Entertainment Legal Questions

It sounds like you are dealing with Twitter? Or is it Facebook? Or a different site? Facebook has hundreds of racist, antiSemitic, sexist, violent, vulgar and sickening pages. Twitter has many abusive users who regularly use Twitter to post attacks at other users. Twitter and Facebook might take the lead from Youtube, which finally got smart about not allowing abuse and says they want all users to feel comfortable, that the site is not meant for harassing others, and not meant to shock. I'd suggest people keep publicizing that Twitter and Facebook have ineffective rules and protections and are allowing what I assume are a tiny percentage of users who are deranged to intimidate the more socially normal users. Many of the abuses on Facebook and Twitter are actually illegal, but it takes someone to report the abuses to police. In the past year alone, there have been at least a hundred arrests in the U.S., that I know of, of people for their Facebook or Twitter posts. I suggest you report what seems very wrong, and let the authorities figure out how they will respond. What you are asking is how to bring legal pressure upon these sites to stop allowing these abuses. That is done by filing police and FBI reports about the extreme or repeat abuses. It may also help to file a class action lawsuit. Discuss this with a lawyer or with an organization that protects social rights. There was a recent lawsuit in France to remove anti-Semitic tweets and to reveal the identity of the tweeters. I think such a group lawsuit would be possible in the U.S. on the basis that certain racial or religious groups are not being allowed equal and fair access to Twitter, because Twitter has been allowing abusive users to stalk and intimidate them. From what I have seen, the abusive users on Twitter reach out and keep posting at people who have them blocked. Twitter utterly fails to protect the normal users from the predators. The predators create many sock puppet accounts, so it seems there are many of them with the same deranged thinking patterns. In reality, I think they are but a handful of very active sociopaths. Twitter does not remove death threats, violent attacks, repeat harassment, posting of personal information, racism, sexism, repeat personal stalking and harassment, or other abuses. Sure, Twitter has Abuse Report forms for all that, but Twitter does not respond by removing the abuse. Twitter may eventually suspend such an abusive account, but the same user will simply start a new account. Twitter has Safety and Legal Departments that are asleep at the wheel. There is even a particular user who runs a criminal site where he deals in users' personal information so that others may attack them. Just the other day, he tweeted a brag that he was making available the address of the parents of Trayvon Martin. Twitter refuses to take action to permanently remove this and other continuously abusive users. Social and financial pressure against Twitter and Facebook and other Social Media may also work. I have seen numerous petitions asking Facebook to remove pages that are violent, vulgar, and disrespectful. A few months ago, there was a particularly vile page celebrating and encouraging the murder of small children. The people who created the page kept posting their detailed plans to kill children with bombs and guns. Literally hundreds of people complained about the page to Facebook, which responded, over and over again, that the page did not violate its Community Standards. What on earth are the Facebook Community Standards if plans to mass murder little children are acceptable? What Community is that? Facebook was started as a site for Harvard students and then allowed students from various elite schools. Then it moved to allowing the general public. Now it has become a place for pages encouraging violence and hate against women, children, people of different races, and animal abuse. What happene... Read More

First, your version as a cover is called a derivative work. There are two major kinds of copyright. There's a composition copyright in the performance copyright. While you may have the ability to copyright your individual performance of a cover song you would still need to obtain the appropriate licensing from the copyright holder of the original composition. However, because your cover is based on the original work of someone else, you would not be able to copyright your composition.... Read More

It sounds like you may be making a derivative work. That is a work that is closely based on the original, but changes it. The right to make a derivative work lies with the copyright holder. For songs, in most cases, that is the songwriter or publisher. To make a derivative work, you need to get permission from the copyright holder. A song becomes a derivative work if you change the lyrics of significantly change the music. You might be able to copyright your version of the song with yourself named as the arranger. Also, once you record the song, you can of course register copyright on your sound recording.... Read More

No, you cannot hold the copyright in a cover song because it is a derivative work of the original song writer's copyright. You can however seek to license the song if you wish to release your own version for profit, but it will require the copyright holder's consent and likely a fee paid.... Read More

This is an excellent question and one I get very often. You are correct in that the standard is, is the new mark likely to cause confusion in the marketplace. Given that your trademark is registered and pre-dates the new usage of this third party and that their usage is in the same industry, the likelihood of confusion is high. Based upon your statement of facts, I believe you would have valid claims for trademark infringement against both the owner of the third party using your name and the website allowing the infringing posts and possibly even the ISP of the website for contributory trademark infringement. Because you fall under the Lanham Act, you would have the possibility of recovering triple damages, plus costs and attorney fees. I would begin by sending a cease and desist letter to the infringers as this would be the most cost effective method of securing their compliance. If this did not secure their compliance, I would file a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction baring them from using the name. The cost of a cease and desist is relatively low, about $500. The cost of obtaining an injunction (court order) can be substantial. I always try to get these matters resolved before fees get to high, but remember, attorneys fees may be recoverable against the third party infringer.... Read More

First of all, you are referring to a trademark, not a copyright. Second, you cannot obtain a trademark on a name if someone else is already using that name in such a way that your use would cause confusion in the marketplace. Certainly, if someone else already has a registered trademark and your use does not pre-date theirs, the answer to your question is no. If your use does pre-date theirs, the answer may be yes.... Read More

Do you have the purchase receipts for the tickets? Does your receipt match the place and time of purchase on the winning tickets? Also, look through your other tickets to see if you still have yours. If you do find receipts that match up with the winning ticket, speak with a lawyer in the State that runs the lottery. Other factors that might be evidence that the winning ticket was yours is if it was purchased where and when you always buy your tickets and if it used the numbers you usually picked. Also, most stores have surveillance cameras. Lotteries are so precise now that they can pinpoint the date and time the tickets were purchased. Surveillance video may show who bought the ticket. If all these things show that you bought the ticket, there will still be the question of whether you were purchasing it for your business partner, or if you knowingly transferred the ticket to him as a gift or payment.... Read More

I do not understand all the details here. Let me see if I have this correct. Were you posing for nude photos that he would use and doing that as a form of compensation to him? And in exchange, he was going to work as a photographer for you for your website? In other words, was he exchanging being able to exploit photos of you as compensation for working for you? But that deal was oral and not in writing? The photographer may own the copyright to the photos, but you own the right to your image, which cannot be used without your permission. Hire a lawyer to send him a letter and have him delete all copies of the photos and never use them. Then keep your eye out to see if he is showing the photos. If anyone is considering posing for nude or compromising photos or videos, they should have a lawyer involved. Getting such photos or videos can harm or outright destroy your career or jobs for many years. It can change your whole life, and usually for the worse. ... Read More

I would need to see the Terms of Service to be able to tell you an answer. Most Terms of Service include a clause that says they can change the rules any time they want and give you notice by posting the new Terms of Service on their website. If you really dislike the new dragon breeding code, try asking for a refund and say you prefer to play the free game since they changed the rules. If that does not work, just stop playing the game and find one with rules you like better. But be aware, other games also change their rules from time to time. Most things on the internet have a free version and paid versions. Once you are converted into a paying customer, it can be hard to cancel the service. Read the rules carefully and be sure you are actually canceling, so you do not continue to be billed. ... Read More

Just as Kitty Kelly writes unauthorized biographies of celebrities, you can write a musical about one. However, you should also be prepared to defend against a law suit from the celebrity on a variety of charges unless you can prove that every single bit of the play is factual. It would be much safer to get the celebrity's permission and pay whatever percentage of the profits he or she demands.... Read More

In most cases, yes. However, some copyrighted materials are placed on the Internet for the specific purpose of being used by others. Check the web site for its policy on using the pictures. Be aware that a large amount of the content of the Internet has been stolen from the rightful copyright owner. Downloading stolen material may involve you in legal proceedings against the thieves.... Read More

I would need to read the license to see what it says. When a software company licenses, rather than sells, software, normal copyright law does not apply. Also, many such contracts are not valid, because they have no consideration. Often, such contracts list only the rights already given by law, and then take away many rights, and charge the user a fee. Since there is no consideration given for removal of the user's rights, the contract may not be a contract at all. If the contract is presumed valid, the next step is to see what it says. try reading it yourself, or ask a lawyer. Such contracts vary greatly in what they say. This software licensing situation has led to several things, including Apple macs coming pre-loaded with software, Chromebooks interacting only with Google products, and SaaS, software as a service, where software is accessed online for a subscription or use fee.... Read More

This might be one of the various kinds of P or O visas. The laws are very complex. Any US record label planning to bring in music artists from a different nation to record in the US will need to work closely with an immigration lawyer. The cost of obtaining such a visa is quite high and the process takes months. This is not a job for anyone other than an experienced immigration attorney.... Read More

I'd have to know more to answer this question. Are you the 22 year old or the 16 year old? And what do you mean by "date"? If a 22 year old in the US is contacting a 16 year old in Europe, and having relationship-type conversations, and sending sexual photos back and forth, the 22 year old in the US may indeed be charged with Child pornography charges and other charges and end out spending 10 or more years in prison and being labeled as a sexual predator for life. Anyone in the US who is over age 18 who wants to carry on any sort of relationship with anyone under age 18 who is anywhere in the world, should first bring the details to a lawyer and get advice. Better yet, if you are over 18, carry on relations only with people who are also over 18 years old.... Read More