Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Video! Announcing a new video feature

Announcing a new video feature of this blog:

Ask the trademark and copyright lawyer! (Yes, entertainment law questions are welcome, too.)

Post a quick question on YouTube that I can answer. Comment here on the website (http://tmcentlawforum.com) or send an e-mail to law@nyctrademarks.com with the link to your YouTube video. I'll edit and answer next week.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Why Register?

The web seminars that I have been doing have been nothing less than fantastic.

One question that someone always asks is, "Why should I register my trademarks or copyrights?"

There are a few reasons for registering.
  1. Public notice. In both a trademark and a copyright registration certificate, the owner of the intellectual property is listed. Trademark certificates are filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Copyright certificates are filed with the Library of Congress.
  2. Public descriptions. In a trademark certificate, the goods and services are listed. In a copyright certificate, a brief description of the work is filed, along with two copies of the work itself. The owner of the intellectual property is also listed.
  3. Geography. All registrations are good in all fifty states and all territories of the United States.
  4. Barriers to lawsuits. If a trademark is not registered, it is considered a common law trademark. The goods/services and geography of the mark must be argued in court if there is infringement. No infringement lawsuit can be filed on a copyright that is not registered. Should there be infringement before registration of a copyright, the copyright owner loses damages (statutory damages up to $150,000 and attorney's fees) and is only allowed to collect actual damages for the copyright infringement.
  5. The power of federal law to help with damages in any intellectual property lawsuit comes only with registration.
  6. Ease of cataloging. This is a thought that not many people have. If a mark or work is registered, then there is a number. Should the mark or work be sold or licensed, then it is easy to state in a contract what the number is and what the property is.
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People also ask me for examples in different industries. Here are a few.
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New Webinar on Thursday afternoon!

This will be a webinar on copyright and trademark law for small businesses. 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!

Title: Copyright and Trademark Law for Small Businesses

Date: Thursday, June 11, 2009

Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/268310634

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Tuesday, June 02, 2009

When Areas of Law Cross

There is an interesting lawsuit recently filed by Ozzy Osbourne against former fellow band member Tony Iommi over the Black Sabbath band name.

BLACK SABBATH is a registered trademark number 2399391. Iommi registered it back in 2000.

There are a couple issues in this situation that do not seem to be covered in any article. How long has Ozbourne not been using the name (which is briefly touched upon elsewhere)? Was there any agreement (doubtful) when band members broke up? And, what do state laws have to say about bands?

Yes, state laws. There are many states who are protecting band names as long as there is at least one member of the original group in the current group.

In this situation, I do have to wonder about Osbourne's claim since he has not been using the name of Black Sabbath himself for many years and now suddenly he wants to reclaim the rights to the mark. Federal law should prevail over state law, but that issue is never clear-cut.


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The web seminars have been popular, so I will continue to do them.


Copyright and Trademark Law for Small Businesses

Join us for a Webinar on June 5

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/346743610

This will be a webinar on copyright and trademark law for small businesses. 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!

Title: Copyright and Trademark Law for Small Businesses

Date: Friday, June 5, 2009

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT


After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer


Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/346743610

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Monday, June 01, 2009

Coldplay and Fans on Youtube

As some of you may have heard, there is a copyright lawsuit between Joe Satriani and Coldplay about Coldplay's song "Viva la Vida." Basically, Satriani is claiming that Coldplay infringed Satriani's copyright on his song "If I Could Fly."

Of course, Coldplay is denying any copying.

Are the songs close? You can judge for yourself. Just click on any of these different links in order to hear comparisons between the two songs (and many others, as you can tell) and to read comments left by other users. There are even people leaving erudite videos about the differences and similarities between the two songs.

What is the difference between this and past cases? It's not really the possibility of infringement - even Yusuf Islam (born Cat Stevens) has made his own public claims (but has not filed a lawsuit) about infringment. Infringement can happen accidentally. George Harrison experienced this. The issue there is if there is enough originality in the original work(s) to have a copyright not just in the full expression of the song, but in each and every phrase as well. This is well-worn copyright territory.

Or [prior art] may simply reflect these oft-quoted words from the Second Circuit: "It must be remembered that, while there are an enormous number of possible permutations of the musical notes of the scale, only a few are pleasing; and much fewer still suit the infantile demands of the popular ear. Recurrence is not therefore an inevitable badge of palgiarism." Darrell v. Joe Morris Music Corp., 113 F.2d 80, 80 (2d Cir. 1940)


What is very interesting here is that all the amateur musicologists may have an impact upon the case. The various videos with analysis are amazingly detailed, and the opinions are recorded on YouTube as well. The videos could be previews of the two sides' arguments. The comments could be previews of what jurors might think.

Is this infringement? Is there enough originality in the riff to have a copyright in the expression or is it just another pleasing popular music riff?

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Another Webinar on Trademark and Copyright Law for Small Business!
These have been popular, so I will keep doing them.

Join us for a Webinar on June 2
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/469346619

This will be a webinar on copyright and trademark law for small businesses. 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!

Title: Copyright and Trademark Law for Small Businesses

Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT


After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/469346619

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