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Florida Copyright Questions & Answers
1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Florida on
Q: Can i sue someone for stealing a shoe design tweaking it and making profit off of it

The perp was Kanye West and one of his yezzy shoe designs

Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Apr 14, 2020

Kanye? No.

You will lose and gain nothing.

Besides, you would have a high burden of proof, and tweaking may have been enough to differentiate it from your design.

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Florida on
Q: Copyright re: teachers reading a book online but posted in a closed platform where students log in?

Violation or no?

Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
answered on Mar 26, 2020

You are asking if this could be a copyright violation? Whether or not the students have to log in probably has little to no significance. The school board should run this by an attorney who specializes in intellectual property.

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Entertainment / Sports for Florida on
Q: can I use the name Ben Hur for a non profit "Art" organisation, for example "Ben Hur Culture Club"?

To represent works of filmmaker and art creators

Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Apr 1, 2020

Better not.

check if somebody, movie company, has any rights to it.

they may decide not to do anything, as in fanclub scenarios, but that does not mean they do not own the rights

www.legalbizglobal.com

Q: I have a copyright on a particular drinking glass design, can I seek legal action if the design is manufactured and sold

I have other designs and I'm debating whether to seek copyright protection or a design patent.

Peter D. Mlynek
Peter D. Mlynek
answered on Dec 18, 2019

Yes, you should be able to seek legal action. Go see an intellectual property litigation attorney.

1 Answer | Asked in Employment Law, Copyright, Business Law and Intellectual Property for Florida on
Q: Can I get sued over pictures of work taken as a subcontractor?

My husband and his brother worked independently for some time. His brother opened a company and my husband kept working with him, never did he sign a w2 or an employment contract. We decided to open our own business and when they asked for my husband to sign a w2, my husband told him he would not... View More

Linda Liang
Linda Liang
answered on Nov 6, 2019

I don't think this is kind of help you can receive on a public forum. In order to do it right, more analysis is needed. You need an attorney to help you to prevent litigation with the right strategy.

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Business Law for Florida on
Q: Can a tow yard refuse to release truck due to power of attorney not having the expiration date written but isnotarized?

Paper was hand written but still notarized. I had all of the money for the fees.

Bruce Alexander Minnick
Bruce Alexander Minnick
answered on Nov 4, 2019

Unless you are the owner--and can prove it--the tow yard will not release the car to you unless you have some other reliable documentation that they could use later if it turns out the owner did not authorize you to pick it up. Re-do the POA correctly.

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Florida on
Q: Copyrights of public places. Coloring book of public places.

Good day!

I'm working on coloring book for my neighborhood.

If I make a photo of public place and then make a coloring book by sketching the photos then which copyrights I should wary about?

Is it "transformative" art or not?

How I can check the... View More

Enrico Schaefer
Enrico Schaefer
answered on Oct 25, 2019

A building itself is not a copyrighted work. A picture or painting of a building is fixed in tangible form, and becomes copyrightable. There are possible trademark issue if a building is part of a mark (think statute of liberty and liberty mutual). The TM issue does not seem to apply to your book... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property and Patents (Intellectual Property) for Florida on
Q: Does Victor Staats still own these patents?
Peter D. Mlynek
Peter D. Mlynek
answered on Oct 23, 2019

I don't know which patents you are referring to, but my cursory search shows that there are about 5 patents that list Victor Staats as the inventor. 4 of these have expired due to their age, and 1 expired because a maintenance fee was not paid. There are no enforceable patents for Victor... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Florida on
Q: Hi, Can someone take trademark one of my copyrighted design? Thank you
Bharath Konda
Bharath Konda
answered on Oct 16, 2019

You can trademark your copyrighted design by incorporating this design on goods and/ or services in interstate commerce. Whether you will be awarded a trademark depends on prior use of the same or similar mark. To determine the availability you need a full trademark search of all databases. If you... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Business Law, Contracts, Consumer Law and Copyright for Florida on
Q: If you break the terms of service of Google Play Store (concerning Android), and further, Apple (concerning iphone)...

If you break the terms of service of Apple or Google Play Store, and it specifically states in the terms of service,

"If you break any term of this agreement, your right under this license automatically terminates without notice to you",

does that mean that you can never... View More

Bruce Alexander Minnick
Bruce Alexander Minnick
answered on Oct 14, 2019

This is not a legal question. Moreover, while lawyers are very intelligent and highly trained professionals--we are not soothsayers; nor do we do crystal balls. Therefore, I am constrained by a fundamental law of the universe (no one can foretell the future) and unable to opine on your current... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Florida on
Q: A teacher wants to place a .pdf of an article he cowrote in his online course, does he need permission of the coauthor?

Or is this a copyright violation?

Enrico Schaefer
Enrico Schaefer
answered on Oct 4, 2019

I assume there is no written agreement between the authors. The terms of the rights between authors would be implied from the circumstances. These matters are usually about how much risk, rather than absolute answers. The good news is that educational use (commercial; no royalties or license... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Florida on
Q: Can I use the text from public prison records as lyrics?

I have compiled the final statements of executed American prisoners from public prison records online. These statements were spoken by prisoners who are all now deceased, and now are recorded with the rest of the execution information. Is it possible that these are copyrighted in any way? Or can I... View More

Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Sep 11, 2019

There is an inherent copyright owned by the creator, and his/her estate has rights over it.

Check if there was any release signed by them. If there is any specific waiver by the fact they were prisoners. Maybe the prison system has some rights in the copyrights.

Your best bet would...
View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Intellectual Property for Florida on
Q: If I push the boundaries of branding infringement can criminal charges be pursued or just civil damages?

My daughter's original intellectual property (a drawing) was incorporated with the brand of a large organization and applied to a Christmas ornament that can be purchased with $25 'donation' in 2009.

The drawing was presented in partnership with organization, their capitol... View More

Linda Liang
Linda Liang
answered on Sep 4, 2019

Copyright infringement cases are generally civil.

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Traffic Tickets for Florida on
Q: If you get pulled over for driving a vehicle with improper tag and it's not your vehicle, what to expect in court

I borrowed a friend vehicle to go to the laundry mat, I got pulled over and ticketed for the tag on it not belonging to the vehicle, now I have court over ticket. It had a tag on the vehicle but it didn't belong on that vehicle

Linda Liang
Linda Liang
answered on Aug 7, 2019

You are still going to be charged with driving a vehicle without a tag. You can explain that in court and the owner could be cited for that for lending the car to you.

2 Answers | Asked in Copyright, Products Liability and Patents (Intellectual Property) for Florida on
Q: I manufacture a simple/basic toilet seat cover. Is it safe to manufacture without violating any patents.
Peter D. Mlynek
Peter D. Mlynek
answered on Jul 13, 2019

If you are making something that has been around 20+ years, then you very likely will not infringe any patents. After all, that is the idea behind patents: after a patent expires (currently 20 years from the filing date of the patent application), then anyone can use whatever is disclosed in the... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Florida on
Q: If a trademarked name has a "Status710 - Cancelled - Section 8", does this mean it could possibly be available?

Available as in able to be taken and used on my own product, especially on product in an entirely different field of use?

Evelyn Suero
Evelyn Suero
answered on May 24, 2019

A Section 8 Cancellation of a trademark registration occurs when a registrant fails to file a renewal of their trademark registration. However, whether a mark is available for use depends on many factors including whether the mark is currently being used. Cancellation of a trademark registration... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Florida on
Q: i have movies that were downloaded outside the USA and have brought them to the USA to watch on vacation is that illegal

i am not selling them or charging to watch them they are fro personal use and for friends and family to watch

Jason Brooks
Jason Brooks
answered on May 22, 2019

If you downloaded content illegally (i.e. you did not pay for content that should have been paid for), then it is not legal for any use whatsoever. By Law you are supposed to delete the file and any copies you may have made immediately.

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Florida on
Q: I'm looking for an Attorney for Patented/Copyright! The Patent is #4926171, The Copyright is on the wayback machine.

The Copyright is listed as, ( safetytechnologypartners.com 2006 on the "wayback machine "

Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Apr 8, 2019

I suggest you schedule a consultation via phone to understand better your needs.

480 324 6378

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property and Patents (Intellectual Property) for Florida on
Q: Is it possible to patent something ..

for Example . Plant grow tent. If I took the basics of the tent , such as the building part of it and how it’s put together . However I changed the material used and actually used it for something totally different would I be able to patent that or stop other companies from selling the same thing ?

Kevin E. Flynn
PREMIUM
Kevin E. Flynn
answered on Feb 28, 2019

Your short question includes many key questions of patent law.

1) You do not infringe a patent. You infringe one or more specific independent claims (ones that start with no reference to another claim) and possibly some dependent claims (a claim that adds additional limitations to at least...
View More

1 Answer | Asked in Business Law, Copyright and Trademark for Florida on
Q: How do I buy a trademark that is no longer active?

I have the numbers for the trademark from the Justia site.

Jason Brooks
Jason Brooks
answered on Feb 21, 2019

It doesn't work that way. If a trademark is dead or abandoned, you must go through the process re-registering the mark by filing a registration application with the USPTO

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