You can find out if someone owns a live trademark on "Philadelphia University" by searching the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Electronic Search System. Pennsylvania also has a state trademark registration system, so search there also. If someone owns the... View More

Absent (a) an employee-employer relationship or (b) a written agreement, signed by both parties, describing the photographs as works "made for hire," photographers retain the entire copyright interest in their works. Depending on the creative contribution of the subject, there is an... View More

If you are going to sell goods based on the Georgia Bulldogs logo, only the University of Georgia's IP management department will be able to decide if you will get in trouble or not. Modifying a copyrighted image for your own use is copyright infringement. Modifying a logo is also almost... View More

Yes, this is copyright infringement. If you do not have permission from the owner of those images to post them on your own website, you would be liable for copyright infringement. Attributing credit to the authors of those images does not absolve you of liability for copyright infringement.... View More

If your firearm rights have never been revoked and you have obtained the appropriate permits for ownership, you may own a firearm. If you live with your husband and your firearm is in your home, car, or somewhere your husband has access, your husband is in constructive possession of that firearm... View More

Federal copyright protection attaches to an original work of authorship from the moment it becomes fixed in a tangible medium of expression. GIF files depicting some sequence of visuals would almost certainly qualify for federal copyright protection if they contain at least some tiny bit of... View More

To answer your question directly: No, it would not be legal to use screenshots and game images found online when writing for your video game news/blog site.

If you're going to repost screenshots of images created by video game publishers without their permission, you are opening up... View More

Religious symbols are not necessarily free of copyright protection. If the image you found online was created by an artist, and has some very minimal level of creativity applied to the work, that artist was granted copyright protection, even if the underlying symbol is in the public domain or... View More

It's unclear from your post whether you created this file or you're reusing a file that someone else created. The moment an author creates something new with some degree of creative input, that work is afforded copyright protection. While there are many benefits to registering work with... View More

If you're going to allow users to post potentially infringing material, you should become familiar with the DMCA takedown process and register a DMCA takedown agent with the U.S. Copyright Office. Qualifying for the DMCA safe harbor would shift the concerns of copyright infringement from you... View More

You've raised a lot of issues in your question and a comprehensive answer can't really be provided without more details. For the following general overview of the law, I'll assume:

(a) there are no written agreements between you and the WW2 vet or the WW2 vet's family;... View More

I will not speak to patent protection, as that's outside of my practice area. Copyright law will protect the expression of your ideas or rules, that is, the creative organization of words used to write the rules, but not the underlying ideas or rules themselves. Trademark law will protect... View More

Are you doing a simultaneous exchange? If not, you should be working with a qualified intermediary.

If you're using a qualified intermediary for this like kind exchange, consult with them. A 1031 exchange is between you and the IRS, affecting only your personal or business income tax... View More

If you're licensing the toys for that use, of course you can.

A non-exhaustive list of some potential issues: trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, copyright infringement, misappropriation of likeness.

Receiving the express written permission of the game developer, to do exactly what you intend to do, in an expertly drafted license... View More

(1) Contact 2-3 attorneys to find one you trust and with whom you can establish a good working relationship.

(2) Have that attorney evaluate the viability of your claim and estimate the costs of taking Apple to court.

(3) Hire that attorney.

(4) Listen to their advice.... View More

If you took the picture, no one would not be able to obtain the copyright in that image unless you sold it to them or someone else who then sold it to them.

1. Is it legal to use cartoon likenesses of famous/living American politicians or Hollywood actors in a video game? (artwork is original, my own)

It's certainly legal to do this *with the permission* of the person, or the permission of whoever may own the rights to their image and... View More

The due diligence fee compensates the homeowner for taking their home off the market and giving you exclusive access to do research on the home. If the seller took their home off the market and allowed you to inspect it, that's what the DD fee is for, you're not entitled to get it back... View More

A builder can sell a house without paying the subs. The subs recourse is to sue the builder, and there is a powerful statutory mechanism for doing that. You're already aware of it: filing a lien and then enforcing the lien.

If you're a sub, you need to look into filing a claim... View More