Illinois Intellectual Property Legal Questions

There are actually fairly straight forward answers to your questions, and indeed some use of marks is allowed and some is not.  Both copyright and trademark rights are at issue.  I can provide you the advice on hourly basis ($400/hr) or through a pre-billed package (3 hours for $1000.)     http://www.protectitip.com/five-pillars The package doesn't expire meaning you can use the legal advice whenever you want.  If after two months you haven't used the whole thing, you can request a refund of any used amount. -Paul http://www.protectitip.com/contact/      ... Read More

You have to be careful when dealing with an invention company, many, even well know ones, are unscrupolus. Check the Patent Office website for information on the subject: http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/scam_prevention/#heading-1 You may even find it less costly to use an attorney rather than an invention company; you could get more for less based on what I have seen such companies charge.  One thing you should ask the company is: "what percentage of your clients have recovered more money as a result your marketing efforts than they spent in fees to you". I would guess that it is a very small persentage.  ... Read More

It isn't clear from your question why you need to prove ownership. If you want to register copyright in the written material (use copyright.gov and obtain a registration for $35), none of these steps is necessary. Copyright ownership is the best evidence of ownership of written material and the form allows you to identify a pseudonym while listing your real name for ownership purposes. Mailing a document to yourself is not evidence of anything - notarization is superior in every respect. Notarization does not verify the validity of the statement, only that the statement was sworn to on the date provided by the notary.... Read More

Trademark rights have to do with creating an expectation in the mind of the consumer that a good is from (or licensed by) a specific source. If the product is being designed to make the consumer think of the Chicago Bears, there is a decent chance that the consumer will believe the product comes from or is licensed by the Bears. If you are hoping people will buy the clothing because it brings the Bears' apparel to mind, you are probably infringing their trademark/trade dress rights. Creating that consumer confusion/association with the Bears is trademark infringement. Beyond not wanting to commit trademark infringement, you probably do not want to come close to trademark infringement. If you are close enough that the Bears or the NFL could file suit and force you to spend six figures to determine if you were in the right, you are probably out of business. Good luck, Todd... Read More

Trademarks operate as source identifiers. If you use a title that makes people think your podcast is originating from a different source and the owner of the product wants to come after you, you could have an issue.  Put another way, if you start a Fun with Flags podcast and people visit thinking it might be provided by the producers of Big Bang Theory, the producers of Big Bang Theory could shut you down.  The Wizard of Oz owners are a great example of this. Anyone who ever tries to adopt a trademark using a Wizard of Oz reference gets a cease and desist letter and will eventually get sued if they persist.  They guard the elements of that movie zealously.... Read More

Not really intellectual property. I don't know the court structure in Illinois at all, but I'd suggest trying the local small claims court. I have used that venue successfully before to settle personal disputes that don't feel like hiring counsel is worthwhile. Another idea would be, if you have a common friend, have that person mediate the possession pick up.  If that person makes plans to be at the apartment, the former roommate may be less likely to blow the activity off and may also be able to assist in any altercations that ensue.... Read More

A copyright protects the form of expression of a work, not the underlying content. For example, the blueprint of a building could not be photocopied without infringing the copyright, while use of the blueprint to build the building depicted would not be an infringement of the copyright. Thus, if you perform the actual steps described in a book, and then blog about what you did, unless you lifted text from the book and incorporated it into your blog, the mere fact that reading your blog's description of what you did would reveal the steps taught by the book would not be a violation of the copyright in the book. On the other hand, if by some chance the author had also obtained a patent on the process of getting a job in 10 days, that patent would be infringed by performing the process, not by writing about it.... Read More

Dear Mr Snyder, the type of legal protection(s) you might be looking for may not arise per se from the way the law in IL,USA may protect you but from the way you choose to word/draft and/or supplement the prior clauses in in your current Nondisclosure Agreement (s) (NDA(s)).It is possible that in the past, you might have shared many aspects of your sharing source code, demos, or ideas with people who you were trying to 'sell' an idea to or have a partnership with in the past , so you clearly are at danger of having your ideas/games etc. cloned or varied intelligently. Just a question, did you, have any presumptions regarding the  game being ultimately cloned/copied in your NDA(s) and write down about the type of remedies/damages available there? Asserting your right not have any aspect, idea, colour schemes , code etc. in your video game copied is much broader that simply stating a 'copyright' on the video game.How specific have you been in your current NDA(s) so far?This type of protection can be time-consuming and mentally exhausting, but it will safe you from unneccesary headaches later. Next, how technically sound are your safeguards against copying.Have you considered encrypting/scrambling your code?Also you may interested in obtaining a world wide patent on your consoles and peripherals on the game, if any.Be specific in your patent application, if you have not opted for a patent so far.What about the game rules,processes and methodologies which make your game unique? Contrary to the popular notion that copyrights are a one stop method for protecting your work, your contents, functionalities and mechanics are often not covered under the copyright umbrella.Finally a good legal team can always alert you about a reputation check online and offline and whether your work has been cloned.It is wise to launch a media offensive if you think your work has been stolen, but you will need to shape your strategy better through timely legal advice. Our IP legal team at Josh and Mak LLP can advise you about the remedies/safeguards etc. available further as well as whether your current NDA(s) and registrations provide you enough protection. I hope my answer helps!  ... Read More

There is good news and bad news here. The good news is that you have a legal claim for the damage that was done to your vehicle and to recover the amounts you have paid for work not performed; you can sue to collect these amounts. The bad news is that Phil is apparently out of business, so even a money judgment from a court may not result in your actual receipt of any money.... Read More

Yes, you can register the copyright in your synopses and in fact you should before you submit them to a publisher. Copyright registration is not terribly expensive. You can read about the process at www.copyright.gov. If the publisher later makes a substantial copy or a "derivative" of your work, it may be copyright infringement because as the copyright owner, you have the right to make "derivative works." If you register your copyright before infringement begins, you are entitled to additional remedies for infringement including attorney's fees, which you would not be entitled to if you waited to register the copyright AFTER the infringement began.... Read More

There is no protection under US copyright law that would still cover Shakespeare's works. They fall in the public domain. However, you still cannot copy someone else's work that uses Shakespeare's characters, it needs to be an original work of yours. Here is a URL that gives you guidance on copyright terms under US law: http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm. For copyright terms in other countries, you must find out the law in each of those countries for specifics.... Read More

As a general matter, the only way to keep competitors from copying your business model is to keep the model itself a secret. In theory, you could disclose the model only to people who have agreed in advance to retain it in confidence and not to disclose it or make commercial use of it. This obviously won't work with a mass social service, but it might work with something small until you can get some scale. You'll need to consult with an IP attorney about it in any event, which you should do sooner rather than later.... Read More

Using factual information like email addresses is not copyright infringement, as facts cannot be protected, However, if you use the email addresses in violation of the Terms of Use of the website, you may have breached your agreement with that website. You have to check all of the terms of the website to see how they enforce their Terms of Use. ... Read More

When two or more people collaborate on a project that is intended to be a single work, they are joint owners of the work that they create so long as each owner contributes something that itself is protectible by copyright. Each owner can license or sell (assign) do whatever they want with the work without getting permission from the other owner, except that each owner must share profits they make from the work. This means that neither owner alone can grant an exclusive license or sell the entire copyright because neither owner owns all of the rights in the work. Neither owner owns any more rights than any other owner, they share equally unless they have a contract between them that splits ownership differently. Under your facts, it is questionable that changing 1 or 2 words in a 500 word comedic sketch would be a work of authorship that is protectible by copyright, so the writing partner may not be a joint owner. ... Read More

Generally speaking, slogans that do not serve to identify the origin or sponsorship of goods cannot qualify as a trademark. Moreover, slogans are not copyrightable. You should consult with an attorney regarding the precise facts of your situation, including how the stickers are being distributed and what the goods and services are to which they relate (which you do not provide in your inquiry).... Read More

You should speak with an intellectual property attorney to determine the best way (or ways) to protect your idea. As the other attorneys noted, generally ideas themselves are not generally protectible. However, their application may be protected by a patent, or their expression may be protected by copyright. Some inventions are protectible under several laws. For example, software code is protected by copyright and a computer system running the function embodied in the code may be eligible for a patent. You should work with a knowledgeable attorney to make sure that you obtain the broadest protection before you disclose your ideas to others.  ... Read More

First and foremost, have a written agreement with the web designer. The agreement should expressly state that they/he/she agree that the resultant product is to be treated as a work for hire and that they/he/she agree to assign all rights in the in the code produced and any resulting inventions or other intellectual property created specifically in connection with the product of the website.. You also want them to agree not to incorporate any intellectual property of third parties into the website and to hold you harmless for violations of the intellectual property rights of third parties that is embodied in the website. ... Read More