How do I keep this from happening again?

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by your question. If what you are saying is that you had a proper and full clearance search conducted and a...

Is there a standard contract I could use to create an agreement between my company, an LLC, and the artist?

The agreement you are referring to is called a work-for-hire / assignment agreement. Very often this language will be part of a broader agreement...

What is the next step to protecting my recipe?

The only way you can protect a recipe save for some rare cases would be as a trade secret. And the most important aspect of that is keeping it...

Maybe, but not necessarily. The context will matter greatly and the nature of the term as well. For example, I could not get away with using...

Want to use the phrase " the world's most comfortable shirt " in my marketing collateral. Can I use this without being sued

You can say that. It is laudatory and as such would not qualify for trademark protection as a tagline or slogan, which means that anyone is really...

Does the layout designer of a book own any rights in the book absent an agreement?

As noted, the facts greatly matter here, but if her contributions were merely logistic and functional things that is not creative expression then...

What should I do in the present case? Can I publicly reveal the conversation I had by email?

You need to discuss the details of all of this with legal counsel. A private company has no authority to make you shut down. In the US, typically...

Can I legally print and sell my shirts with the verbage Addicted2?

You would need to clear the mark first, but if you are already certain that there is another company playing in the same sandbox you might just...

Can I quote a statement made in public on a t-shirt if I am making a parody of it?

In agree with counsel, I just don't think you have any problems using this phrase on shirts and selling them. Short phrases are not subject to...

Can I open my cafe without warring, since the guy is in Ukraine? Please advise

So, if the Uk. operator had no filing here and was not doing any business here then it would not make a difference. The fact that they have...