Nebraska Entertainment Legal Questions

I think I just answered this question with regards to an ankh symbol. You would have to check about the exact "culture symbol," since some such symbols may be trademarked or copyright registered or owned by a group. For example, if you want to use a peace symbol or a cross, as long as it is your own design, then that is fine. If you plan to use a symbol that may be trademarked by a proprietary type church, a fraternal organization, or some such group, you may be violating their trademark or copyright. You should consult with a lawyer. Doing so may be a lot more affordable than you think.... Read More

You are concerned about the deposit, when what you should be concerned about is having to pay for an entire wedding party that you committed to hold at the venue by making your deposit. When you make a deposit with a wedding venue, they hold the time and space open for you and turn away other weddings and parties. Talk to a lawyer in your area. Most venues remain open for public business during a wedding. Many venues have multiple parties going at once. The issue is whether there would be actual foot traffic or noise carryover into the room or space you are using. Almost any restaurant, hotel, or banquet place will have other parties and customers, though not in your exact room or space. The thing you are considering a breach of the agreement may not be that at all. It may be the way most party venues run their businesses. You also may be imagining that it will be different elsewhere, and it may not be. If you want to rent out a place to have the entire location 100% private during your wedding, this will cost a lot, unless it is a tiny place that truly can only accommodate your party, such as a historic building that is rented out for parties. Even then, you must always ask. As an example, I lived for a while in community of people in the arts that was in a beautiful old historic building. The first floor was rented out for weddings on some weekends. There were quite a few brides horrified on their wedding day when they saw all the ragamuffin sculptors, filmmakers, musicians, dancers, and poets coming and going through the front hallway. Always ask who may be in the venue during your wedding. ... Read More

I don't know what site it is, because you did not say. If they are selling music, it would be hard for it to get much cheaper than I tunes which is about a dollar a song. However, there is plenty of FREE music to download on the internet, on sites such as the Amoeba Record Store site, a daily tune on KCRW, lots of albums free or for a tip to the musicians on Noise Trade and Tweet for a Track, and on and on.... Read More

The simple answer is no. There are a variety of reasons that this is not permissible. Number one, the photographer and sometimes the model have copyrights to the image you wish to appropriate. Just because it is on the internet does not mean that it can be used without first obtaining licensing rights. One major exception to this rule is that of fair use. You may use the copyrighted material of another if it is being used for news, education, parody, etc. Additionally, if you based your characters on the lives of actual people you must first obtain life rights from them. Consequently, your underlying book may violate the people's rights whom you based the characters upon.... Read More

Yes, if this is an event that is open to the public, unless the party-givers are discriminating in some unlawful way against the people they turn away, such as not giving them the opportunity to purchase admission tickets. However, if this is a private event, you can admit whomever you like.... Read More

Fair use is inherently a gray area and problematic in regards to the use of short clips. From a legal perspective, various legal and non-legal/practical issues must be considered.....just for example, the past litigiousness of the content owner, which for a TV show will usually be either a production company or the network, as well as the nature of the material used (for example, is it the use of an iconic scene from a legendary TV show?). Another consideration is how the video will be used and possibly distributed or broadcast, because in some instances a third party will require proof of licensing before showing the video. Also, you can't necessarily assume there's no loss of profit potential, as that is a more complicated legal issue than it appears to be on the surface. Sorry for the complicated answer, but that's the reality of many 'fair use' situations.... Read More

Do you know that www.IMDB.com already exists? IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) started years ago as partly user-generated and then got bought out by Google. Yes, your plan sounds basically legal, but you should work with a lawyer. The photos may not be legal because you must be cautious that you own the copyright to them or that you get solid well-written releases from the actual copyright holder, which is often the photographer. Also, if photos are used to advertise your site, you may be infringing upon the star's right of publicity. Also, you must be very cautious with user-generated content as well as with accuracy, especially about peoples' lives. Printing gossip, bios, dates, or embarrassing photos should be avoided unless you have a lot of money to fact check and a staff of lawyers to handle the fall-out. If the information is user-generated but if you are actually putting it onto the site, then you are responsible for what is there.... Read More

I register trademark on band names. First I do an extensive search and screening, and charge only for that. That involves not only screening the name to see if it in use formally or informally as a trademark, but screening the existing trademark registrations with the same or similar names and their categories. Then, if it seems likely to me that the trademarking process will succeed, I offer to do that for an additional price. If you cannot afford the search part, you cannot afford to register trademark, because searching and screening are an integral part of the process. The screening is probably the most important part of the process and the basis on which the registration is likely to succeed or fail. There is no registration without a screening. One thing I would caution is to absolutely do not try to register trademark on your own and absolutely do not use one of the online services. Those online services are very misleading and are likely to result in not only the loss of your money, but the loss of your hoped-for trademark as well. The trademark registration process is long and complex and takes a minimum of one year. Filling out the application simply begins the process. There are usually more papers that must be filed after that, and more communications with the examiner. Also, and most importantly, I have seen registration applications generated by a very popular online website service where the application had incorrect information on it. These applications are signed by the applicant under oath and it is a crime to sign one that has incorrect information on it. This is yet another reason why it is crucial never to use one of the online services for your trademark application. ONLY use a real lawyer who is in good standing with the Trademark office. You are risking so much, actually risking imprisonment, if you do not use a lawyer for your application. If you cannot afford to pay a lawyer for the trademark process, wait until you can afford to do so or do not attempt the process. The trademark application is complex and must be filed exactly correct. In most registrations, there is a long series of back and forth with the trademark examiner. When the trademark examiner issues a letter, then the applicant must respond, usually with a formal legal brief that address the issues. It takes a good understanding of trademark law, rules, and cases to do this.The whole registration process on a carefully screened name for a band might take one year. More complex registrations or those that have not been properly screened can take 3 years on up to 10 years. It really takes a trained lawyer to do a trademark registration. The US Trademark office only allows licensed lawyers who are in good standing with the Trademark Office to represent people. The office does allow those who do it themselves, but from what I have seen, these are almost always done incorrectly and fail. If your trademark registration fails, no, the government does not refund your registration fee and your lawyer does not refund your payment. There is always the risk that any trademark registration may fail, because there are so many variables. That is why the process begins with a thorough screening. Trademark registration is a complex process and often involves filing additional papers, paying additional fees, and on and on until a mark is finally secured. With a well-screened band name application, that is not usually the case. But the important thing to understand is that if the application fails, the government does not refund the application fees. At the time of this writing, the government registration fee on one category is about $300. On top of that, lawyers will usually charge about $1200 on up for a registration. The most basic registration is about a year of on and off work. The more complex registrations can take years and may cost $100,000 or more.... Read More

You don't say what sort of picture of your child, what your child was doing in the photo, or the context of the photo in the story or what the story was about. I would need to know all these things before I could answer this. What role does your child play in the story? You also do not say how old the child is or if the child gave consent. A "child" who is a teen may be considered old enough to give permission to give a news interview. You say you did not give consent, but did your child? A smart 16 year old is considered old enough to decide if he or she wants to be on a news interview. A 6 year old is not. without knowing your situation because you have not given enough information, the general rule is that if something happens in a public location, it is legal to photograph or video it and put it on the news. However, aside from what is legal, there are also ethical rules. The Society Of Professional Journalists (SPJ) provides a Code of Ethics. In it, it states: "Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects or victims of sex crimes." Therefore, if your child is a suspect or victim of a sex crime, ask the news outlet to remove the name and photo. Another of the SPJ rules in the Code of Ethics states: "Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects." If you think your child has been endangered by the news report, by all means, call the station and tell them so and ask for it to be removed. Also, you should consider whether the news report is defamation. Defamation is when an untrue statement that is harmful is made. Defamation is complex legally and you should consult with a lawyer to tell you the rules of defamation in your state. If the news station has allowed your child to be defamed, you should talk with a lawyer soon.... Read More

No one can use your image for commercial purposes unless you give permission. The question becomes whether Facebook has the right to use the picture if your friend posted it without your permission. Likely the answer is no, unless there is something in Facebook's agreement that says that you have consented by your use of Facebook. You will have to check Facebook's terms and conditions to see if somehow you gave your consent. If not, your image cannot be used under the law of privacy rights/publicity of most states.... Read More