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I am a fan of the band Supertramp, and very inspired by their music, I've been making a game that pays direct homage to them. Here are some of the examples of things I've inserted:
- reference to album art.
- some musical references in the soundtrack, such as a small riff... View More 
answered on Mar 1, 2017
This question is probably too fact-specific for an attorney to be able to give you a clear answer without seeing the game. That being said, it is a dangerous strategy to rely on fair use in a questionable scenario. Fair use is a defense to a lawsuit, which means that you're already in court... View More
The loan was done back in 2015
answered on Mar 1, 2017
If your husband is a NC resident and no longer travels to Texas, filing suit in NC is really the only way to do that.
We got into a physical fight so I left home for 2 days and when I came back she told me I needed to find somewhere else to live. My boyfriends family has said they can take me and my 3 month old in until I am 16 when I get emancipated. What happens if my mom reports them for kidnapping or something... View More
answered on Feb 28, 2017
I am sorry to hear about your situation and wish you the best on it all working out.
Contact one or all of these three non-profit institutions and tell them about your situation, they should be able to help you:
http://www.wcwc.org/
http://www.interactofwake.org/... View More
We gave up our rights to be trustees because we're out of state. We thought we were assigning them to her as a representative of the firm. The firm is saying our case has left the office with her. She's now working at a real estate office. Something is so fishy!
answered on Feb 28, 2017
Some Trust documents name agents of corporations as their Trustee, instead of individuals, which would have ensured that your Trustee was an employee of the law firm you selected. However, it is much more common that a Trustee is named personally. If a Trustee is named personally in a Trust... View More
I am an artist wishing to sell posters with quotes from Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations". However, I would like to use the wording from a translation published in 2003. Is it legal for me to do this without compensating the publisher or translator?
answered on Feb 25, 2017
There are two issues here: (1) derivative work of something in the public domain, and (2) whether a short phrase or quote is even subject to copyright protection.
(1) If an original work enters the public domain, this does not cover derivative or subsequent works based on that original... View More
Lets say i take this picture: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tecumseh02.jpg
And trace over it to make my own copy for a video. If i show my copy in the video, BUT i give credit to the original artist/copyright holder, will i get in any legal trouble?
answered on Feb 24, 2017
All copyrightable works published before 1923 are now in the public domain. If the version of this image that you're tracing was published before 1923, you can legally do almost anything you want with it.
I have a brochure I made in 1998 I only have the one copy that I mailed myself to protect the work. I want to update it but don't want to lose any protection I might have by opening the envelope. Is it protecting me, and thus needs to remain unopened, or is that an urban myth?
answered on Feb 24, 2017
This is an urban myth. Original creative works receive copyright protection as soon as they are created in some retrievable form, that is, when they're written or printed. Mailing yourself the work does nothing to enhance that copyright protection. However, filing for statutory copyright... View More
answered on Feb 22, 2017
Your attorney, or if you do not have one, an attorney familiar with the facts of your specific case is the only person who can answer this.
Aunt wants to pass on executorship, we have a good relationship. Will is 20+years old from when I was much younger.
answered on Feb 22, 2017
I assume, from the wording of your question, that "his daughter" means you.
Your father's will should have a provision regarding how an executor may resign and how a new executor may be appointed. Your father's will may have a successor executor already named, in which... View More
answered on Feb 22, 2017
Not necessarily. "Owner financed" means that you would make monthly mortgage payments to the owner of the home instead of taking out a loan from a bank to pay the entire sum to the owner. You can negotiate with the party financing the transaction to determine what, if any, down payment... View More
I was employed by a destination marketing organization. I was terminated because I believe they wanted to hire someone who required a much lower salary, but they blamed performance. I did not underperform, in fact, much of what I accomplished there is still benefiting them. For example, I wrote an... View More
answered on Feb 22, 2017
I'm only going to address the portion of your question relating to copyright law, that is: can your former employer legally publish your article without crediting you? Yes, almost certainly.
This is known as "work for hire." In the case of a work made for hire, copyright law... View More
answered on Feb 22, 2017
I'm not sure what you're asking exactly. You'd like to rent out the physical printed and framed art to customers in your physical store? Just a single image or would you like to print and frame multiple copies? Is there a contract through the Etsy terms of service or with the... View More
Hi. I make free drumkits and post them to YouTube for producers to download and use in the studio. Now someone has taken my kit and reuploaded it to YouTube. This person has taken the same image I used in the video's background and changed it a little. When I downloaded the kit it was the same... View More
answered on Feb 22, 2017
YouTube has a user-friendly copyright management platform called Content ID. You can file a copyright complaint against the YouTube user here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2807622?hl=en&ref_topic=2778544
If you feel uncomfortable initiating this legal process on your own,... View More
If I fail to pay this fee given from Foodstock UK Ltd of over £800 within 14 days they threaten to up the charge to over £2000. I believed the image to be in free circulation and copied it from Amazon. Do I respond to this aggressive letter? (I have obviously removed the image in question) Please... View More
answered on Feb 22, 2017
The best course of action will depend on a number of factors, but primarily:
Are you located in the UK or in the US?
Is the demand letter from a law firm or the company who owns the rights to the image and is that law firm or company based in the same country as you?
answered on Feb 10, 2017
Federal copyright law preempts all state copyright law (so long as the state law protects rights equivalent to the exclusive rights protected by federal copyright law). That means if there is a federal copyright law applicable to a given situation, it doesn't matter if there is also a state... View More
answered on Feb 9, 2017
These are two different things with no overlapping power.
Making a durable power of attorney ensures that someone you trust (“an agent”) will be able handle the many practical, financial tasks which arise if you should become incapacitated. A durable power of attorney is designed to... View More
answered on Feb 9, 2017
These are two different things with no overlapping power.
Making a durable power of attorney ensures that someone you trust (“an agent”) will be able handle the many practical, financial tasks which arise if you should become incapacitated. A durable power of attorney is designed to... View More
I'm looking to start a clothing/skateboarding company. I came up with the name of "Scythe" , or maby "Scythe Skateboards". But I looked online and found that there's a musical band called "SCYTHE", apparently they trademarked it like a year or 2 ago. But I in... View More
answered on Feb 9, 2017
The success of a trademark infringement lawsuit depends on whether the defendant's use causes a likelihood of confusion in the average consumer.
The U.S. Patent Office explains on its website:
Generally, the court will consider evidence addressing various factors to determine... View More
answered on Feb 9, 2017
The process to trademark a name or logo, as well as other informational resources, can be found at: https://www.uspto.gov/trademark
We asked an artist who was a friend to help w/ art for a char of a fake species we're designing. My bestie offered to do an art trade for the art. Since the artist was a friend of ours she offered to just do the art for free instead. Her, my BF and bestie all collab'd on the art. He had a... View More
answered on Feb 9, 2017
You haven't asked a question, but I assume you'd like to know whether your friend can post this work online and would like to know who owns the work.
17 USC 101 defines a "joint work" as a "work prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their... View More
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