Get free answers to your Copyright legal questions from lawyers in your area.
I'd like to create a video game set in the Palais Garnier in Paris, but I'm unsure of the copyright laws surrounding such buildings. I've concluded that the exterior of the building, as it is in a public space and was built in the late 1800s, is free use. However, I'd like to... View More 
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answered on Dec 29, 2024
When creating a video game set in the Palais Garnier, you’ll need to consider both architectural and artistic rights. The building itself, having been constructed in the late 1800s, is likely in the public domain, allowing you to recreate the general layout and main auditorium without infringing... View More
answered on Dec 18, 2024
That's a great question. I highly recommend that you hire a competent trademark attorney to run a clearance search before you launch the brand. That search should take approximately 1-3 hours, depending on how many results need to be reviewed. If you get the green light, you should also... View More
answered on May 15, 2024
The short answer is "most likely, yes."
The M*A*S*H trademark is limited to "a comedy television series."
The writers of that TV series will have a copyright for those TV scripts. So, you may not make a derivative story about any of the characters from that TV... View More
is it only through the USPTO TESS and copyright.gov web sites? specifically the costs involved what are they and what would be the timeline of start to completed if everything is successful
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answered on May 8, 2024
Attorneys will be reluctant to quote our fees in a public forum like this. Different attorneys may think that filing and prosecuting a trademark application is easy and should be cheap, or difficult and should be expensive. The USPTO will charge either $250 or $350 per "class" of goods or... View More
Do I need to get a trademark or register it?
answered on Dec 4, 2023
When writing a Children's Book the best protection is the copyright protection for the book. Be sure to once the final version of the book is complete to register the work with the Library of Congress. A copyright is not protected in court without being official registered work. The... View More
There are many online content creators in the finance and investing space. With so much information and so little time, I want to summarize videos and publish them, along with metadata and trend/sentiment analysis, to a website that may be monetized through ads and/or subscription for custom feeds.... View More
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answered on Aug 29, 2023
Summarizing other people's content and monetizing it could potentially expose you to copyright infringement claims under federal law, especially if the summaries capture the essence or key elements of the original work. The Fair Use doctrine allows for limited use of copyrighted material... View More
There are quite a few websites online that have "Royalty free/Copyright free" Images for you to use for commercial purposes with your business. I'm looking to use some of the images for a small business that will produce stickers, Tshirts, Greeting cards etc. Although these websites... View More
answered on Jun 19, 2023
The problem with websites like that are that often times the images are uploaded by users and they just say they are copyright free. I would suggest going with a more reputible source that licenses them so you potentially have recourse if someone claim copyright infringment against you.
Google, I posted on a social media page with intentions just to share my ideas. people asked if they could buy the PDF from me to print their own. I didn’t claim anything as my own and realized afterwards that this could be counted as copy right. Am I going to go to jail over this??? I am having... View More
answered on Jul 14, 2022
You do not go to jail for copyright infringement of this type, if it is even copyright infringement. People making counterfeit DVDs or the like on a massive scale are the ones who go to jail. Whether or not what you copied is even copyrighted or copyrightable is a different story and would require... View More
Some work can be observed, many require mirrors and tricks to find (102 so far). Some are public domain, most are not. The artist can only be understood through deconstruction and reconstruction. At first I thought it was all public domain, before I understood there were loop holes. I now have... View More
answered on Jun 4, 2022
In a nutshell, no. Copyright belongs to the creator/author (or their heirs/assigns), and you are not the creator. You could write a book about it and own the copyright to your book.
For instance, CPK is copyrighted by the Cabbage Patch Kids company. So if someone uses CPKCLAIRE would that be infringement? Specifically the ending of a URL, like blogspot.com/cpkclaire.
Update: In regards to Michael’s answer, CPK is a registered trademark, so if someone uses it with... View More
answered on Jan 13, 2022
No, because you cannot copyright initials or even a signature. But, you can trademark initials and signatures.
The museum acquired the piece in 1941 and declares that the website image is in the public domain with no restriction on use. The item is a cross stitch sampler. I want to create and copyright a pattern for others to use to recreate the sampler. I intend to profit from my use of the likeness of the... View More
answered on Oct 17, 2021
Depends. You should consult with an attorney and make sure you understand the terms and conditions of the museum.
My company's name is INK Therapy, or "IT"
AND the slogan is,"Sit down and deal with IT"
I'm trying to find out if I can use PennyWise's image???
answered on Oct 10, 2021
Basically no, as you would presumably infringe on someone's copyright and also likely a trademark.
I try to make it simple: If you are trying to make money off of someone else's work, there is likely a problem.
So the 2 photos used were under Creative Commons 4.0. The new image I designed aesthetically and artistically looks different but doesn't really transform the meaning of let's say original work (although the 2 original photos are not full of meaning themselves, one is just a city skyline... View More
answered on May 6, 2021
Consult with an attorney.
Depending on the license agreement you may not have any protection for the derivatives.
Check the commons license.
answered on Apr 21, 2021
Just because there is no federal US trademark on it does not mean it would be fair game. An analysis would be much deeper. Besides, there are three live marks for "the sorting hat" and one is for a bunch of printed material. If you look at that, let's say you could open a coffee... View More
More specifically, if I use a Rawlings baseball and make earrings with the logo on the earrings, is that copyright infringement?
answered on Apr 14, 2021
Copyright would likely not be the issue as the Rawlings and/or MLB logos are likely not copyrighted (nor likely copyrightable), but you could have a trademark issue. The issue would be similar to an extent of the recent Lil Nas X Satan shoes issue that Nike sued over.
My artist essentially re-created a photograph that is licensed (in the UK) using Pastel paint, and then a graphic designer manipulated the painting a little further to create my album cover. Should I seek out and purchase the rights to use the original photograph?
answered on Mar 26, 2021
This sounds like a derivative work, so if that is the case, you would most likely need to get a license.
answered on Jan 6, 2021
A cancelled trademark registration does not mean that a trademark is no longer is use. Moreover another business may have started using a similar mark for similar goods/services. Before submitting a trademark application, it is recommended that you work with a trademark attorney to assist you with... View More
I have a question about copyright law. Youtube Audio Library has multiple songs under their "YouTube Audio Library License" . The license details read,
"You’re free to use this audio track in any of your videos, including videos that you monetize. No attribution is... View More
answered on Nov 19, 2020
One would need to review the entire contract to be able to provide a proper opinion. Odds are, the music is likely only for use on YouTube.
answered on Jul 8, 2020
Well, assuming the grace period has already expired and there's no common law use or federal registration(s)/pending application(s) for anything identical or similar in the relevant categories, then you could attempt to register the mark. I'd recommend hiring a trademark attorney to... View More
I have a store on eBay and noticed that other sellers are using them without my permission and now I found a company using my photos .. its frustrating because I took the time, patience, and dedication to take each photo and for someone to just use them is not fair, I've tried contacting the... View More
answered on May 26, 2020
Without doing anything special, you already own the copyright in your photos. That being the case, you could proceed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to notify the internet service provider where the photos are being displayed. Check the Terms of Use of the ISPs to follow the... View More
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