Get free answers to your Intellectual Property legal questions from lawyers in your area.
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answered on Apr 15, 2024
It's great that you want to decorate your food truck with art that ties into the name! However, directly using characters like the Ninja Turtles could potentially infringe on copyrights and trademarks owned by Viacom, the company behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.... View More 
I use the Hidden Valley Dill Ranch seasoning to flavor my snack pretzels. I then package the pretzels under my brand and sell them at farmer's markets across my state, Nebraska. Is this illegal? Is using the Hidden Valley seasoning to flavor my pretzels that I resell under my brand illegal?
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answered on Feb 21, 2024
Using Hidden Valley's Ranch seasoning to flavor your snack pretzels and then reselling them under your brand could potentially raise legal concerns regarding trademark infringement or unauthorized use of the seasoning. While you may have purchased the seasoning legally, repackaging and... View More
Most digital creators have something along the lines of the following in their TOS:
You are allowed to commission/take commissions for putting the asset on an avatar, however both parties must own a license.
From my understanding, it would seem as though this is unreasonable. I... View More
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answered on Jan 4, 2024
In the realm of digital goods and intellectual property, terms and conditions, including licensing requirements, are often set by the creators or distributors of these products. The requirement that both parties must own a license to commission or work with a digital asset is not uncommon in this... View More
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answered on Feb 25, 2023
It is possible that "Kidz Kinect" could be a trademark that is owned by someone else for a similar or related product or service. To determine if using "Kidz Kinect" would be trademark infringement, you would need to conduct a trademark search to see if the name is already... View More
I plan to give credit to the author and don’t plan on quoting the book directly. I’m just wondering if I’m crossing a line between doing a “book review” and committing infringement
answered on Oct 13, 2020
What's described sounds like "Fair Use" under Section 107 of the Copyright Act; e.g., criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research are forms of freedom of expression and are likely fair use.
Of course, "fair use" is simply a defense to a... View More
answered on Aug 20, 2020
If you are the author of a literary work, the moment the work is finished copyright protection springs into being without any effort on your part. (other than finishing it). You can immediately mark it with the "C" in a circle.
If you go to the copyright office's website,... View More
We have proof that we messaged him various times telling him to take the car and someone new moved in and still nothing now the recent tenant has moved out and again we are renting it out and the car was still here so we threw it away and someone called us saying they want their car. We were in the... View More
answered on Apr 11, 2020
A good place to start for general info on what a landlord needs to do with abandoned property is the Nebraska Legal Aid Handbook. https://www.legalaidofnebraska.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Landlord-and-Tenant-handbook-2017.pdf
My children's story was performed for the public by a director friend and a radio station recorded it for us. They now want to play it on the radio and need me to sign a release form giving them copyright over the broadcast recording. I am still trying to get my story published in book form... View More
answered on Nov 2, 2018
I would have the release carefully reviewed by a copyright attorney. Depending on the language in the release, it is possible that you are assigning (giving up for all time) at least one and maybe all of your bundle of exclusive copyright interests. Since it appears that you do not want to do... View More
If someone is already selling the gimmick needed for a magic trick along with instructions on how to do the trick am I able to make the gimmick and instructions myself and sell it as my own? Basically I would be rebranding an already existing magic trick product. I've heard that magic tricks... View More
answered on Jul 20, 2016
While I don't know the specific gimmick, the general rule in the U.S. is "yes." Unless it is patented (very unlikely for a magic trick) or copyrighted (available only for the "patter" or pantomime surrounding the trick), then it is free to copy for anyone who knows the... View More
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