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Intellectual Property Questions & Answers
2 Answers | Asked in Trademark and Intellectual Property on
Q: How can you purchase and register a trademark once it has a '606 - Abandoned - No Statement Of Use' filed?

I am specifically interested in acquiring trade mark Serial # 87847526. If possible could you send your answer to :

Sean Goodwin
Sean Goodwin
answered on Dec 2, 2024

If the trademark application/registration is abandoned, then anyone can file a trademark application to claim it.

USPTO application fees are non-refundable, and currently take about 9 months before an examiner will pick up your application. I highly encourage you to hire a competent...
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2 Answers | Asked in Copyright and Intellectual Property for Texas on
Q: could I be reported for copyright?

If I sold t-shirts with the words "SAD DAD CLUB" or "SAD DADS CLUB" printed on them but the words "SAD DAD" are trademarked for use on t-shirts, could I be reported for copyright?

Sean Goodwin
Sean Goodwin
answered on Nov 21, 2024

You are asking for a complicated legal opinion, which most attorneys will not provide unless you are a client. If you would like a detailed answer to your question, please hire a competent trademark attorney.

The test for trademark infringement is "likelihood of confusion."...
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2 Answers | Asked in Trademark and Intellectual Property on
Q: Im looking to start a fashion market place, and i like the name "modella". Can i use this name + get it trademarked?

I would like to trademark mainly in the US and Europe, maybe even international. I just need clairfication if the trademark is possible to get.

Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
answered on Nov 20, 2024

There are US registrations for MODELLA used on software in class 009, and on travel bags in class 018, but not for apparel in class 025 or store services in class 035. Most likely this mark can be registered for the uses you propose.

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2 Answers | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Kentucky on
Q: If i made a shirt with a name on it that is now a trademark, can I be reported for copyright?

I made a shirt for my daughter 2 years ago that says "zach bryan" with a photo that she picked of a longhorn. Facebook notified me that I have been reported for copyright Infringment but I don't see how as my daughter picked a photo I made on the computer. It was not copy and pasted

Patrick Cummins
Patrick Cummins
answered on Nov 13, 2024

If the copyright infringement allegation is directed to the picture of the longhorn, and you captured the image of the longhorn or you drew it yourself, you are likely not at fault. If someone else drew the image of the longhorn, or captured the image of the longhorn with their camera, then you... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Intellectual Property and Patents (Intellectual Property) on
Q: Need to provisional patent on a device for vision screening. How Do I file a provisionanl patent to build the POC?

The device is not been made yet. I need to file a patent right away. Is there a patent type that is relatively cheap so we can protect our intellectual property until we build a POC?

Peter D. Mlynek
Peter D. Mlynek
answered on Nov 11, 2024

A couple of points:

(1) Congratulations on worrying about patenting your device. Way too many people build the product, sell it, and then seek to get a patent, only to be told that it is too late.

(2) However, there is such a thing as trying to file a patent application too early....
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3 Answers | Asked in Trademark, Copyright and Intellectual Property for California on
Q: I'm looking to create and sell books commercially.

Some of them will have the word “Animal/Animals” in the title, internal pages, description etc. But there's a trademark for the word “ANIMALS” overseas, covering books. Does it mean that I can't include the word “Animal/Animals” either capital or lowercase in my book at all... View More

Sean Goodwin
Sean Goodwin
answered on Nov 8, 2024

The titles of books cannot be copyrighted.

Foreign trademarks are not applicable unless you plan to sell in that country. If you are worried about trademarks in the U.S., I highly recommend hiring a qualified trademark attorney to run a clearance search to ensure you will not be infringing....
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2 Answers | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Washington on
Q: Is the term/name “Wheel of Calamity” trademarked or copyrighted in any way?

Intend to start a social media company under this title and want to verify its Existence amount other trademarked intellectual property.

Sean Goodwin
Sean Goodwin
answered on Nov 8, 2024

The best answer you will get to this question is from a trademark attorney who has conducted a legal analysis based on a clearance search. I highly recommend that you hire a qualified attorney to do this before you start spending money on advertising and then realize that you will have to rebrand... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Patents (Intellectual Property), Trademark and Intellectual Property on
Q: Hi, I am trying to drop ship the nova bag from the website Wool & Oak. I don't know if the product is patent, trademark

I just want to know if I am allowed to drop ship this product and brand it after. Is it legal. So did Wool & Oak patent it or trademarked it or put copyrights on it. The product they sell is the only thing I care about. I won't take anything from their website

Sarah Teresa Haddad
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answered on Nov 3, 2024

The product is most likely subject to more than one form of Intellectual Property protection by its manufacturer or original owner: trademark (its brand), trade dress (protects the overall appearance of the product, including its size, shape, color, texture, and graphics), patents of any... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Intellectual Property, Internet Law and Copyright for Louisiana on
Q: Is it legal to take a recipe video from instagram and use an AI bot to create a recipe list from said video?

Would allow users to copy a link to the video and then paste it into the app, the AI would generate a shopping list and recipe steps to make said dish.

Sarah Teresa Haddad
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answered on Oct 24, 2024

AI generating the shopping list and recipe steps from the link to the video: whether or not this is considered copyright infringement of the contents of the video or "illegal", will depend on if using the AI generative tool in this way will be considered Fair Use of the content of the... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Trademark and Intellectual Property on
Q: I have exclusive distributor with manufacturer. How can I legally stop him from selling his product to another company?

I am in discussion with a manufacturer in China to become his distributor in UAE. We agree to take exclusive distribution meaning that they should not supply their products or brand to another distributor in UAE. We will be signing a contract for exclusive distribution.

How can I legally... View More

Sarah Teresa Haddad
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answered on Oct 23, 2024

Ensure that the Choice of Law provisions in the contract you are executing are subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where you are seeking to distribute the product, namely the UAE, otherwise it may be harder to enforce the terms of the agreement or license in that country.

Ensure any...
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3 Answers | Asked in Patents (Intellectual Property) and Intellectual Property for New Jersey on
Q: How can I register an idea?

I have an idea for a novelty in dentistry, researched it, and built a proposal, but I am afraid to present it to anyone because I could lose the rights of my idea. What do you think I should do? Thank you.

Alan Harrison
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answered on Oct 22, 2024

You can file a patent application, or a provisional patent application, to start the process of protecting your idea with a patent. Some ideas might be possible to protect as a trade secret, for example if you knew of a particular way to do a dental operation then you might teach people how to do... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Contracts, Copyright, Intellectual Property and Internet Law on
Q: Can other companies track, map and time people’s runs or do strava cover this? If they do, how come MapMyRun etc exist
Sarah Teresa Haddad
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answered on Oct 21, 2024

Tracking, mapping, and timing people's runs through an invention or product would need to include an inventive step, that moves beyond an abstract idea(s), to be considered patent eligible. Tracking, mapping, and timing people's runs can be achieved through existing systems and in some... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Copyright and Intellectual Property on
Q: My client didn't pay me & posted my content. what do i do?

I am a digital marketer for my freelancing company in Montreal, Quebec. My client paid for the month of august and apparently wasn't satisfied and decided to continue, next month we worked harder and hired new people, but the invoice was sent at the beginning of the month but never paid. we... View More

Alan Harrison
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answered on Oct 18, 2024

It depends on where the client is located and a few other factual questions.

If they are in the United States and you register a copyright in the content you created, and if there was not a contract between you and the client to assign them rights in the content, then you might have a...
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2 Answers | Asked in Patents (Intellectual Property) and Intellectual Property for Ohio on
Q: I don’t want to infringe on this patent. If my system does not attach to shelf and does is not adjustable in depth would

Patent Claims

1. A method for wire shelf restoring by altering the visual aesthetics of a wire shelf comprising:

providing a top surface covering capable of defining a plurality of depth dimensions;

adjusting the depth of the top surface covering to a predetermined shelf... View More

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answered on Oct 14, 2024

To directly infringe a method patent claim, a person must have practiced all the steps of the claimed methods. Hence, if the referenced method, is the full method in that particular claim, you will not infringe it if not all of these steps are carried out. If another party under your direction... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Trademark, Arbitration / Mediation Law, Business Law and Intellectual Property for Hawaii on
Q: An ex-board member is using my trademark event name without my permission. Do I have standing to issue cease and desist

My family started a public event more than 40 years ago and I took over more than 10 years ago holding this event. I just started the process to trademark the event name. An ex-board member is using the event name and trying to hold the same event without my permission. Do I have standing to send a... View More

Sarah Teresa Haddad
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answered on Oct 14, 2024

If the ex-board member learned of the trademark while being a board member, (and the source of the trademark is the family board) and then the ex-board member started to use the mark unilaterally after leaving the board, then you may have grounds to issue a Cease-and-Desist letter. This may be due... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Trademark and Intellectual Property for Tennessee on
Q: I understand that "BASKETBALL MOM." is trademarked. Does the period on the end mean you can use this without the period?

I just want to know if I can use the phrase, "Basketball Mom" without the period on the end?

Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
answered on Oct 11, 2024

There is a pending application to register the mark BASKETBALL MOM ending with a period, used as a brand for t-shirts. The punctuation is not significant, that is, the mark would be infringed by usage as a source identifier for t-shirts whether or not the period followed the words. There is no... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Copyright and Intellectual Property for New York on
Q: A circle of 3D model copyright infringements

So, say, someone has made a game and for it created a bunch of 3D models that are direct copies of copyrgihted content from different IP's. They are 100% breaking the law, this is out of the question.

What if I get access to those models? Can I use them without the creator permission?... View More

Alan Harrison
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answered on Oct 10, 2024

Sorry, it's not that simple. At least under the Second Circuit, which is where New York sits, infringing derivative works can also be independently worthy of copyright. "Our Court concluded that Eden could state a cause of action for infringement of its own derivative works and licensed... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Copyright and Intellectual Property for New York on
Q: A circle of 3D model copyright infringements

So, say, someone has made a game and for it created a bunch of 3D models that are direct copies of copyrgihted content from different IP's. They are 100% breaking the law, this is out of the question.

What if I get access to those models? Can I use them without the creator permission?... View More

Sarah Teresa Haddad
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answered on Oct 13, 2024

In the Second Circuit (where New York State sits) if you get access to the models and use them, the first consideration is if the models are in fact original expressions of an idea (not the idea itself) and are considered copyrightable. If you are right in your question, and the models do... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Copyright, Entertainment / Sports and Intellectual Property for Texas on
Q: Making a motion-comic with real copyrighted music synced to it! Legal to tell readers to listen to specific song?

Is it legal to tell my readers to listen to specific songs at certain times in my motion-comic? For example, having a notice at the start of the comic telling readers that the comic is read best with certain songs to accompany it, and saying "Now Playing: *Song Name*" at the top of my... View More

Alan Harrison
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answered on Oct 7, 2024

I would want to think more about this before giving an opinion you could rely upon. First thought is that this seems like it MIGHT be a viable way to escape the need for a "sync license" as you would not personally be synchronizing the music to the images. But there may be court cases... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Intellectual Property and Trademark for Texas on
Q: If I am writing a book, would I be able to use 'Disneyland' as a location visited in the "past"?

I'm an aspiring writer and I do not want to overlook any details, so in the book I am writing I intend to use the 'Disneyland' name solely to express that the characters within the book visited the location at one point in the past. No rides or anything else related to the park is... View More

Giselle Ayala Mateus
Giselle Ayala Mateus
answered on Oct 4, 2024

When mentioning "Disneyland" in your book, you are likely within your rights under U.S. trademark law, particularly under nominative fair use. Trademarks like "Disneyland" protect brand identity, but your use of the name to describe a factual event—such as characters visiting... View More

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