The Cummings & Cummings Law Journal

Understanding Brandjacking in the Digital Marketplace Brandjacking describes the unauthorized use of a brand’s identifiers by third parties to divert traffic, impersonate the brand, or extract value from brand goodwill. In practice, this may include copycat domains, look-alike social handles, deceptive pay-per-click campaigns, and manipulative search tactics that trade on the equity of a trademark.

Understanding Dual Residency and Treaty Tie-Breaker Framework Dual residency occurs when two countries simultaneously treat you as a tax resident under their domestic laws. This situation commonly arises through a combination of physical presence tests, domicile concepts, or statutory resident rules that operate independently in each jurisdiction. Tax treaties anticipate this overlap and provide a

Hidden Permanent Establishment and Unintended Branch Status Operating in multiple jurisdictions without forming local subsidiaries frequently creates a hidden permanent establishment (PE) or unintended branch for corporate income tax purposes. Tax authorities evaluate substance over form: if local personnel habitually conclude contracts, negotiate key terms, or maintain a fixed place of business, they may assert

Understanding the Cloud Act’s Core Mechanisms The Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, commonly known as the Cloud Act, establishes that a United States provider subject to the Stored Communications Act may be compelled by a U.S. court to disclose data within its possession, custody, or control, regardless of whether the data is stored

Understanding the Core Purpose of Section 351 Non-Recognition Internal Revenue Code Section 351 is designed to facilitate the tax-efficient capitalization of corporations by allowing founders and investors to contribute property in exchange for stock without immediate recognition of gain or loss. At first glance, this seems straightforward: transfer appreciated property to a corporation, receive stock,

Understanding the Active Business Requirement Under Section 1202 The active business requirement is a cornerstone of Section 1202, which provides a potential exclusion of up to 100 percent of gain on the sale of Qualified Small Business Stock. To qualify, a corporation must engage in an active trade or business, meeting a stringent “80 percent

Overview of Apportionment and Why It Matters Apportionment is the method by which multistate businesses divide their income among states for corporate income and franchise tax purposes. It determines how much of the company’s overall tax base each state may tax. Although laypeople often view apportionment as a simple percentage calculation, the reality is that

Understanding the Distribution Waterfall in Real Estate Funds A distribution waterfall is the structured order in which cash flows from a real estate fund are allocated among investors and the sponsor. It specifies who gets paid, when they get paid, and how much, all based on negotiated economic rights embedded in the governing documents. In

Clarify What “Change of Control” Actually Means in Your Agreement In senior credit facilities, the definition of a “Change of Control” is not a mere formality. It is a negotiated construct that can be broader, narrower, or differently sequenced than corporate law concepts or stock exchange rules. A typical definition may include transfers of voting

Understanding the Excess Business Loss Limitation (IRC § 461(l)) Excess business loss rules under IRC § 461(l) restrict the amount of net business losses that a noncorporate taxpayer may use to offset nonbusiness income in a given year. The law aggregates all trades or businesses and compares total deductions to total gross income and gains

What Qualified Small Business Stock Is, and Why It Matters Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) refers to stock issued by a domestic C corporation that satisfies a series of requirements under Internal Revenue Code § 1202. When those conditions are met, individual investors may exclude up to 100 percent of the gain on sale, subject

Understanding the Role of a Management Agreement in a Nonprofit Subsidiary Structure Establishing a nonprofit subsidiary can be a prudent way to manage risk, segregate programs, or comply with regulatory requirements. However, once the subsidiary exists, the parent organization frequently wishes to centralize administrative, financial, and operational functions for efficiency. A well-drafted management agreement is

Tax-free reorganizations occupy a pivotal place in corporate law and federal taxation. Properly structured, these transactions can allow corporations and their shareholders to combine, separate, or realign businesses without immediate recognition of gain. However, “tax-free” is not a casual descriptor. It is a technical conclusion that rests on precise statutory pathways, strict regulatory doctrines, and

Understanding Private Annuities and Why They Can Defer Estate Tax Liability A private annuity is an agreement in which a property owner (the annuitant) transfers assets to a private party (often a child, family entity, or an intentionally defective grantor trust) in exchange for that party’s unsecured promise to make periodic payments for the annuitant’s

Defining a Matching Gift Program and Why “Simple” Is Not Simple Corporate charitable matching gift programs appear straightforward: an employer agrees to match employee donations to eligible nonprofits up to a set cap. However, that apparent simplicity hides a dense network of legal, tax, accounting, employment, and privacy considerations that vary by jurisdiction and program

Recognize When Adequate Assurance Is Appropriate Under the UCC Under Uniform Commercial Code section 2-609, a party that has reasonable grounds for insecurity about the other party’s performance may demand adequate assurance and may suspend its own performance if commercially reasonable. The threshold question is not academic. It is the foundation of whether your demand

Why Earn-Outs Demand Rigorous Legal Drafting Earn-out provisions are frequently described as bridges over valuation gaps, but in practice they are complex, high-stakes contracts that reallocate risk, control, and value long after closing. As an attorney and CPA, I find that many parties underestimate how the earn-out embeds ongoing commercial and accounting judgments into a

Understanding What Constitutes an Alternative Trading System Alternative Trading Systems are trading venues operated by registered broker-dealers that bring together multiple buyers and sellers of securities but do not set rules governing subscribers beyond the conduct of their trading on the system. In practical terms, an ATS can look like a “dark pool,” a crossing

Defining Earnings and Profits: The Foundation for Dividend Determinations Earnings and Profits (E&P) is a tax concept, not a book or GAAP concept. It measures a corporation’s capacity to make distributions to shareholders without impairing capital. For purposes of dividend determinations under Section 316, a distribution is a dividend to the extent of a corporation’s