Register your copyrights. Now.

I just had a conversation with the Library of Congress. Now, we all knew that copyright registrations were taking over a year to process.

However, the representative at the Library of Congress just told me that it is taking up to TWO years to process a copyright registration. This is an extraordinarily long time for a process where the sample is stored at the Library of Congress and a number is assigned.

Have you filed your copyright registrations? Now, courts will allow copyright lawsuits continue if an application has been filed - especially with this backlog. However, it is not a step I would like to see anyone take. File your copyright registrations because that is the first step to filing a lawsuit for infringement.

In two years, we all know that things change and infringements do happen. I highly recommend filing as soon as possible because the process is taking so long.

****

Lunch Event!
http://bizassetsnyc.eventbrite.com/

Anthony M. Verna III

of the Law Offices of Anthony Verna,

Steve Wechsler of Wechsler Associates, Inc.

& Daniel Holohan of B&B Holcam

present

Protecting Your Business’s Assets

A Lunch-and-Learn event for business owners

Tuesday, March 23 from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Keene's Steakhouse
72 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10018

$45 for lunch and all this information!

You must RSVP at http://bizassetsnyc.eventbrite.com/

Intangible and tangible - the complexities of today's business world present numerous risks for business owners. Enjoy a free steak lunch at Keene's and learn how to protect your business's assets while avoiding the most commonly made mistakes in these crucial areas.

Our experts will explain:

* How trademark and copyright law protect your business…and

the four mistakes most business owners make.

* A crucial insurance policy that 95% of business owners don’t

have.

* The key elements of a buy sell plan…and a tax deduction you

probably aren’t taking advantage of.

This information-packed lunch will show you how to avoid the most dangerous pitfalls that threaten every business. Our experts will present time and money saving ideas that will protect your most important assets and contribute to your business’s growth and success.

RSVP at http://bizassetsnyc.eventbrite.com/

Looking forward to tonight's call!

Don't forget that for audio, use these numbers:

Dial-in Number: 1-518-825-1300
Participant Access Code: 1155320

To view video, click this link:

http://www.freeconference.com/SharePlusConnect.aspx?E=409a1cbb2635870c51a7a0b8003ee846&B=8364842&AC=1

Date: Monday, February, 15, 2010

Time: 9:00 PM - 10:25 PM EST

I look forward to seeing you online!

-Anthony

Another Phone and Web Seminar

Join us for a Phone and Web Seminar on February 15.

Dial-in Number: 1-518-825-1300 (East Coast)
Participant Access Code: 1155320

This will be a phone and web seminar on copyright and trademark law for small businesses.

Learn to protect your intellectual property.

Learn what a trademark is. Learn what a copyright is. This is going to be a primer so that you're familiar with the terms and with the differences between these areas of intellectual property. Don't hesitate to protect your trademarks and copyrights!

Registration for the webinar includes registration to the free mailing list about current trademark and copyright law issues by Anthony Verna.

Come and learn and discuss.

Title: Trademark and Copyright Law for Small Business

Date: Monday, February, 15, 2010

Time: 9:00 PM - 10:25 PM EST

To view video:

http://www.freeconference.com/SharePlusConnect.aspx?E=409a1cbb2635870c51a7a0b8003ee846&B=8364842&AC=1

Reserve your conference seat now! Hit the "Reply" button now, saying, "I want to be in the February 15th conference!"

The Four Items Most People Get Wrong in a Trademark Application

Many business owners believe they can save money by doing a Federal trademark application. But what they do not know are the pitfalls in filing the application themselves.

1. Incorrect Trademark. Yes, this might seem very basic – but many times, business owners register what they think their mark is instead of registering the mark that the business is using.

2. Incorrect Owner. People and corporations are different legal entities. Very often, a small business owner puts himself or herself as the owner of the trademark when it is the corporation who owns and uses the trademark.

3. Incorrect Date of First Use. What is the date of first use? It is the date that the trademark was used on any material related to the goods or services your company sells.

4. Incorrect Description of the Goods and Services. As a part of filing for a Federal trademark, the application must list the goods and services that a mark represents. This list must be complete. If the mark is not used in conjunction with any of the goods or services listed, then the registration is open to attack.

If any of these items in a trademark application is incorrect, then the trademark application or registration is subject to cancellation.

Fraud Upon the United States Patent and Trademark Office can be triggered by even an innocent mistake. If a trademark application is fraudulent, the trademark application or registration can be cancelled.

See an attorney to discuss all aspects of a trademark application – from what the mark really is, to who the owner is, to the first date of use, to the goods and services it represents.

Anthony M. Verna III, Esq.

Law Offices of Anthony Verna

law@nyctrademarks.com

(917)348-0108

Would you like to see this as a PDF to save and print? http://nyctrademarks.com/temp/wrong.pdf

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everyone.

I wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2010.

This year marks new milestones for me, too. I have left Weiss Imbesi PLLC. Of course, I want to thank them for the time that I spent with them. It was fruitful.

Right now, I am forming a partnership with a wonderful attorney - but since there is nothing official, I am working as a solo attorney. I am still handling my clients' matters - and they have seen that there has been no stoppage of work.

Do you have a trademark or copyright issue? Does your company have a social media policy? Does your company have a blog? Talk to me about how to do it all - correctly.

Did you receive a copy of my Intellectual Property Self Survey? It has a $600 value - and I am still giving it to my readers at no charge.

You can still find me at http://nyctrademarks.com and http://nyccopyrights.com - that does not change.

I am still on Facebook at http://facebook.com/anthonyvernalaw - that will not change.

I am still on Twitter at http://twitter.com/avernalaw - that will not change.

Happy New Year!

Music - now and then

This was a good week.

I hope it was a good week for everyone else.

Now that Friday is almost ending, I hope everyone has some kind of relaxing weekend plans. Even if that means just letting your brain rest after a long week of work. (I know many of you out there had that.)

Can I share some music with you? I have been listening to and digging Raul Midon a lot lately. Yes, certainly, the classics of my playlist are R.E.M., Paul Simon, Tori Amos, The Clarks, Charlotte Martin, and Marvin Gaye. They still go round and round in my head, but Raul Midon has been taking up more and more space. Besides his being an amazing guitarist, I love the ups and downs that his songs record. It is always a personal journey through his lyrics, and his music mixes pop, rock, jazz, r&b, and latin beats.

Check him out. I know you will love it.

***

Speaking of music, there is a ticking time bomb in copyright law - that is the ability for musicians and composers to recapture their copyrights in music they make.

Music has always been treated as an exception to the Work-for-Hire provisions of copyright law.

This means that musicians are going to be recapturing their copyrights in about 2013. So, bands will be taking their music and selling their music directly. Yes, for all the musicians out there reading this who are not signed to a major label, you are already doing this. In fact, is this not what all businesses do? We sell our goods and services ourselves.

But, in exchange for keeping only a percentage, the major labels have better reach in sales and publicity than just the musician would.

So now those recording labels will have. . . a lot less music to sell.

Will the law change? Will record labels survive without these big back catalogues from the 1970s? It looks like they will have to churn out more current content that consumers can buy.

Do you have a copyright question? Call us at 212-201-5473.

***

Two years ago, ICANN (the international organization) started to test the ability to have Internet domain names be in alphabets outside of the usual Roman characters.

ICANN will begin to take applications for domain names to be in other languages and alphabets starting on November 16th. The first domains will appear live next year.

What does this mean from a trademark perspective?

It means a lot more websites to protect from trademark infringement and trademark dilution.

Let me give you an example. Your company has a website. Your company probably has several different forms of the website (for example, http://coca-cola.com and http://coke.com lead to the same place). If it does not, it should.

What happens if Chinese characters sound similar to "Coca-Cola"? Will the company want to buy all those domain names? Will the company want to police all those domain names for cybersquatting issues.

Can your company afford not to? http://nyctrademarks.com
***

If you are new to the list, do not forget to hit "reply" in your inbox and ask about your free copy of our Intellectual Property Self Survey, it is a $600 value which we will give to readers at no charge. Start a dialogue with us about your trademarks and copyrights.

Do not forget to read up on our Intellectual Property Security System. We can speak to you about it.

Do you have a question about copyrights or trademarks? Call us! 212-201-5473

Protect yourself. It's cold outside.

It has been a busy, busy two weeks here. Yes, the Yankees won the World Series, defeating my Phillies 4 games to 2. I also did go to Game Four with my father and my sister. Family baseball fun in. . . November. We all wore lots of layers of clothing.

It was cold and chilly with the wind whipping around the upper tiers of Citizens Bank Park. (I drove to Philadelphia for the weekend.) It was a wonderful game, with Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz hitting a game-tying home run in the bottom of the 8th inning. In the top of the 9th inning, Phillies' pitcher Brad Lidge had the game in hand, had two outs, had two strikes to Johnny Damon, who was able to get on base. Then he stole second. Then he stole third on the exact same play.

It was disheartening, but I went to a World Series game and I went with family and had a lot of fun. It was cold and you had to protect your skin with lots of layers of clothes.

***

Speaking of protecting yourself, many clients ask me about filing copyrights. I do file copyrights. Remember, when a work falls under copyright law, the creator of the work has a copyright in the work. No lawsuit can be filed without registering the copyright in the work, however. Also remember that damages that can be recovered go down when the copyright is not filed before infringement happens.

As for the filing copyrights, there are two mistakes that many people and businesses make when filing the copyrights themselves:

1. Filing separate works as collections.
2. Not understanding who the copyright owner is.

The main issue I find in copyright registrations is that a lot of people file many different works in one copyright registration. This is most common in the photography industry, where it is easy to collect photographs.

The problem? When a copyright represents many different works, then the copyright really represents a collection. Infringement upon a collection is weaker than infringement upon an entire work. So, make sure that you file each work (no matter what medium the work is on - be it canvas, film, or digital).

Another problem is understanding who the copyright owner is. The creator of a work that falls under copyright law is the copyright owner. The only exception to this is when a work-for-hire agreement is made and signed (it MUST be a written agreement). Make sure that the correct owner is listed in the registration (and make sure that the creator is listed, too, but just as a creator).

Copyright questions? Call us at 212-201-5473 or send an e-mail to law@nyctrademarks.com for more information

***

I have not been making a big deal of the Shepard Fairey copyright case or the revelations that Fairey himself has changed his story on the witness stand. But his lawyers are still on the case. Permit me to yawn. Ultimately, this case will turn on the work - not testimony from people. Whether or not the original Associated Press photograph was the inspiration for the "Hope" poster that Fairey made is not the issue - the issue is whether the poster is transformative enough.

***

Google is still fighting to claim the ANDROID trademark.

***

Yahoo settles a lawsuit that Mary Kay filed for allowing unauthorized Mary Kay resellers to advertise on Yahoo.

***

Lil' Wayne is sued for copyright infringement. This sounds like it has been said before.


Copyright law questions? Trademark law questions? Call 212-201-5473 to speak to Anthony Verna or send e-mail to law@nyctrademarks.com for more information.