Archive for the ‘Copyright, Trademark, Intellectual Property’ Category
PRIVATE OR SOCIAL?
Employee Privacy on Social Media California law prohibits employer access to the personal social media accounts of its employees. “Social media” is defined as “an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or Internet […]
THE ANNALS OF COPYRIGHT NO. 8
KEEP YOUR CREATIONS Register Your Valuable Promotional Material with the Copyright Office Promotion and advertising are important parts of the budget of any business, whether for-profit or non-profit. In order to bring in customers, clients, and donors, it is imperative to create and hone your promotional efforts for your target public. Most large companies with […]
THE ANNALS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY NUMBER 2
What is a Trade Secret? In our blog, “What is Intellectual Property?”, we identified several kinds of intellectual property, i.e., products created through one’s creativity and intellect, that others may not use without permission. One of those is trade secrets. The most famous example is the Coca-Cola formula, maintained as a trade secret since its […]
THE ANNALS OF COPYRIGHT NUMBER 7
Copyright Owners “Make Some Noise” for Infringement of Their Songs Protecting your own copyrights is of paramount importance. See “Annals of Copyright Number 2.” Vigilance in avoiding violations of others’ copyrights is equally necessary to prevent expensive legal disputes. See “The Annals of Copyright Number 3”. Monster Energy has learned this the hard way in […]
THE ANNALS OF COPYRIGHT NUMBER 6
Should You Register Your Copyrighted Work? Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office gives the copyright holder the right to file a lawsuit for infringement against an unauthorized user of that work. Title 17 United States Code section 411(a). It also enables the copyright holder to claim and possibly win actual or statutory damages (set amounts […]
THE ANNALS OF TRADEMARK NUMBER 3
Selecting a Trademark Part 2 Distinctiveness In our last trademark blog, we described steps for a prudent business owner to take in choosing a mark that will avoid conflict with existing marks. The second critical consideration is choosing a mark sufficiently “distinctive” from your product or service to permit its registration or protection. An understandable […]
THE ANNALS OF TRADEMARK NUMBER 2
Selecting a Mark Part 1 How do you choose a trademark (for products) or service mark (for services)? Choosing an enforceable mark or one that can be registered with the government is not as simple as just picking a word, icon or phrase that you like. Careful research and planning are required to confirm your […]
THE ANNALS OF TRADEMARK NUMBER 1
What is a Trademark? Trademark can be confused with copyright. As we have explained in recent blogs, a copyright protects works that one creates. A trademark is a word, group of words, symbol or logo a person or company uses to distinguish their products from those of others. A word, symbol, etc. used to distinguish […]
THE ANNALS OF COPYRIGHT NUMBER 5
Fair Use Definition and Defense “Fair Use” is the most prevalent defense against copyright infringement and possibly the most misunderstood. It is a subject all in itself. Simply stated, if a use is “fair use,” it allows you to use someone else’s creation in a particular way without liability for copyright infringement. However, there is […]
THE ANNALS OF COPYRIGHT NUMBER 4
Defenses to Copyright Infringement As in any other sort of civil lawsuit, the alleged wrongdoer can prevail in a copyright infringement claim by asserting a valid defense. Common defenses include: 1. Lack of Copyright Notice: Under U.S. law before March 1, 1989, copyright owners were required to put a copyright notice on their works. The […]