Monthly Archives: April 2010

IP PROTECTION FOR GAMES

Copyright registration does not protect the concept of a game. It does protect its literary and pictorial expression, however, namely the appearance of the game, the board, cards, etc and the content of any instructions or published material packaged with … Continue reading

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USING OTHER PEOPLE’S CONTENT IN YOUR CREATIVE WORKS

The Copyright Office web site summarizes the law in this area by stating, “Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, … Continue reading

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USING OTHER’S IMAGES

The ILLINOIS RIGHT OF PUBLICITY ACT (765 ILCS 1075) provides that, “the public use or holding out of an individual’s identity (which is defined in the Act as “any attribute of an individual that serves to identify that individual to … Continue reading

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NAMING YOUR ROCK BAND AND KEEPING IT LEGAL

It was reported recently in the Wall Street Journal that former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones was having difficulty finding a name for his new band. Apparently, there is a shortage of good band names out there, and believe … Continue reading

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CYBERWAR (Cont.)

On May 30, 2007 in a blog post titled “Cyberwar” I wrote about a distributed denial-of-service attack launched against Estonia. According to an article published on February 19, 2010 in the New York Times, investigators into the online attacks on … Continue reading

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THE IPAD & WHY YOU SHOULD DO A TRADEMARK SEARCH

“Remember that prior to filing an application to protect a product name, logo or design, a search should be undertaken to determine if a mark or design similar to the one that you are seeking to protect has already been … Continue reading

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PARODY AND TRANSFORMATIVE USE

I attended a public discussion about music sampling, fair use and transformative use. So I would like to take the opportunity to carry on that discussion on the web. The U.S. Copyright Office advises, “One of the rights accorded to … Continue reading

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IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (ALT VERSION)

The quintessential Christmas movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life” provides an excellent opportunity to understand the current credit crisis. Mr. Henry Potter operated a successful commercial bank in Bedford Falls. His lending practices were judicious and his institution was well capitalized, … Continue reading

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY-AMERICA’S GROWTH INDUSTRY

During his campaign for the Presidency, Barack Obama, at a San Francisco fundraiser, referred to working class voters as follows, “So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who … Continue reading

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E-MAIL & YOUR EMPLOYER

It’s tempting, eyes glazing over, spending 8-10 hours at your desk in your cubicle, to want to check your personal e-mail one or two times during the day or to research that new restaurant you are thinking of dining out … Continue reading

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A PRIMER ON COPYRIGHT LAW

1. Copyright does not protect ideas. It protects only the expression of those ideas. Thus, if you have an idea about a movie thriller where someone crash lands on another planet or a romantic comedy about a couple who are … Continue reading

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YOUR PRIVACY AND WHAT’S ON YOUR HARD DRIVE

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) won a default judgment against the operators of the TorrentSpy.com web site in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, located in Los Angeles, with the U.S. District Court Judge … Continue reading

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USING PHOTOS FROM THE WEB

A client of mine who provided business software used a head shot of a young blond woman wearing glasses to grace its website. It was an example of using sex in a subdued and tasteful manner to sell a product. … Continue reading

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CYBERWAR

We all rely on computers networks to withdraw money, to make credit card purchases, to pay our bills and to use the Internet to shop, among other things.  In addition, in many cities we access networks to enter and exit … Continue reading

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