Massachusetts Intellectual Property Legal Questions

Royalties charged for the use of intellectual property vary widely.  If an intellectual property is foremost in defining or providing the functionality of a product or service, the royalty fee may be a substantial percentage of the revenue received for the product or service by the licensee.  Alternatively, if the licensed IP is merely incidential to the covered product or service, the royalty payment is typically a much smaller portion of the gross revenue for the covered item. Payment terms also may vary.  In come cases, a substantial sum is paid up front when the license is granted.  In many cases, royalties are simply paid periodically as a percentage of sales.  Many royaltiy agreeements combinde minimum periodic payments with additional remitance of a percentage of sales. Carefully drafted royalty agreements focus on gross sales of the licensee rather than profits of the licensee, because determination of gross sales is much more ascertainable than a determination of profits (profit figures can be manipulated with clever bookkeeping, while gross sales are pretty easily verified). I am available to review your royalty arrangement and offer an opinion whether, in light of the facts particular to your case, the arrangement seems fair and workable. Anthony Claiborne Claiborne Intellectual Property Law Services 425.533.6132... Read Answer

You may.  We would have to see all of the facts, but under copyright law, the works at issue need only be "substantially similar," and you would also have to prove that the other company had "access" to your character, which, if it was visible online, you could possibly prove.  You have copyright protection even without having registered it with the copyright office, but if you were to pursue an infringement in court, you would be required to register your copyright first, and then you still would not be entitled to statutory damages, although you would be entitled to other money damages, but the proof would be more difficult.... Read Answer

Absent a contract with your employer explicitly indicating the employer has a right to works you create or the specific work you created, ownership of a work can only pass to the employer if it is a work made for hire. See  http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ09.pdf.  From the facts you provided, it does not appear this matter is a work for hire and you should retain ownership, although additional facts could change that opinion. Good luck, Todd... Read Answer

Invention rights vest first in the inventor(s). Intellectual property rights can only be conveyed by a signed writing. If you are paid to create something, shop rights in the patent could be obtained by the entity paying you. If the school was not paying you and you did not sign an agreement to convey patent rights, I cannot think of any other means by which your invention rights could become the property of the school. If it is a public school, the school is treated as a part of the government and is held to a higher standard under the Constitution to prevent government taking from private citizens. There may be additional facts that create an ownership dispute, but nothing in your details suggests the school has accrued any intellectual property rights in your project. ... Read Answer

If this happened to me, I would register some of the artwork with the Copyright Office. The forms are very simple and available at www.copyright.gov. It costs $35 to file a copyright application. If it is infringed after you file the application, you can receive statutory damages and the infringer can be responsible for paying for your attorney. Save a copy of the application(s) you file. I would also send the author a letter, saving a copy, informing the author that he is not authorized to use the work. If, despite your letter, he does use your work, contact an IP attorney to resolve the matter by getting an injunction and/or damages.... Read Answer

The owner could have Customs stop importation from Mexico based on trademark and/or copyright laws. A copyright lawsuit is also possible and the US has a strong enough economic relationship with Mexico to pull you into a US court (or get a default judgment against you after which your assets in Mexico could be seized).... Read Answer

You are right to be concerned. Their Agreement should be limited to inventions related to their business (check, as the language may already be in place). If this company is in the same line of business as your athletic company, you have a conflict and need to choose one business going forward. Otherwise, they should be able to accept that IP related to your athletic company will not be assigned over as a result of your employment. You don't need specialized legal language to achieve this goal, but it should be made plain and clear as a written modification (again, if the language is not already in place) in the agreement before you sign it. Now is the time to avoid a foreseeable problem. Good luck, Todd... Read Answer

How did they get the video? Do they make clear that it was your video? Defamation is difficult for a few reasons and if you want to reach someone more familiar with it, try asking in business litigation. It might be more effective to go after them for copyright infringement. If the video is your work, you have a right to register it, and you have a right to control its dissemination. Copyrights are nice in that, if you file an application to register within 3 months of creating the video, you can collect statutory damages that range from $750 to $250,000 per offense. That is the sort of hammer that encourages folks to act quickly.... Read Answer

What you are describing could be copyright infringement. You have rights in your photographs under copyright law that include the right to copy, publicly display and make "derivative works" of your photographs. Someone can't make a substantial copy of your photographs without your permission. This includes taking photographs with substantially identical settings. If people are believing that the other photographer's works are your works because they are substantially similar to your works, then you may have a claim under copyright law. You have to register the copyright with the United States Copyright Office before you can enforce the copyright. ... Read Answer