Unless the artist agreed to convey to you the property you don't own it. You might try to enforce some contract by course of dealing, or attempt to show that he gave the work away, but you are going to learn a lesson in doing things without an agreement in place.

This material is very likely trademarked. It is likely not copyrighted.

As far as patents go, it may very well be patented. Take a look at the material or the packaging that it comes in, and there should be some sort of a patent marking, such as “pat.” or “patent” with one or more... View More

You did not say if the will was ever offered for probate. That is a key point. If it has been more than 5 years since your mother's death the will can't be offered for probate, and the estate would be handled as in intestate succession -- as if there was no will. I don't think your... View More

As you probably know, the fair use doctrine is not a black and white formula and its application involves a number of considerations. In general, though, it is an available defense against an infringement claim in works of criticism, as you have described your work.

A court will look at... View More

Copyright law will protect the expression of ideas, that is, the creative organization of words used to write the ideas, but not the underlying ideas themselves.

So, if you want to copying word-for-word from others, you must get their permission before using their work. If you want to... View More

It's copyRight, not copyWrite. It is the right to control or restrict the copying of your work.

And you don't need to put your name on every page. I can't think of why you'd want to, unless the pages are loose and likely to fall apart.