California Entertainment Legal Questions

This really can't be answered without actually looking at the proposed title, and comparing it. Anything that might give a consumer the idea that the whiskey is sponsoring or approving the book is likely to run the risk of receiving a cease-and-desist letter. However, whiskey companies do write nice cease-and-desist letters: see http://www.businessinsider.com/jack-daniels-wrote-what-has-to-be-the-nicest-cease-and-desist-order-of-all-time-2012-7.... Read More

Theft and the sale/transfer of stolen items via the Internet is a growing problem. If the game is owned privately, the owner can do as he or she wishes. However, the problem is not your girlfriend receiving stolen goods (assuming she didn't know they were stolen), it's that someone stole the goods to begin with. If a player cannot refuse a gift according to the rules of the game, your girlfriend is only obligated to return the stolen items to the game owner. But the game owner should be going after the thief and seeking recovery from him/her. If the game owner won't discuss this issue with you, contact an attorney to explain the law to him/her.... Read More

Depending on the subject matter, yes there can be serious ramifications on passing fiction off as non-fiction. You can lose your job, cause people to make dangerous and even deadly decisions, stir up controversy based on falsehoods or innuendos, cause unnecessary hysteria, et., etc., etc. Cause in point: a number of new parents refused to have their young children innoculated because they were told that a study showed that mercury in the shots caused autism. That report was false. But a huge number of children have been put at risk for avoidable and in some cases deadly illnesses because a piece of fiction was passed off as non-fiction.... Read More

Ecclesiastical law is the law within a particular church or religion. For example, the Roman Catholic church has extensive law on the rights and obligations of its clergy. Ecclesiastical law is governed within that particular church or religion, and governmental authorities have little authority over it.... Read More

Yes, you should contact each person that you want to interview or get clearance for each quote from the source or from the original publisher. Otherwise, you are simply repeating hearsay that may not even be real. You may also be infringing on the copyright of the reporter or writer who did the original interview. Generally speaking, a commercial book has no fair use about it and you must get clearances for every quote. I am not sure why you think anyone would want to buy a book that is rehashes of things off the internet that may or may not be actual quotes. Even if you were able to borrow such work from others, you cannot copyright it, as it is not your own original work. Why not just do a fresh good interview and have your own original work to sell? But if you insist on compiling stuff off the internet, yes, any decent publisher will require clearance on each and every quote.... Read More

Since he refuses to cooperate, you're going to need to take him to court. You will need to prove that he stole the majority of his product from you, that he did it deliberately, and that you suffered damages as a result. You can also challenge any patents or copyrights that he holds on the product.... Read More