Get free answers to your Copyright legal questions from lawyers in your area.
I am Logistics Chief of a mid-sized fire department. To encourage camaraderie at the fire stations, personnel are encouraged to come up with a station logo / mascot. One station in particular at my department has a main response area that covers the "gate" of a major military base.... View More 
answered on Dec 28, 2020
It depends on what rights you gave to the blog, and if your subsequent usage would exceed those rights. Talk with an experienced copyright lawyer.
If I take a screenshot of a show, say Game of Thrones, and then draw over it in a photo editing software, is it against the law to sell the art? Copyright infringement or something else?
answered on Nov 23, 2020
It depends on how similar your drawing is to the original photo. Merely tracing the photo in an animated format, as is the latest craze, is copyright infringement. The standard for copyright infringement is "substantial similarity" and this situation would likely fall under that.
I'm planning on creating a book series in which I want to trademark the title. I'm also currently creating a video game to add to this franchise. In the future, I want to file another application to extend my trademark to not only protect my books, but my video games too.
Since... View More
answered on Nov 12, 2020
Hi there! It is great that you are thinking about IP protections from the very beginning.
From a trademark standpoint you have limited options that far in advance. You can file trademark registrations for things that are not in commerce yet (called an intent-to-use application), but the... View More
I'm trying to design some t shirts based off of anime. However, they are simply inspired by the anime. For example, its not an entire picture of naruto or anything, but like a blue swirl and some yellow and orange lines for naruto. I don't think the designs infringe on any copyright and I... View More
answered on Oct 17, 2020
Re: Copyright, your phrases :"...based off or anime..", "..simply inspiredly the anime...", "I don't think the designs infringe..." , "...I am the one creating..." may show willfulness and are troublesome regarding Copyright Infringement. It may be... View More
I’ve been using it for a day or two now and I’m really scared I’ll face legal repercussions
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answered on Oct 12, 2020
This is general legal information only and not legal advice. This is a very good question. It appears their site is a bit like google (where you can search for pictures and images. They allow you to search PDF's but this does not necessarily mean you have legal rights to reproduce, share,... View More
answered on Sep 28, 2020
Without knowing what patent you're referring to, I can't answer this question fully. However, you can create various search terms around these elements if you utilize Google Patent Search, the USPTO database (PatFT), and the WIPO patent search database (patentscope) to get you in the... View More
Is there anything illegal with me not getting a cut or signing off consent
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answered on May 5, 2020
Copyright doesn't protect ideas so it would depend on what you actually said and whether it could be considered "fixed tangible expression" as defined by the Copyright Act.
Hello, I am an artist known by the name LeopARTnik (everyone calls me Leo). I create different content but lately, it is short video animations. I am not making money on my work yet. I am still growing and building my audience but it is growing rather fast. The issue I want to discuss is related to... View More
answered on Mar 30, 2020
This is a common problem. The first thing you should do is register your copyrights. You typically have less leverage if you are not registered. Registration will definitely help you with infringement moving forward. I would need to know more about where the works are being copied from and other... View More
The photos have generally been captured from online sites such as Pinterest or general historic photo searches. Specifically I'm plucking images of people from the internet, printing them on my home computer, physically cutting them out of their original setting and collaging them into bigger... View More
answered on Sep 9, 2019
You are facing a tough issue. You should definitely talk to an attorney. Also check with an insurance company agent covering copyright violations. They may have some clear cut criteria you can use as a guide.
In general there are several layers of rights. Pintrest and the poster could have... View More
Im looking to start my own company in trip hazard removal but it seems they have pattebded alot of things on it what exactly are there pattends for and what do they mean in other words what do i follow so i dont use any of there pattends
answered on May 11, 2019
There are no easy answers to your question. You need to hire a patent attorney to guide you through this.
That's it in a nutshell. I want to use said Guru's concepts and some lose verbiage so I can advertise and gain traction in the community of people that follow her. I found a list of the company's trademarks and none include the terms I want to use. I would not be selling the... View More
answered on May 2, 2019
I think you can, so long as you don't use his language or any materials or publications.
We would like to open a non-profit maker space to offer STEAM Camps for students in Washington, DC. We would like to sell products, derived from Robert Indiana's LOVE sculpture, made by students and members, to raise $20,000-40,000 to cover the first few months of rent.
We would... View More
answered on Mar 13, 2019
You should look up him, or his agent. And ask for the right to use it.
I have a idea that would be something you can pay into with a bailbonds company and want to look in to making this idea work if its possible and so how would I do that without getting my idea stolen but I don't have much money and don't really have any to put into this project I think its... View More
answered on Jan 24, 2019
Local law libraries provide ample self-help resources re: Intellectual Property and Business law. Typically a Non Disclosure Agreement is a great tool to help prevent disclosure of confidential information re: your ideas. You might need to ultimately file for a copyright, trademark, and/or patent,... View More
Competitor claims they have a provisional patent for all but color change of an (my) existing product. I thought provisional patents were for utility only. Could they be lying? How do I find out?
answered on Apr 26, 2018
A provisional patent application is for a utility patent but one can file a design patent application as a continuation of a utility patent application so there is some small chance that they could end up with a design patent from an initial provisional patent application.
Generally a... View More
The whole zine (magazine) is an ode to the influence and inspiration I received in my life from the album which is explained in the introduction. I've taken some of my favorite lyrics and created a series of analog collages for each lyric. I listed the credits on the end page. I have reached... View More
answered on Jan 31, 2018
Copyright infringement requires that there be a substantially similar reproduction of another's original work of authorship. It is a fact-intensive inquiry and may be, but is not necessarily always, tied to the actual amount of copying from the original work of authorship. It may be a good... View More
Is there any particular law against reproducing and selling, say, the book cover of a book that is from another country? If so, where can I read more about it?
answered on Jan 2, 2018
The U.S. Copyright Office has published on this topic, search for "Copyright Office Circular 38A" on your search engine of choice or at the copyright.gov.
I’m looking to create a mobile program that allows kids to create their own stories by supplying them with art assets and allowing them to write in text. If this patent is that exact thing, is there a way around creating that or am I completely blocked on making this program? When does the patent... View More
answered on Nov 7, 2017
Thanks for caring enough about doing the right thing to ask a question. The technical term for what you are asking is called freedom to operate (FTO) or sometimes "clearance". You are asking whether there are concrete legal rights that exist that would impinge on your freedom to operate... View More
answered on Sep 2, 2017
Do you intend to apply the actual logo stickers that you bought? In copyright, there is the First Sale Doctrine that provides that if a person buys an object having copyright protected material, the buyer can do what they want with the object. For example for a book, you could give it away or... View More
answered on Jul 7, 2017
Are you saying you're a web designer and you created a website for a pizza place, and someone copied and rebranded that website as Stacia's Gourmet Pizza?
If so, how much of your work was copied? What elements: images, text, html?
Or are you saying that Stacia's... View More
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