Latest & Greatest – Texas State Directory

Published by Texas State Directory Press, Inc.

JK 4830 .T4

Have you ever been curious about how the legislative branch in Texas works? Are you interested in learning more about our state’s lawmakers and the people who make up the state’s three branches of government as well as the agencies, boards, and commissions? If so, then we recommend that you have a look at the Texas State Directory and its companions, Texas Legislative Handbook and Texas Legislative Guide. Published by Texas State Directory Press, Inc., Texas State Directory is the go-to source for information about Texas government. In fact, its subtitle is “The Comprehensive Guide to the Decision-Makers in Texas Government.” Now in its 60th edition, Texas State Directory is divided into five sections: the State Section, the County Section, the City Section, the Federal Section, and the Reference Section. As you would expect, the State Section covers every branch of state government and has information about elected and appointed officials. The County and City Sections contain detailed information about county public officials and the elected officials in the incorporated cities, respectively. The Federal Section provides information about the Texans who represent the State in the federal government, including United States Senators, members of the United States House of Representatives, and Federal Circuit and District Judges. The Reference Section is where you can find names and addresses associated with the two main political parties, some Texas facts, and qualifications for office, among other things.

Texas Legislative Handbook is a handy pocket guide featuring photographs and useful information about our state senators and representatives, addresses and telephone numbers for the Texas delegation of the 115th United States Congress, and the names of those members who comprise the various Senate and House Standing Committees. Of interest as well are the Senate and House seating charts and the Senate and House district maps.

The last of this trio of governmental resources is the Texas Legislative Guide: A Guide to the Texas Legislative Process. This volume is separated into four principal sections. After providing a brief historical synopsis of the early Texas legislatures, the first section addresses the powers granted to the legislature and how the legislature is structured and how it operates. The second section of the book delves into the legislative process and walks the reader through the various stages from the initial preparation and reading of a bill to its enrollment and ultimate signing (or vetoing) by the governor. The third section lays out the responsibilities, immunities, and restrictions of the legislator and describes the three libraries located within the capitol complex. Political parties, administrative agencies, and interest groups are discussed in the fourth section as are the public’s participation in the legislative process and the role of the press.

Be sure to ask for the Texas State Directory at the reference desk.

Latest & Greatest – The Intellectual Property Handbook: A Practical Guide for Franchise, Business, and IP Counsel

Edited by Christopher P. Bussert and James R. Sims III

Published by American Bar Association Forum on Franchising and Section of Intellectual Property Law

KF 2979 .I4315 2016

Written for non-IP specialists, The Intellectual Property Handbook: A Practical Guide for Franchise, Business, and IP Counsel provides a substantive and practical overview of the most common intellectual property issues, including trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, cyber law, and social media issues. Besides describing the federal registration process, the authors explain basic trademark principles, everything from forms and types to the strength of the trademark and address the issues to consider when choosing a trademark. Equally important is the discussion of how to protect those rights and the types of legal actions to take to enforce those rights. In addition to highlighting domestic trademarks, the authors also cover domain names and trademarks on the Internet. Look for a discussion of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy adopted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

Interested in copyright? The authors devote an entire chapter to the topic and define subject matter that is copyrightable, detail the rights granted by copyright, navigate the waters of the registration process, and address the issue of infringement.

Looking for information on patents? The authors have got you covered there as well. They explain what a patent is and what can be patented and help you with the patent application process. The authors also offer some patent protection strategies and enforcement remedies.

The chapter on trade secrets is full of useful information, such as what a trade secret is, its definitional elements, the steps to be taken to protect the trade secret, and the remedies available should the trade secret be misappropriated.

Lastly, the authors discuss data privacy and security, cloud computing, and social media and the IP concerns that may arise during the use of social networking services, including issues relating to trademark, copyright, personal information, and employee information.

Latest & Greatest - Continuing Legal Education Resources

Have you checked out our CLEs Lately? If not, you should. Harris County Law Library is home to hundreds of volumes of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) coursebooks published annually by the State Bar of Texas. These resources are often overlooked as a form of research, but they can provide valuable insights into a particular area of law. They typically include legislative updates, focused discussions regarding specific issues, court trends, and recent case law developments. The articles are written by experienced attorneys who are recognized experts in their field and regularly practice in that area.

The library collects CLE materials for many subject areas, including family law, wills, trusts, & probate, employment law, litigation, real estate law, criminal law, and much more. Just look at our catalog to see what we have. Coursebooks usually hit the shelves at the beginning of the year following the year in which they are published. This means that you can now find 2016 course materials in our library.

For those of you who may not have visited our library in a while or for those of you who are regular visitors who may not have noticed, we have rearranged and moved our CLE materials. All CLE resources, including the criminal law coursebooks, are now shelved in one location of the library. Also, in an effort to make the collection more accessible, we have aligned our CLE categories to more closely match those set out by the Texas State Bar and the various law sections comprising the Houston Bar Association. Thus, some of our familiar categories may have a new name. For example, estate planning coursebooks have been moved to a new category: Probate, Estates, & Trusts, and DTPA materials are shelved in the Commercial and Consumer Law section. If you have any trouble locating a particular topic or are wondering whether we have a particular resource, just ask one of our helpful librarians for assistance.

In addition, we have added the tables of contents of the CLE coursebooks to our library catalog. So, if you are looking for a specific presentation or a particular topic, you can now search our catalog to see if we have it. The contents are included on CLEs from 2014 to present.