answered on Sep 11, 2023
The answer is YES. The "first sale doctrine", codified at 17 U.S.C. § 109, provides that an individual who knowingly purchases a copy of a copyrighted work from the copyright holder receives the right to sell, display or otherwise dispose of that particular copy, notwithstanding the... View More 
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answered on Sep 14, 2023
Creating and selling items using Disney or licensed fabric may infringe on intellectual property rights, such as copyrights or trademarks, owned by Disney or the respective licensor. To avoid legal issues, it's generally advisable to seek permission or a license from the rights holder before... View More
Skippy's Snack Shack
answered on Aug 8, 2023
If you are planning to use "Skippy's Snack Shack" as the name of a retail bakery shop, you would have a low risk with respect to the mark for Skippy peanut butter. However, if you used this name on the snacks themselves, you could potentially run into a problem. You should contact... View More
Skippy's Snack Shack
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answered on Aug 15, 2023
Using a name like "Skippy's Snack Shack" for a dog treat bakery could potentially lead to trademark infringement issues with Skippy Peanut Butter if they believe there is a likelihood of confusion between their established brand and your bakery's name. To avoid legal issues,... View More
By comment I mean analyzing a clothing piece?
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answered on Mar 29, 2023
Fair use is a legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without obtaining permission from the rights holder for certain purposes such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. Whether or not the use of a copyrighted image in a blog would be... View More
Case: Copyright Infringment
I have been working on a synopsis and pitch deck for a long time, approximately a year. I had experienced a true to life scary experierence and felt like producers would be interested in a true story for a horror movie. After talking to many people in the film... View More
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answered on Mar 29, 2023
Based on the information provided, it seems like there may be potential for a copyright infringement case if the podcaster used your work without your permission. To determine the strength of the case, a lawyer would need to review the specifics of your situation, such as the details of your... View More
I want to provide my readers with a summary of the news. The summary would be completely in my own words, and unique titles too. Sometimes I weave several news articles into a single summary. Do I have to quote the source of the news? Am I fine legally?
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answered on Mar 29, 2023
It is generally acceptable to summarize news articles in your own words without quoting the source as long as you do not copy any unique phrases or sentences directly from the original article. However, it is good practice to provide a citation or link to the original article as a courtesy to your... View More
The process is my original creation. I would like to acknowledge the author in my resources list so people can study his work. The author has died.
answered on Dec 12, 2022
In my opinion (dont take this as a final and comprehensive legal advice as I do not have all the details of your case), this would in most countries not considered as IP infringement. You have inspired yourself from the information covered in book however the process itself is your idea (your work)... View More
The LLC will be listed as the copyright claimant and the author of the work. Thanks in advance!
answered on Oct 5, 2022
If the executive director of the company changes, he can decide to transfer it to someone else. However, in most of the jurisdiction the legal person can not be an author, so you should check whether it is possible or not, as there is an assumption that even though company can own the rights to the... View More
answered on Aug 29, 2022
A person can file any lawsuit they want against whoever they want. However, whether that lawsuit is successful and warrants merit is another matter. Further, filing frivolous lawsuits can result in severe sanctions. Thus, consult an attorney before you file any type of lawsuit.
I want to keep my identity private but still want to be sure I will have full control over my work. How do I do this in regards to submitting to magazines, journals, etc? And if I were to want to copyright a future collection, should it be under my legal name or my pen name?
answered on Aug 15, 2022
There is a provision in the application to register the copyright in a work and identify the author's "pseudonym". Many authors have used pseudonyms: Mark Twain was Samuel Clemens, for instance.
The application to register the copyright will show your legal name as owner... View More
And then once it is registered as a copyright would the next step be to draw up a contractual agreement with the person who wants to buy the license? Or is there a premade license that the person can buy?
answered on Jul 30, 2022
It would be prudent for an author to register the copyright in the unpublished work before offering it for publication.
Established publishers have their own forms of agreement to acquire the rights to publish books, with a variety of terms regarding how and when the author is compensated.... View More
I have a few businesses I have committed to and I am looking to brand them.
answered on Jun 19, 2023
Consult an experienced trademark attorney, to conduct a careful search to assure the marks are not confusingly similar to others in use, to advise how they should be used, and to prosecute the applications to register with the USPTO.
I have been referred to and have been using "Captain HR" since 2018. I am a Human Resources Executive leader with more than 25 years of experience helping individuals and organizations manage the difficult "People Issues" that occur in a normal work environment. I would like to... View More
answered on Jun 4, 2023
The mark CAPTAIN HR was registered on Jan 17, 2023 (Reg. No. 6956501, SN 97188633) for employment related services by ECOMM ALPHA LLC (Washington).
answered on May 20, 2023
A Georgia attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for two weeks. However, this sounds like it might be more of an intellectual property matter than an arbitration matter, the category where it's posted. If you're talking about similarity in terms of wording, logos,... View More
Someone stole my images
answered on Mar 25, 2023
This forum allows attorneys to answer legal questions that are submitted by members of the public. However, we don't receive information about the people asking the questions, because this isn't really a referral forum.
If you have a question that you think an attorney may be... View More
More specifically, can I tell the story of the game, using screenshots, edited into a web-comic format? Would the story have to be original? Is there any variation of this idea that could be monetized?
answered on Sep 6, 2022
Yes, you can use screenshots from a videogame to make some new piece of author work. Considering that the screenshots are also yours. In my opinion it is same as making a YouTube videos in-game and then monetizing your gaming channel. Story should be original if you want to be an author of the... View More
I was going to register as an LLC and trademark because it's not found in Ga can I do that?
answered on Mar 30, 2022
It's important to remember that the registration of an LLC or other business entity name with your state naming authority is a totally different process than Federal trademark registration with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
A name may be "free" within the state... View More
I am planning on making a 2D Platformer game (when finished, I want it to be released on Steam, and possibly outside of the US if sales are good). I will be making the music for the game - I don't know too much on how copyrights work besides the fact that I have to file it, and I don't... View More
answered on Mar 28, 2022
The game product you envision has elements that, as the fruits of your original creative effort, are separate subjects of copyright: the code, the visual appearance, and the music. To assure the greatest protection for your work(s), you should register the copyright in each of these elements. Then... View More
As a very rough example, if the phrase "Tigers" is trademarked by/for Auburn University, I would assume one could not produce apparel in school colors with the phrase "Tigers". However, is the word "Tiger" used in that same way also covered? Or is the first case... View More
answered on Jan 6, 2022
Trademarks are words, phrases and/or designs that are used to indicate the source of specific goods or services. The objective of trademark registration is to avoid the likelihood of confusion by purchasers as to the source. If a trademark is used and registered in the singular form, the plural is... View More
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