sony notified 77 million PlayStation Network and Qriocity online service customers that their credit-card data, billing addresses, and other personal information might have been stolen. On April 27th, Johns v. Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern… Continue Reading

Consolidation in the Cloud: Some Factors to Make Your Company an Attractive Target

By on Posted in Almost Advice

Verizon Communications Inc.’s recent acquisition of cloud-computing company Terremark Worldwide Inc. caused some analysts to speculate that there may be more consolidation in the cloud-computing industry. Consolidation in the cloud-computing industry would not be surprising since, according to Gartner’s Hype Cycle, cloud computing is at the top. This means there are many market participants in the cloud-computing… Continue Reading

Breaking Up May Be Harder in the Cloud

By on Posted in Almost Advice

Some of the cloud confusion that I previously discussed must be subsiding because even though only 7% of small businesses were using cloud computing services as of April 2010, that number is expected to exceed 10% by mid 2011 according to technology research firm IDC.  Either that or more small businesses feel they need to jump on the… Continue Reading

Open Source Software in the Cloud

By on Posted in Almost Advice

Here is a fun fact; Facebook is or was based on cloud computing.  Cloud computing consists of three types of computing services:  (1) software as a service; (2) platform as a service; and (3) infrastructure as a service.  Facebook used Amazon.com’s EC2 platform to build its social network website.  A computer platform is the computing… Continue Reading

Another Indication that Cloud Computing is Gaining Mainstream Acceptance

By on Posted in Almost Advice

If you pay attention to the recent marketing of some big tech companies such as IBM and Microsoft, you will notice that more references are being made to the “cloud.” For example, Microsoft’s television commercials use the phrase “to the cloud.” When references to cloud computing start seeping into marketing material intended for the general public, it… Continue Reading

Are You Suffering From Cloud Confusion?

By on Posted in Almost Advice

If you suffer from Cloud confusion, you are not alone. A recent study from Hubspan, an application integration and hosting company, found that about 39% of the companies in the study either planned to move some business application to the cloud or had no interest in to add a cloud or SaaS based project. The top reason… Continue Reading

America Leads Cloud Computing Sales

By on Posted in Almost Advice

The United States leads sales for Web-based business software for 2009 accounting for 74% of the $13.2 billion market. While Europe, Africa, and the Middle East were a distant second accounting for 13% of total sales for software-as-a-service (“SaaS”). The difference between the United States and the rest of the world is dramatic, but understandable when you… Continue Reading

The Barbarians Are at the 3PAR Gate

By on Posted in Almost Advice

Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) and Dell are engaged in battle over the acquisition of 3PAR. 3PAR is a small storage company that has innovative technology to handle the amounts of documents, photos, and videos being uploaded to the Internet every day. Just how important is this storage company HP and Dell’s cloud business? Thomson Reuters estimate that 3PAR’s revenue for… Continue Reading

How To Kick The Tires of a Cloud Computing Company

By on Posted in Almost Advice

Recently, I discussed the importance of thoroughly investigating a cloud computing company before handing over your data or information technology operations to a stranger. This topic begs the question of how to go about investigating these companies. Some of the larger, public companies make some of the relevant information publicly available. For example, Salesforce.com publishes some of the… Continue Reading

Buyer Beware Is Becoming Increasingly Important in the Cloud

By on Posted in Almost Advice

For the most part, cloud computing is known as allowing businesses to have access to expensive software programs at a fraction of the cost. However, a relatively new service is now entering the cloud. RingCentral is one of an increasing number of companies offering sophisticated suites of Internet-based voice and fax services that require no hardware or… Continue Reading

Associations Beware! Collective Agreements to License Your Marks to One Vendor May Get You in Hot Water

By on Posted in Almost Advice

The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that agreements among associate members to license their trademarks to one vendor may violate the Sherman Act. In  American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League, the National Football League Properties ("NFLP") terminated its nonexclusive license with American Needle, Inc. to make and sell apparel bearing the NFL team insignias… Continue Reading