Royalties are a wonderful way for inventors to collect payment for the use of their inventions. Any time a song is played on the radio the song composer receives a royalty for their work. Any time an artist’s drawing is replicated the artist receives a royalty and any time an author’s published work is reprinted, […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
Patent: A Tool, Not A Business
A patent in the United States grants an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the claimed invention in this country. Such a right to exclude competitors can be a useful business tool. But too many inventors, in my opinion, delay the birthing of an invention-centric business […]
Y, M, C, No More?
More likely than not you have heard the “YMCA” at every school dance or wedding you have ever attended. As great or terrible as that might be depending on the love or hate you may feel for the tune, the likelihood of hearing this or some other popular Village People songs might dwindle in the […]
Tattoos – A New Frontier in Copyright Law
Tattoos, an ancient art that has enjoyed a modern renaissance over the past few decades especially as this type of body modification becomes more and more mainstream and socially acceptable. Among the groups of people currently drawn to getting tattoos, it seems professional athletes rank highly on the list. Names such as LeBron James, Mike […]
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act – Not Just for Protecting Intellectual Property?
No one would disagree that plane crashes are a terrible and inescapable fact of life in today’s ever increasing busy and mobile society. Another arguably terrible side effect to today’s bustling, need it now mindset are the 24-hour news networks – and when a plane does go down, these networks are climbing all over each […]
WIPO – Ensuring Intellectual Property for the Visually Impaired
Intellectual property just took a huge step towards equality throughout the world. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and its Member States formally adopted the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled on June 27, 2013. A statistic from the World Blind Union […]
The Do’s and Don’ts of Internet Copyright
The Do’s and Don’ts of Internet Copyright
If an article online is copyrighted can I use part of their work? What are the rules? Bloggers as a rule of thumb research for interesting topics by surfing the web. Information is gathered and quotes borrowed, by what if there is a copyright notice displayed at the bottom of the page? To many newcomer bloggers this copyright notice is the equivalent of a “do not trespass sign” and in many ways it is….
Can An Ex-Spouse Interfere with Corporation’s Right to Sue for Infringement
Each state has its own unique set of marital property laws in place to govern divorce settlements. A state will either follow separate property or community property laws. In separate property states such as Florida, property acquired during the marriage by one spouse remains that spouse’s property upon divorce, whereas in community property states all […]
Can You Use a Brand Product In Movie Without Permission?
Do movie makers need to obtain permission to use all brand products in their movies? The answer is no, but it is recommended. The rule is a product can be used within a movie without permission as long as the product is being used as was intended by the manufacturers without negatively defaming the product […]
