Get free answers to your Copyright legal questions from lawyers in your area.
I want to trademark "Girl Gang" for a women's sports apparel company, I'm looking to start. It seems to stand as abandoned. What does that mean? Thank you.
Getty Images claims to just be the host(although they are the ones licensing and selling the images) :University of Southern California"image library is the contributor and supposed rights manager.i would be grateful for your help in removing these painful and traumatic images removed as soon... View More 
answered on Jun 4, 2019
A good start would be having an attorney draft a simple but effective “cease and desist” letter, accompanied by a DMCA takedown notice to Getty Images. I would be happy to assist. Shoot me an email and we can discuss: jason@altviewlawgroup.com
Work was done without any contract, client refused to pay. I removed the code I wrote and now am being threatened with a lawsuit. Since there was no contract, it looks as if the code is legally mine under copyright laws. Is this correct?
answered on Apr 17, 2019
Absent a written agreement or other express understanding that the developer would be the owner of the code upon its creation (i.e. some type of work-for-hire language) then you have a good basis for claiming that ownership in the code never exchanged hands because you have not been compensated for... View More
this is a business selling on Amazon. we intend to use other brands logos like apple, for example, to sell our product more.
answered on Feb 18, 2019
Only if you want to risk being sued by the other companies for Trademark Infringement.
How do I protect my idea for a website/app? I don’t want to disclose too much about it—that’s the reason for my asking in the first place—I don’t want a copycat with more resources/startup money than me to steal my idea & make a fortune off of my concept.
The idea, without... View More
answered on Feb 11, 2019
I suggest you have an attorney draft a non-disclosure agreement for you. However if you are pitching it to an investor, some may balk at the idea of signing it.
answered on Jan 16, 2019
Hire an attorney to conduct a prior art search and provide an opinion about whether your design is patentably distinct over the prior art. I recommend you budget about $2,000 for this work. Good luck!
Rooms have film related posters and memorabilia such as a Disney room, a horror room or a Star Wars/si fi room. The question concerns the use of retail available film items to make income as in room rental?
Michael
answered on Jan 2, 2019
Commercial use of copyrighted images qualifies as an IP violation, and thus a license would be needed from the copyright owner for such use. More details are necessary to provide a professional analysis of your issue. The best first step is an Initial Consultation with an Attorney such as myself.... View More
I want to design a logo so would i need all 3
Trademark, copyright, patent
The ranch owner refuses to sign the model release after a verbal agreement was struck prior to the shoot. He wishes to control which pictures I can use and when. He wishes to modify the model release after rejecting the initial release. I took the pictures with my camera. Do I own the copyrights... View More
answered on Oct 28, 2018
Your first mistake was in relying on a "verbal agreement." Verbal agreements are nearly impossible to prove. I have not seen the agreement proposed by the ranch owner, but you should have a short, professional agreement in your file, containing various releases. I handled many cases... View More
I understand that California's law protects employees inventions done on their own time, using their own equipment if unrelated to the employer's business. I'm not clear what constitutes an "invention." Do works of authorship and other copyrightable material count as an... View More
answered on Oct 23, 2018
Well, you are going to have to talk to a California employment attorney to get the best answer. I am not a California attorney, nor an employment attorney, but here are a few points.
(1) You are correct that the trademarks, logos, brand names, sales copies, and like, are likely not... View More
I have interest in potentially claiming this trademark for the purposes of licensing it to video game developers. What steps would I need to take to obtain ownership?
answered on Sep 19, 2018
If you're looking for input from a trademark attorney, the question might be more likely to be picked up by posting it in the Trademark section.
answered on Aug 30, 2018
If you see somebody launch an e-commerce service, and you say, hey, that's a great idea, I'll think that I'll launch a competing e-commerce, then you are correct to worry about intellectual property.
If you write a code that solves a technical problem in a different way, and... View More
college that is tuition and fee free. Can we used free downloadable PDF copies of copyright books for our Bible courses without violating copyright laws?
answered on Sep 1, 2018
I don’t think that this will be possible. You could copy older versions of the Bible (e.g., KJV, RV, ASV), but I suspect that your students already have those. Copying a concordance indexed to one of these Bibles may possibly be OK as well, but not anything more.
Your choices are... View More
Unsure if custom fashion hardware can be patented , unsure if custom zipper pullers can be patented, unsure if religious symbols can be patented.
answered on Jul 11, 2018
Custom zippers can be patented as far as religious symbols it depends on a few factors.
For example: I trademark HappyCamper (just an example) and there's already a taken domain that's happycamper.com, could I get that domain?
answered on Jul 5, 2018
It depends if the party in whom has a domain for it has trademarked a name similar or the exact same.
Hello,
I want to make some arcade like machines and then put those in public places where kids can drop some coins in and play. but here's the problem, the games that I would like to run on those machines are not actual arcade games, those are games released for the gaming consoles... View More
answered on Jun 24, 2018
The owners of the legal rights of those games would probably not take kindly to you infringing on those rights and profiting from it. Their rights are enforceable internationally. Your best bet is to reach out to the owners and ask for permission to do this.
My dog was stolen off of my property, and she is microchipped. Someone has taken her into the animal control to get scanned for microchip and I was contacted by the person who has her that my dog is found and to give him a call, I was contacted by email. But the number he provided is a disconnected... View More
answered on Jun 6, 2018
call the police.
my first trial 40 years ago was a dognapping. i have never heard of one since but the thief should be caught and prosecuted.
I heard characters in Star Wars say the same things but these quotes are such general statements that I can’t quite tell if it’s copyright infringement
answered on Jun 4, 2018
Those are both examples of general statements that are not unique to those characters or to the work in question. Now if your characters had similar names to the other characters or other similarities then there might be copyright infringement.
I have a print and media company and we customize tshirts, caps, coffee mugs and other stuff... I wanted to start taking up orders from a celebrity's fandom for selling customized merchandise online. I will not be using the celeb's photos, official fonts or logos but just use his song... View More
answered on May 31, 2018
Yes, here is a helpful resource that addresses your question:
https://www.thelaw.com/law/are-song-titles-lyrics-protected-by-copyright-or-trademark-law.317/
As far as who to ask for a license to the rights, it would be the music publisher of the song.
It is a one of a kind reproduction of some sort that is not signed and never offered on a canvas. So it clearly is a private collectors item of a famous photo. I could care less about the photo (on a canvas) and want to just sell it off and be rid of it's huge size. I don't even know... View More
answered on May 30, 2018
It all depends on the circumstances of the sale in which you received the print. If it was from the photographer or a legitimate reseller, then you may be able to re-sell it. This is because of the first sale doctrine.
Typically, the first sale doctrine will come into play in these types... View More
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