Blackletter

On today’s episode, Tom Dunlap chats with Larry Sharpe about his time in the military, how he became an entrepreneur, and some of his life lessons.  

Looking for guidance as a young man, Larry joined the military and learned invaluable skills he has carried over to other fields. He tells the story of how he launched his entrepreneurial career, as well as the lessons he learned the hard way through his company. Now the managing director at Neo Sage Group, Larry coaches, trains and consults leaders in how to better impact their team.

On today’s Monday Minutes, Tom discusses the recent FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone over the age of 16. The Army and companies can now require their employees to get the vaccine. Prior to the FDA approval, companies could mandate the vaccine under the emergency use act. In response to this, states are now passing bills that grant vaccination status the same protection that race, gender, religion receive. Listen to the episode to hear which state has already passed protection for vaccination status.

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On this episode, Tom discusses what a force majeure is and why it is relevant to the pandemic. A force majeure is a provision in a contract that comes into effect when something significant happens such as earthquakes, floods, labor shortages, strikes, and sometimes—pandemics. As the Delta variant sweeps across the country, force majeure clauses may become enacted. Tom covers what the contract would need to specify in order for the contract to be delayed or broken under the clause. He dives into what the courts will look for in order for the force majeure clause to be used, as well as provides examples.

On this episode, Tom discusses an important topic: the FDA’s vaccine approval process. The typical vaccine approval process takes about 10-12 months, and the coronavirus vaccines are no different. Tom covers what goes into the approval process and the timeframe of each step. The first stage is research and development, then three phases of clinical trials, which include thousands of administered vaccines, placebos etc. After this, there is a fourth phase and then approval.

On today’s episode, Tom Dunlap chats with Kristina Bouweiri about how she transformed her business, Reston Limousine, during Covid.  During a time in which everyone was mandated to stay at home, Kristina’s busses and limousines became obsolete overnight. Kristina then pivoted her business to food delivery, organ transplant transportation, as well as transporting Covid-positive patients to quarantine. Since then, her business has improved and only continued to improve. 

On this episode, Tom discusses how recently Apple Inc. went to the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board to stop a new trademark by Mattel Inc., owner of the game Apples to Apples. This new trademark would be for entertainment services, such as an online game and potentially, a children’s TV show. Tom covers what Apple Inc. specifically takes issue with, as well as shares his thoughts on how the case will go down.

On today’s episode, Tom discusses the extension of the student loan forbearance to January 31st 2022. The Biden, and in part Trump, administration has given $110 billion in student loan forgiveness. Student loan borrowers have been saving about $5 billion a month in relief. Listen to the Monday Minutes to hear more about it.

Today, Tom Dunlap chats with Ingrid Vanderveldt who was the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Dell for many years, before becoming the founder and current CEO of Empowering a Billion Women, an organization dedicated to creating 100 billion dollars of global market impact by 2030 through empowering women entrepreneurs, leaders and advocates. Listen as they discuss women in the COVID world, changing minds and businesses, her goal for social and economic impact and serving qualified men and women.

For today’s Monday Minutes, Tom discusses the world’s first ever patent issued to a machine. South Africa issued a patent to an AI inventor named Dabus. The inventor of Dabus, Steven Thaler from Imagination Engines filed the patent originally in the US and the UK, before being rejected. In the US, the patent requires the inventor be an actual person, but said that the patent Thaler filed fits all of the other requirements. The UK IPO said the same, with the only issue being in the inventorship. Listen to the episode to hear Tom delve further into the topic.

For today’s episode, Tom discusses Crocs recent decision to file a trade dress lawsuit against a variety of shoemakers, including Walmart, Sketchers and more. As soon as their design patent expired, which happens often, other companies released their own shoes with the Crocs style. As a response, Crocs filed a trade dress claim, which allows for protection if the company can prove certain things such as if the company can identify why the design is unique to them. Listen to the episode to hear Tom explain the trade dress further, including its other qualifiers.