Copyrights protect creative works. A copyright gives the owner of the copyright exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, perform, or display the copyrighted work. A copyright also gives the owner of the copyright the exclusive rights to create a derivative work. A derivative work is a work that is based on the copyrighted work. What Type…
All businesses engage in some type of marketing. Marketing often comes in the form of advertising: in newspapers, on television, on a website, on the side of a bus or billboard, etc. However, sometimes the marketing is as simple as placing the businesses name or logo on the goods they are selling. Purchasing decisions are…
On January 8, 2013, R&D Film 1, LLC filed a two-count Complaint attempting to allege Direct Copyright Infringement and Contributory Copyright Infringement involving the motion picture “the Divide” against 41 John Doe Defendants. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District Court of Washington and has been assigned case…
On March 5, 2013, Zambezia Film Ltd. filed a two-count Amended Complaint attempting to allege Direct Copyright Infringement and Contributory Copyright Infringement involving the motion picture “Adventures in Zambezia” against 51 John Doe Defendants. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District Court of Washington and has been…
‘Jersey Boys’ Wins Important Copyright Challenge The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the producers of the hit play, Jersey Boys, chronicling the rise to stardom of the musical act, “The Four Seasons,” did not infringe upon the rights of the copyright owner to The Ed Sullivan Show. SOFA Entertainment, Inc. v. Dodger…
Along with the previously discussed alternatives for avoiding or limiting liability for infringement (see discussion of licensing in this post on Safe Harbors for On-Line Service Providers) there is the doctrine of fair use.
The exclusive rights held by the copyright owner can be licensed to other parties. This license provides the user with permission to use the copyrighted work without infringing the copyright. Therefore, it is essential that any on-line business that makes considerable use of …
Although there have been many recent attempts to increase copyright protection for databases in the United States, Congress has yet to find a solution that would allow protection beyond the mere selection and arrangement of the work without providing the copyright owner with a monopoly in the information contained in the database.
A Florida court found no copyright infringement when a competitor website used an Internet “spider’’ software program to extract and copy information from a competitor’s website. The court determined that the extraction of what were deemed facts and their copying constituted fair use.
If you transmit images via the Internet or allow for such transmission, you may also be considered a publisher of copyrighted material. As noted above, many different types of materials may be protected by copyright, including audiovisual works, musical compositions, sound recordings, visual art, photographs, graphics…
Copyright protection attaches immediately when the work is established in a fixed form. To obtain copyright protection you need not register or submit an application. There are, however, significant advantages to federal registration, which may warrant the copyright owner’s pursuit and compliance with…
The Constitution of the United States provides Congress with the power to grant authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries as necessary to promote the progress of science and useful arts.
Generally, a trade secret is information such as a formula, pattern, compilation, compound, device, mechanism, method, or technique that provides some actual or potential value to its owner, is not known to or discovered by others, and is maintained in secrecy by its owner.
While it is perhaps easy to comprehend the patentability of a machine, manufacture or other piece of “hardware,” it is not as readily apparent for other less “tangible” inventions, such as software and related computer processes.
A patentee obtains the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States, or importing the invention into the United States. If the invention is a process, the patentee obtains the right to exclude others from using, offering for sale, or selling throughout…
As is true for Internet research in general, the Internet is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for locating patent-related information. There are numerous reasons why a business owner may want to research patent information
Even prior to the application process with the USPTO, a potential patent applicant should consider conducting a search of the prior art to help determine the likelihood of ultimately obtaining patent protection for an invention.
Trademark infringement occurs when one trademark is confusingly similar to another‘s trademark. Generally, the first to use a trademark may continue using the mark. However, the first user may be precluded from expanding the geographic region in which the mark is used…
While utility patents protect functional aspects of technology, design patents protect the appearance of an article of manufacture or material portion of the article. The standard of novelty is whether the prior art, contains an article having substantially the same appearance as viewed by an ordinary observer.
Many inventions related to the Internet have been patented. Patents relating to electrical communication, data storage and retrieval, cryptography, information processing, and system organization are a few of the many Internet-related patents. A large portion of patent issues associated with the Internet are those surrounding software patents.
A patent is a government grant to an inventor of the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing an invention for a limited period of time.
The global proliferation of networked computers on the Internet has spawned explosive growth in patents in the United States and worldwide. The advent of the World Wide Web, e-commerce, and their associated technological advances has resulted in a multitude of innovative ideas worthy of the title “invention.”
The metatag is a powerful browser tool for Internet advertising. The keyword portion of a metatag consists of hidden words that can be used to describe the contents of a web page. The metatags of a particular web site can be viewed by selecting the “view page source” or equivalent command in the web browser.
Since the personal computer was developed, computer owners have traded files amongst themselves through a variety of means. With the advent of hard disk technology capable of downloading and storing large files, music files such as MP3s became one of the most popular subjects of file sharing.
I Filed an “Intent to Use” Trademark Application, Now What? You were on top of the ball, you wanted to protect rights to a “mark” you were intending to use. You filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under section 1(b), intent to use. Now you are stuck wondering…
Guava LLC filed suit against Spencer Merkel alleging “interception of electronic communications and civil conspiracy, arising from unlawful computer breaches” in Minnesota’s District Court for the Fourth Judicial District, Hennepin County. The case number is 27-cv-12-20976 and the presiding judge is Tanya M. Bransford. Subpoenas have been issued to internet service providers requesting the personal…
The sweeping reforms to U.S. patent law imposed by the Smith-Leahy America Invents Act of a year ago have created a significant increase in patent litigation despite reformers intentions to cut down the number of questionable patents issued by the USPTO and to reign in the activities of “patent trolls.” According to a study by…
What is a Trademark? A trademark protects words, phrases, names, sounds, logos, symbols, designs, or a combination of these elements used to identify or distinguish the goods and services of one company or individual from that of another. Trademarks should not be confused with copyrights. Copyright protects original artistic and literary works like music, books,…
Trademarks are one of the legal tools people use to protect their “intellectual property”—ideas, designs, inventions, and so on. In particular, trademarks protect any word, phrase, symbol, design, etc. used by a company to identify its products or services, and distinguish them from the products or services of others. The benefit of obtaining a trademark…
Largely at the bequest of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that is extending the public comment period for its proposed rules implementing the first-inventor-to-file provisions of the “America Invents Act.” USPTO has reopened the comment period until November 5, 2012. You may submit comments via email to…
