Category: Intellectual Property

There is a fine line between a regular object that is used for practical purposes and one that has its own artistic value with copyrightable properties. One would generally expect there to be a large buffer zone between a chair and a chair with copyrightable designs such as a specific floral pattern. Unfortunately, this is not…

The first example of copyright law in the United States was the Copyright Clause of the U.S. Constitution. It stated that all authors would be granted exclusive rights to their respective writings in order to promote the expansion of general knowledge. As time progressed, other works of art were added to copyright law. This included paintings, designs, music…

A “software development agreement” is an agreement between a customer and a developer in which the customer contracts the developer to create a specific piece of software. A common software development agreement breaks down the creation of the software into phases. This ensures that the customer is able to see the product they are getting…

The potential threat of a copyright infringement lawsuit is justifiably the biggest concern for anyone engaging in infringing acts. On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, are copyright owners who discover that their copyright is being infringed on and wish to take immediate legal action to stop it and seek damages where applicable. The…

A parody is defined as a humorous use of an existing song, play, or writing that changes some of the original content to create a laughable, ironic new work. However, the original author may wish to prosecute the parody’s author for copyright infringement. Unfortunately, for many of these original authors, the creators of parodies are generally protected…

We have all had that million-dollar idea in our head. We then brush it aside until we see the plan executed by someone else. We are then left asking ourselves, “Why didn’t I act on it sooner?”. This typical story that may be fantastical to most is the unfortunate reality of those who have an…

Trademark infringement is defined as the unauthorized use of a trademark about goods or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception or mistakes about the source of the goods or services. For a trademark owner to claim infringement, the Lanham Act specifies that three factors must be shown: use of a protected trademark, priority to use the trademark…

The owner of a copyright is entitled to certain exclusive rights under the Copyright Act of 1976. These rights include the right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivate works based upon the copyrighted work, to distribute copies of the copyright work to the public by sale or transfer of ownership, to perform the copyrighted…

The term “fair use” refers to the limited permitted copying of copyrighted material without receiving permission from the copyright holders. It is used as a defense against copyright infringement, and if use of a copyrighted work is deemed to be “fair use”, then the action is not considered illegal. The Copyright Act of 1976 cites four factors it uses…

A “joint work” is a work prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole. See 17 U.S.C. § 101. A collaborative effort is only classified as a joint work if each author made independently copyrightable contributions to the work and if the authors fully intended…