California Intellectual Property Legal Questions

You cannot use someone else's creative work without their permission, so downloading a tattoo which was commissioned for someone else would violate copyright law if you do not have permission. Copyright law protects creative works that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Under the copyright law the author has the right to stop others from copying and publicly displaying his or her creative work without permission. In a recent case S. Victor Whitmill, Mike Tyson's tattoo artist, sued Warner Bros. to stop the release of the movie Hangover II because the character played by Ed Helms had a tattoo he created on his face. Warner Bros. had not asked for permission. The parties settled and the movie was released.... Read More

I see you have received two other answers. When you get this many attorneys in one state, you will get many answers, some of which I don't agree with. Hope you are getting good guidance. Best wishes in continuing this endeavor. Thank you so much for the fantastic endorsement on the other site. Michael Doland, Doland & Fraade... Read More

Regardless of the size of the up-front commitment, an attorney should be employed to draft the agreement. The reason for this is simple: mistakes last forever, and you can be paying for them long after the initial product relationship has ended. It is very difficult to answer these kinds of questions in a vacuum, and the questions are even more difficult when neither the licensor or licensee has any economies of scale as a result of other products or other distribution channels in which they are operating. The chances of failure are overwhelming when both parties are novices and neither has any established distribution channels or manufacturing. That having been said, nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you want to discuss the specifics, you should consult an attorney who practices in the area of licensing and franchising. Feel free to contact our offices at (203) 399-1320 if we can help.... Read More

Your inquiry raises a number of questions, including issues that may arise under Turkish law. As a threshold matter, it is impossible to answer trademark-infringement questions without having a good understanding of the nature of the senior user's mark and product; it doesn't suffice to know the mark or only that the mark is registered. You don't provide this information. Since the general test of trademark infringement is whether an appreciable number of ordinary consumers could be confused into believing that your app originates with the senior user, we need additional facts to make that determination, including the nature of the mark, how "famous" the mark is, and, most importantly, how close your app is to whatever "they" sell under their mark. If, for example, their mark covers a kind of lettuce, the likelihood of infringement by a software app would probably be small, unless the mark is very famous. You should not assume that your are immune from liability simply because you are in the U.S. To the contrary, if you cause injury by distributing your app internationally, you may be sued in the place where the injury occurs. If you wish to discuss this matter on a professional basis, please feel free to contact my office during business hours at (203) 399-1320.... Read More

No. Your relationship with Microsoft (which owns the Hotmail service) is governed by a contract, to which you assented when you opened your account. It grants Microsoft the right to suspend or terminate your service at any time for any reason or no reason at all. Go to the Hotmail site and read the terms of service.  ... Read More

The answer is "probably not." As a general matter, an employee who creates a work of authorship in the course of furtherance of his employment has created a work made for hire owned by the employer. The relationship is not particularly affected by the amount or terms of the author's compensation. You understood that your work would be used in this way when you were re-hired and you accepted your zero salary without objection. This sounds like a very difficult case for the plaintiff.... Read More

As a general matter, this is precisely the kind of use that is generally considered to be "fair." While no single factor is ever dispositive of the issue of whether a particular use is "fair," in your case you will generally be doing very limited copying (as opposed to summarization), and you will be using the papers in a way that does not deprive the original authors of any meaningful economic benefits (indeed, you will derive no such benefit yourself). While such a use should be "fair," there is no harm in asking permission. Such permissions are generally granted gratis and are an absolute defense to a claim of copyright infringement.... Read More

When you are the junior user of an unregistered mark, it is dangerous to assume that your use is non-infringing merely because the mark appears to you to be merely descriptive. Bear in mind that even merely descriptive marks may acquire secondary meaning. Moreover, it is possible that the mark is merely descriptive with respect to your goods but somehow stronger with respect to the goods of the senior user (as, for example, being unrelated to their geographic origin). These are inherently fact-based determinations and could cost you thousands of dollars (or hundreds of thousands of dollars) in litigation expenses just to prove you are right. Nearly every attorney in these circumstances would advise you that it is inexpensive and relatively easy to pick a new name now, before you have spent any money on advertising -- or litigation. You may be absolutely right, but the cost-benefit relationship is wrong.... Read More

Unpermitted copying of a work of the graphic arts is covered by the law of copyright. As a general matter, the statute of limitations for copyright infringement is three years from the date when the infringement reasonably should have been discovered, which will be a very difficult showing under circumstances such as you suggest. Please call my office at (203) 399-1320 if you wish to discuss this situation.... Read More

Whether or not you may do so depends on complex issues of copyright law, including the application of the exception to copyright infringement called "fair use." If your purpose is to promote, rather than retard, sales of the hard copy, as Amazon does, then there would be a good argument that the use is "fair." Fair use determinations are always intensely fact-dependent.... Read More

The photographs are protected by copyright and the question is who owns the copyright to the photographs that you took. I assume that the pictures that you took were of work you completed was actually construction projects of your employer. If you took the pictures as part of your work for your employer, e.g., you are routinely expected to keep a portfolio of the company projects that you work on, then you probably have no claim to the ownership of the photos while you might if that is not the case.  A separate question is your right to claim that these projects of your former employer are your projects and for you or a company that employee's you to use these photos in advertising when they are projects of your former employer.... Read More

The fact that things are on public display does not make them "public domain." The creator of any artistic work reduced to a medium has copyright in that work. There are additional considerations regarding rights of privacy. You should be discussing these matters with your advisor. A scholarly journal does provide some protection, but the amount that can be directly quoted as "fair use" and the degree to which the "author", Mr. Chandler wishes to protect his privacy are fine distinctions.... Read More

"Vanity" publishing contracts are frequently problematic. Unfortunately, a deal is a deal, and you may be in breach if you attempt to circumvent your obligations under this contract. As a practical matter, they may not sue you, but that does not mean that they don't have the right to do so. The best solution is a negotiated termination. An attorney may be helpful in this process.... Read More