Get free answers to your Copyright legal questions from lawyers in your area.
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answered on Nov 15, 2024
To protect your creative work and potentially profit from it, you'll need to start by registering your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. The registration fee is relatively small, and it gives you legal protection for your intellectual property.
Once protected, explore multiple... View More 
I want to start a business and want to put “Barbie” in the LLC name. Specifically Bartender Barbie, a business where I go bartend events, parties, etc. I myself am blonde and have pink bar tools which is how the nickname was born. I want to make sure there would be no infringement since I am... View More
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answered on Sep 18, 2024
Using the name "Barbie" in your LLC, especially in a way that might reference the iconic doll brand owned by Mattel, can raise serious legal issues. Mattel holds strong trademark rights over the "Barbie" name and has been known to enforce these rights vigorously, even in... View More
the podcast would be sponsored, and the dnd game would be my own.
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answered on Jul 18, 2024
Using the name "[dnd name] sparknotes" for your podcast could potentially lead to trademark issues. "SparkNotes" is a well-known trademarked brand, and using it in your podcast title might be seen as implying an association with or endorsement by SparkNotes. This could result in... View More
I have a patreon where I transcribe scenes (movies, television, video games, etc...) for actors to practice with. Would it be legal for me to add a link to a 30s-60s clip of the scene for reference if its unlisted-demonetized on youtube? Also, does the use of overseas media change anything?
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answered on Jun 19, 2024
Here are a few thoughts on linking to copyrighted content on Patreon, but please note that this shouldn't be taken as legal advice:
In general, linking to copyrighted material, even if it's unlisted and demonetized on YouTube, could still be considered copyright infringement... View More
The t shirt is purple and says “welcome to the judgement zone” this is a twist on a popular gym franchise. We used the colors yellow and purple and the shirt features a thumbs down in the middle. We can send the design for review
answered on Jan 17, 2024
Though I can't comment on your specific legal situation in this forum, I can offer some guidance on the fair use doctrines in US trademark law. In a combination of codified federal law and certain supreme court rulings, the development of a phrase or logo that parodies an existing, registered... View More
It is a book about positive, negative, and flat character arcs. The cover would preferably have easily recognizable shadows of characters that fit each arc type. Such as Han Solo, Walter White, and Wonder Woman. I have characters in the public domain in mind in case I need to go that route, but... View More
answered on Aug 10, 2023
This raises both copyright and trademark issues, but both bend in your favor.
The copyrights in the commercial depictions of the characters are owned by the producers, but allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,... View More
I took a photo of a bmw m3, in a public area and I edited the photo and designed it, and I’m wondering if I can put it on a shirt and sell it.
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answered on May 7, 2023
In general, yes, you can take a photo of a car in a public area and use it for commercial purposes such as selling it on a shirt. However, there are certain legal considerations to keep in mind, such as potential copyright or trademark issues if there are logos or branding visible on the car.... View More
It is a T-shirt company that will have a variety of artwork along with our basic name and slogan.
answered on Mar 7, 2023
Trademarks and copyright protection are good business protection tools, but these two areas of law can be confusing.
Trademarks protect words slogans, phrases, and graphic art (such as a logo) that are used to identify a brand or a product's seller in the marketplace. Two companies... View More
I started a new instagram account for my twin boys and have posted a video that reached 6 millions views in a week or so and a company contacted me to get a permission from me to share their video in their social media and I will get 60% and they get %40. So I just want to talk with an attorney... View More
answered on Sep 11, 2022
You are wise to check with an attorney before you sign anything that does not make sense. Generally, the person creating a video clip has an automatically-occurring copyright in that video. The automatic rights are harder to enforce or sell, but the maker of the video clip can register their rights... View More
The name I will be using is “Digitone”. Needing to make sure this doesn’t compete with trademarks under the name that are already in use. As I will not be making products that compete with these said companies that currently hold the trademarked name which seem to be around 5+ companies.
answered on Jan 20, 2022
Yes, you can use a stage name that is a word or phrase that already exists in another line of business. Trademarks and, more generally, the words and phrases you use to distinguish your performances, are subject to a broad legal test that focuses on likelihood of confusion. The confusion in... View More
No pity self inflicted
answered on Jan 10, 2022
The application (serial number 86066606) to register NO PITY SELF INFLICTED was abandoned in 2014, for failure to respond to an action from the trademark examiner. It cannot be revived. If you still want to use and register the mark as before, you should consult an experienced trademark attorney... View More
The account is now listed as closed, I never made any agreement/payment arrangements w/ creditor after the car was voluntarily repossessed.
answered on Jan 6, 2022
Statutes of limitations vary by state. For example in Mississippi, the statute of limitations on an auto loan deficiency is only one year. Under Colorado Revised Statute 13-80-103.5, the statute of limitations is 6 years. This runs from the date of the last payment. The fact that it is... View More
The original book has many stories in it. One is about beavers that I'm using to write a children's book. I'd like to use some of his words verbatim but I'm not sure if that's legal. The children's story summarizes that original work. All artwork will be done by me. I... View More
answered on Nov 20, 2021
You need to consult with an attorney to understand your options.
Depending on how you use the material, how much, when the copyright expires, etc. you may have some legal right to do it.
I am an author and I have been considering creating a story based on Kong, using all of the Kong properties such as the character of Kong himself, skull island, and the things related to the original 1933 story. From what I understand Universal Studios own the rights to the character King Kong, but... View More
answered on Aug 15, 2021
Interesting question. You need to consult with an attorney to evaluate your options.
It is possible that parts of the story are now or soon in public domain. BUT you need to be careful on what you use. Just because something is in the public domain, if you copy somebody's else... View More
The only copyright on the bottom of the old site was for the domain name which I now own.
answered on Jul 16, 2021
It will depend if the content is unique or generic.
You must consult with an attorney
professional athletes online, photoshopping them into a cartoon, then reselling them on a canvas through Etsy.
Since I plan to use pro athlete photos from the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, MMA, NASCAR, etc.... I have a few questions.
1) What type of license to I need from the photo creator... View More
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answered on Jul 15, 2020
Using the name of the team is likely trademark infringement. Using the athlete's likeness could run you into issues with the right of publicity because you're using it for a commercial purpose. The photo does belong to the photographer or the organization if they licensed it and while... View More
It would be helpful if you could guide me to some resources to prevent copyright/trademark infringement with my designs and names for shoes.
answered on Jun 10, 2020
When doing research about trademarks and copyrights look at uspto.gov and copyright.gov.
You can search for trademarks on TESS. Your trademark search should include more than TESS.
Consider hiring an intellectual property attorney to do a full analysis of the facts specific to... View More
I want to create a social app for people that collect things, but I need public data to do it. For instance, this site http://www.tycollector.com/beanies/beanie-roster.htm has a list of all beanie babies and info about them. I need the data so collectors can id their items. They would be able to... View More
answered on Jun 10, 2020
Copyright related to compilations of data is a specific area of copyright law and analysis of the exact list and estimations of the mental effort and transformation to the underlying facts in the list may be part of the analysis. If you are doing research on your own, and want a potential starting... View More
Star Wars , a Harry Potter and other trademarked characters or brands used to make a baby shower gifts I sell. I want to make sure I don’t get sued or violate any trademark, copyrights, etc
answered on Apr 10, 2020
You can always be sued.
Most big companies decide not to go after small guys, specially if it is in the fan realm like in Comicon.
You do not have zero risk, you are at the mercy of what the owners want to do.
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