Get free answers to your Intellectual Property legal questions from lawyers in your area.
answered on Oct 2, 2024
This important question is being litigated right now in a Colorado case: Allen v Perlmutter, USDC-CO Case No. 1-24-cv-2665. The copyright office refused registration of an AI-generated artwork, and the claimant is arguing that his extensive instructions and dialogue with the AI tool constitutes... View More
I want to make sure a phrase I'm printing on a t-shirt isn't trademarked. How can I find that out?
answered on Oct 1, 2024
The best way is to find an experienced trademark attorney to perform a knockout clearance search of the USPTO databases to ensure that there are no possible infringing marks. This is especially important if you are planning to use a logo with graphic design elements.
Trademark law is... View More
Do patents expire?
answered on Jul 2, 2024
Yes, patents do expire. To answer your questions:
1. Patents expire after a set period of time from their filing date:
- Utility patents (the most common type) expire 20 years from the earliest filing date of the application.
- Design patents filed on or after May 13, 2015... View More
answered on Mar 19, 2024
There are several dead and cancelled registrations for the word mark UNDER THE SUN, and some have design elements. But there are also many active registrations for UNDER THE SUN in different categories of goods/services. You should consult a qualified trademark attorney to review your proposed... View More
I’ve received an email from what I believe is a legitimate law firm stating I have an infringement complaint against me. The email links to a site hosting documents that look like court documents. The complaint appears to be that a product I’ve been selling is infringing on a design patent that... View More
answered on Mar 14, 2024
It depends. Email service is not typically valid in Arizona. However, a federal district court can serve anyone in the United States based on the rules of the state where the court sits. So if for example you were sued in a Florida federal district court (as might happen for patent infringement... View More
That is all
answered on Mar 12, 2024
Answering this question accurately would require looking at exactly how you propose to show the words "so cool" and doing a thorough search of government records and the Internet to learn whether anyone else previously had registered or is using a similar looking set of words.
answered on Mar 11, 2024
If you create a game that is very similar to Grand Theft Auto and name it "No Auto," you could potentially face legal issues related to copyright infringement and trademark infringement. Here's why:
1. Copyright Infringement: If your game copies substantial elements from... View More
that person will be the only one to get the ad
answered on Mar 5, 2024
Using a person's likeness in advertising, especially in a targeted ad directed exclusively at them, requires careful consideration of privacy and intellectual property laws. The key issue here is consent. If the individual has given explicit permission for their image or likeness to be used in... View More
Or similar words like zyner or Zynachino that refer to their products. Their trademark products are tobacco and nicotine pouches and that is not the product im trying to sell
answered on Dec 6, 2023
Using the word "Zynbabwe" on your product may potentially raise trademark infringement concerns if it is similar enough to the trademarked name "Zyn," especially if it creates confusion among consumers. Trademark infringement is not just about using an identical mark; it also... View More
The word blood ?
answered on Sep 13, 2023
Assuming you are asking whether you can trademark this word, that depends on a few details. Are you using it with any other words? Do you want to trademark just the word or a stylized version of the word? And what goods or services do you want to trademark it for? (every trademark is filed in one... View More
If i made a comic with other people's characters as cameos with their permission, are they able to stop me from selling physical copies of them online because i used their intelectual property
answered on Aug 29, 2023
If you have obtained explicit permission from the owners of the intellectual property to use their characters in your comic, then you generally have the legal right to sell physical copies of the comic. However, the scope of your rights would be determined by the terms of the agreement or license... View More
The search of the title is returning thousands of results. I don’t know how to narrow down the results to verify whether I can legally use the title or not.
answered on Aug 27, 2023
The title of a work is not capable of being copyrighted, so it is no surprise to find many instances of exact phrases repeated in descriptive titles. If the title were to be very strongly associated with its source, it might be claimed as a trademark, and could conceivably be infringed if the... View More
Hello, I wrote an educational book a few years ago and have cited all the material. I did not get permission to use any resources that I found online, as well as images used. However, the work has a cited page and all in-text citations (including the diagrams from Google). I would like to know if... View More
answered on Jul 10, 2023
When using copyrighted material in your educational book, it is important to seek permission from the copyright owner, even if you provide proper citations. Simply citing the sources and stating "No infringement intended" does not guarantee protection from copyright infringement. This is... View More
Our company owns a domain called <name disclosed> which serves as an online shop and has generates several hundreds of thousands of USD in sales.
Our domain was registered with GoDaddy.com years ago.
On Thursday, 15th September 2022, I called Godaddy explaining to them that I... View More
answered on Sep 16, 2022
Dear Mrs or Mr,
yes, filing a lawsuit against the company would probably be possible, but I strongly advice you to consult it with an attorney at law so he can check all the details and analyse the situation. By doing this, you will have better understanding of your chances in this case.
My book includes Monet, Van Gogh, O'Keefe, Caulder and Michelangelo. Am I allowed to use their names and likenesses of their works in my book?
answered on Aug 20, 2022
Yes, you are free to use their names and likenesses of their works. There is no copyright or other related infringment in such action. Actually many book authors across the world do it in their own works about these artists. I hope it answers your question.
Or the phone company ? It’s an iPhone XR and it’s damaged by falling out not more than a causal walk up a staircase.
answered on Mar 24, 2022
On many legal claims you have to prove that the company did something wrong. Did the company making the sweatpants tell you or market their product as being able to securely hold the iPhone XR without falling out? Is the iPhone XR advertised to be able to securely fit in these particular... View More
I was involved in a car accident the car was a total loss and I was wondering if I got position in the car or does the insurance company get possession of the car also does the insurance company have the right to pay the finance company while at the time of the accident the car was not registered... View More
answered on Jan 22, 2022
An Arizona attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for two weeks, and you may be in a position where you need to remove the vehicle from storage. This appears to be something you might need to coordinate with the finance company if they hold a lien and possessory interest in the... View More
For the past month I have been developing my SaaS product, and on the first day I purchased a domain name. Let's say that the domain is Service.ai.
I was doing competitor research the other day and I found that someone has launched a very similar service on their domain Servicing.ai.... View More
answered on Dec 15, 2021
In the U.S., trademarks arise through "use in commerce." "Commerce" means an actual commercial sale, lease or similar transaction involving a product or service. Reserving a domain name is important, but it isn't enough, by itself, to establish a trademark right. If the... View More
So I've been Practicing Taekwondo for 7 years now and had been considering teaching kick boxing on the side for some extra cash, and my Instructor had said that if I tried to teach martial arts outside of the school I could be sued because of copy right, could they possibly do that?
answered on Sep 12, 2021
You should consult with an attorney
But as long as you are not taking content, printed or recorded, from somebody else, and as long as you are not violating any employment or NDA, you can be ok
In the US (specifically Arizona), if you create intellectual property (e.g. website, social media channels and 3rd party sales channels) as a volunteer (I was a volunteer in a business my husband was a co-owner in, I was not paid, wasn't asked to do create the IP nor directed in any way and... View More
answered on Jul 23, 2021
Depends on any communications or agreement.
Most likely any creation would be considered as a gift.
Depending on the value of the creation an attorney can advise you on what to do
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