There are three primary ways that creative works can enter the public domain under federal copyright law:

(1) The artist can expressly waive all rights in the work and effectively donate the work to the public domain;

(2) If the work was created by a government employee in the... View More

What does your contract say?

If your contract assigned the copyright interest in your work to your publisher, then your publisher is absolutely permitted to register works created by you. If your contract isn't explicit about assigning ownership of copyright (but it should be), then... View More

Generally, no.

What types of good will you be marketing? Will you just be advertising goods or will you be fulfilling customer orders, by dropshipping for example? If you're doing more than connecting a customer with a company you may need a license, depending on the industry... View More

What information are you talking about?

Unless the information is libelous, confidential information disclosed by a person or entity prohibited from disclosing that specific information (like an individual's health records being published by a health care provider), or information... View More

Are you saying you're a web designer and you created a website for a pizza place, and someone copied and rebranded that website as Stacia's Gourmet Pizza?

If so, how much of your work was copied? What elements: images, text, html?

Or are you saying that Stacia's... View More

Possibly. Did you take the photo and create the meme? If not, someone else probably had a copyright interest in the image. If you use it without their permission or a valid license, you could be liable for copyright infringement. Making money is not a requirement for copyright infringement.... View More

The USPTO does not compensate patent owners. The USPTO issues patents to inventors and maintains a permanent historical record of all U.S. patent applications. Generally, patent holders can make money from selling the their patented products, selling their interest in the patent, or licensing it... View More

Look to your HoA agreement to determine what the HoA can and cannot ask you to do with respect to your property.

Ideas themselves are not subject to copyright protection, however, the creative expressions of those ideas are protectable. If you're using creative content that was written or spoken by the pastor, then you probably need permission or a license to use his work. Merely crediting the pastor... View More

You were not an employee of this company, so absent a written transfer of rights, you retain the copyright in your work. As to the rest of your questions, an attorney will need to review any communications between you and your friend or his former company to determine what your rights may be.

It can take about a year for a trademark application to be processed. Application processing time depends on what the trademark office does with the specific application; your application could take more or less time.

The cost of a trademark will depend on how many classes of goods or... View More

Fan fiction is generally considered derivative work, which only the original author may lawfully produce. So, you can be sued for producing fan fiction. Actively making money from writing fan fiction merely makes you more of a target for being sued, however, it's not a necessary component to a... View More

If you use the name "Pokemon" or something substantially similar, you may be opening yourself up to liability for trademark infringement.

If you're going to enable others to create Pokemon games and others will be using Pokemon Company International, Inc.'s copyrighted... View More

Contact 2-3 North Carolina attorneys specializing in criminal law, specifically firearms offenses. Many attorneys offer a free consultation to give you an overview of their fee structure and to determine if they can assist you with your legal matter. Be sure to have all the information you have... View More

If you cannot resolve the matter personally, your best bet is to seek the assistance of a professional. A phone call, strongly worded letter, or filing a lawsuit seeking injunctive relief are among the ways an attorney may be able to assist you.

Contact 2-3 North Carolina attorneys... View More

Did you receive an initial response from the USPTO (usually within about three months of your original application)? It can take a year to a year and a half before your trademark registration is completed.

I would encourage you to find out the status of the application you've... View More

There are a few issues raised by your question.

I'll ignore "non copyright version of the song" and address who owns the copyright in a song created by two or more people:

First, you should have a written agreement between you and the producer that expressly assigns... View More

While I am a big fan of Tolkein and gaming, I don't think posting your game online is wise without talking to an attorney first. Whether you potentially infringe on any copyright or trademark interest that Middle-earth Enterprises a/k/a The Saul Zaetz Company (which seems to own the worldwide... View More

Without the permission of Bob Ross's heirs or Bob Ross, Inc. (whichever is the appropriate rights holder), you will almost certainly open yourself up to legal liability if you print images of or produced by Bob Ross for resale.

The answer will depend almost entirely on your lease agreement.