Final Project: Opinion

Overall I enjoyed interviewing a lawyer.  Its always great to ask questions to the ones that are actually in the work field.  I enjoyed speaking to my lawyer Madeline one on one about the proper steps necessary to claim a product your own. She also answered a few concerns I had regarding my next move for the my clothing brand.  Speaking to a lawyer one on one is much different then trying to find these answers out on your own.  I couldn't imagine what it would be like to file for your own patent.  These types of procedures that the law ask for are always recommended to be read through a lawyer before signing,  which is why I am blessed to say if I ever needed advice in product licensing I would have a go to person I could trust.  Overall this is a great assignment that teaches your real life scenarios that you just might happen to run into in the near future.

" The first sale doctrine permits the purchaser of a legal copy of a copyrighted work to treat that copy in any way desired, as long as the copyright owner's exclusive copyright rights are not infringed"
Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg.269

" Over 120 nations have signed treaties in which they agree to extend reciprocal copyright protection to works authored by nationals of the other signing countries as well as works first published in one of the other signing countries."
Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg.285

"An orphan work is one that is owned by a hard to find copyright owner"
Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 303

Final Project: Rule of Law

1.       Can a company be sued for using a famous punch line to represent for their company even if the punch line being used isn't documented for copyright protection?

Yes, especially if the punch line is attributable to a specific person or entity.  For example, comedians have a copy right to the materials he/she created.  Whether they actually copyright their respective comedic material is up to them, but rest assured if someone is using another’s material for personal gain, it is likely that a lawsuit will ensue. 

During the interview I asked Madeline this question because in class we talked about how famous punch lines are now being used on pornographic films and student films etc.  I asked this question again because even though I knew the answer I wanted to hear a different opinion.   During our interview we also discussed  copyrights, domains, patent laws, and infringement.

"Infringement of a copyright can be treated as a federal crime under the Copyright Act if it is done intentionally and with full knowledge that an infringement is occurring."

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 243

"In 2008, a district court ruled that prior to requesting a take down notice, a copyright owner must consider the likelihood of a claim use." 

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 253

" How long a copyright last in the United States depends on when the work covered by the copyright was first created or published." 

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 255

   

Final Project: Reasoning of the Law

1.       What is the process someone has to go to for product licensing?

One would search for the owner of any existing trademarks and contact them regarding its use, then try to negotiate a deal.

1.      Can two high end designers sue each other for having similar designs released at the same time?

Yes.  The inquiry will focus on who can show he had the idea first in time and whose evidence will best establish that the design originated with which high end designer.  The success on the merits of the case will largely depend on who put it into the stream of commerce first, sold it to a distributor, etc.

My lawyer has been in the law profession for over 15 years.  In between those 15 years she had practiced many different sectors of the law and worked with many different lawyers and has made plenty of connections. At the time of the interview Madeline had a few co-workers in the office that were licencing specialist and were more then happy to help with my questions about product licensing.  Immediately I knew I could trust every answer they  responded. When I was asking the questions I was afraid they were going to judge me for the lack of questions I came up with.  On the contrary they were actually very helpful and quite patient, even when they couldn't quite understand the question at first.  

" A Patent must be file by it's true inventor or inventors."

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg.175

" A copy right gives the owners of a creative work the right to keep others from unauthorized use of the work."

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 197

"When all copyright rights are transferred unconditionally, it is generally termed an "assignment."

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 199

" The original design of a toy or an item of furniture can qualify for copyright protection if it is created for expressive rather than functional purposes"

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 203

" In order to prove that a work was copied, sold, or performed without authorization, the copyright owner must demonstrate that the person accused of infringement had a reasonable opportunity to view or hear the copyrighted work and that the two works- the inf-ringer's and the copyright owners- are substantially similar."

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg.209

  

Final Project: The Questions

1.       Can a small business owner be sued for taking another companies logo if the other company has failed to trademark the domain?

Yes.  However, the claimant is unlikely to succeed.  It is typical for a “cease and desist” letter to be sent advising of the alleged infringement/violation.  Because the first user of the trademark failed to register the logo, the small business owner could not reasonably have known, assuming it is not open and obvious to him.

2.        Is it illegal to hire a graphic designer to design a t-shirt shirt with the face of a famous celebrity and then sell it to the public?   What is the penalty?

Illegal, no, but the person would likely get sued if he refused to cease and desist and turn over all proceeds/profits made from the venture.  This is a civil matter, not a criminal matter.  The penalty would be an order or an injunction requiring the graphic designer to destroy or hand over all product, as well as all profits made from this venture.

 These were just two questions I asked my lawyer during our interview.  Madeline was very helpful she was able to answer all of my questions and I was even able relate them to real live scenarios.  Her knowledge and background in the law profession has definitely made her a well rounded lawyer.

" The first inventor to file a provisional or regular patent application on an invention is considered the senior party if the USPTO declares an interference."

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 156

" The colloquial phrase "smart money" is used by patent attorneys to describe the extra damages that can be imposed on defendants found guilty of willful or flagrant infringement."

Patent, Copyright &  Trademark pg. 158

" A statutory bar is any federal statutory provision that requires the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or a court to disqualify an invention for a patent."

Patent, Copyright &  Trademark pg. 163

" Actually developing and commercially exploiting the underlying invention covered by a patent is known as a working patent."

Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 170

Final Project: Legal Authority

Madeline DiCicco is a co-worker of mine that just so happens to be a lawyer.  Madeline works for a firm that specializes in Commercial Litigation; Business Litigation; Wrongful Death; Contracts; Business Transactions; Administrative Law; Commercial Transactions etc.  I know a lot of this information might not all be useful to me but she does happen to know a thing or two about fashion & practicing the right steps in licensing a product.  I couldn't really trust any other lawyer other then Madeline, just because I've known Madeline personally and I know she would give me the honest answer to any of my questions.

"The "field" of an invention is colloquial for the classification or sub classification into which an invention falls."
Patent, Copyrights & Trademark pg. 82"

"However, effected June 2000, every patent is guaranteed an in-force period of at-least 17 years." 
Patent, Copyrights & Trademark pg. 88 

"Relatively simple objects that don't have working or moving parts, manufacturers, sometimes also called, "articles of manufacture," is one of the five categories of inventions that can be patented." 
Patent, Copyrights & Trademark pg. 107

A claim in a patent application that was initially rejected by a patent examiner as being to broad may be redrafted so that the claim no longer overlaps with the prior art and, therefore, describes a novel and non obvious invention."
 Patent, Copyrights & Trademark pg. 111

"An invention must have novelty to claim for a patent"
Patent, Copyrights & Trademark pg. 119

EOC Week 10: Lawyer Jokes

Question: Do you know how to save five drowning lawyers?
Answer: No.
Reply: Good!
Question: Why don't snakes bite attorneys?
Answer: Professional courtesy.
Question: Why do male attorneys usually wear tight shirt collars and ties?
Answer: It keeps their foreskins from creeping up and covering their faces.
Question: How can you tell that an attorney is about to lie?
Answer: His lips begin to move.
Question: How can you tell the difference between an attorney lying dead in the road and a coyote lying dead in the road?
Answer: With the coyote, you usually see skid marks.
Question: How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: How many can you afford?
Question: What do you get if you send the Godfather to law school?
Answer: An offer you can't understand.

EOC Week 9: Letters of Permission

In class we discussed letters of permission.  Which means anything that has a copyright to its domain or any type of patent protection must be asked for permission by the owner before exploiting it to the public. For example say you want to film a short film and during the film you'll have music playing.  If the music in the back is playing a popular song you must contact the artist and ask the artist if its ok to play his or her music in the background of this film.  Another example could be receiving permission from a famous photographer.  Say you want to use a well known picture that was captured by a famous photographer  If you plan on featuring that picture on your website without the artist permission you can be sued.  I chose these four letters because in someway they are relevant to my field.  Sometimes during styling shoots we need to write off a contract agreeing that the model and the photographer both own rights to the picture.  Its also important in fashion because you could possibly be featuring other designers work in your blog site without them wanting their work to be displayed or perhaps you decide to film a 2 minute styling video and you use other brands to recieve recognition.  Without the permission of the owner you are at risk of copyright infringment and can potentially be sued.  Always make sure to right a letter!
http://www.ametsoc.org/pubs/copyrightinfo/ams_model_permission_letter.pdf

http://webdesignlaw.com/contracts/letter-of-agreement

http://mgitaristannes.blogspot.com/2011/12/filming-permission-letter.html

http://ebookbrowse.com/sample-permission-letter-for-film-shooting-pdf-d82685846

EOC Week 8: Bratz vs. Mattel

"In yet another twist in the epic Barbie-vs.-Bratz brawl, a U.S. District Court slapped Mattel Inc. with $88 million in damages after tossing out its claims that rival MGA Entertainment stole the idea for its blockbuster Bratz dolls, an embarrassment for the blond teen queen, to say the least."

I think this topic is debatable.  I don't agree! MGA didn't steel the idea but i do agree he created the idea based on the Barbie Doll.  I don't think Barbie should be trying to file a law suit against the Bratz franchise because they both offer different styles and perhaps appeal to different consumers.  For example Barbie consumers might be a bit more girlier then the Bratz crowd.  

" According to Mattel, the company is entitled to a stake in Bryant's original drawings because of an intellectual-property agreement in his contract, a version of events upheld by a U.S. district court judge in 2008. MGA claimed that Bryant was not working for Mattel at the time he created the sketches. (According to records, Bryant worked for Mattel from September 1995 to April 1998, returned in January 1999 and left again in October 2000 before joining MGA.)"

Perhaps Bryant did steal the idea and took it to another company to recieve recognition but like the article says technically speaking Bryant would only have to give up the first collection of Bratz that came out.  I think compensating them for the