Tag: Copyright

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Copyright Office Announces New Fee Schedule

On March 24, 2104, the U.S. Copyright Office published its final rule establishing new copyright registration fees. The new fees will reflect  increased and decreased fees. Under the new fee structure, the fee for online registration of a standard claim will increase from $35 to $55. However, a new online registration option for single works by single authors that are not works made for hire has been introduced at a lower fee of $35. In addition to fees for registration, related services, and special services, this final rule establishes updated fees for FOIA-related services.

 

Advertising, Branding, Certification Marks, Content Development, Copyright, Creative Content, Design, Entertainment, Fashion, Fashion Design, Fashion Law, Infringement, Law, Litigation, Marketing, Media, Patent, Photography, Strategy, Trademarks

Owning Design: Protecting Original Design in an Age of Knock-Offs

A presentation on what goes into creating original designs and how these differ from copycats.

WHERE: Decoration & Design Building, J. Robert Scott Showroom, Suite 220

WHEN: Wednesday, October 2,2013 !2 p.m.

WHAT: From film to fashion, creative industries are taking steps to protect and promote original work. Designers and manufacturers need to know what steps they can take to protect their designs, their businesses, and their profits. The discussion will address issues related to how to protect original design (copyright & design patent) and the manufacturers (trademark, unfair competition).

WHO:

INTERIORS Magazine Editorial Director Michael Wollaeger

J. Robert Scott Founder Sally Sirkin Lewis

Designer Laura Kirar [Web Site]

Intellectual Property lawyer David Adler

Showroom reception to follow.

 

Download the full Fall Decoration & Design Building Market Brochure Here.

Authentication, Branding, Copyright, Creative Content, Design, Entrepreneurs, Fashion, Fashion Design, Fashion Law, Infringement, Law, Litigation, Marketing, Patent, Strategy, Trademarks

Copycat Conundrum: Tips For Protecting Original Furniture & Textile Designs

On October 2, 2013, I will be attending the Decoration & Design Building Fall Market where I am giving a presentatIon on protecting original furniture & textile designs. Those in attendance share a belief that style and design matter.

As designers and purveyors of good taste, you may spend months developing a concept, selecting materials, agonizing over the exact curve of the arm of a chair. Manufacturers may refine the design, invest in tooling to build it, promote it, and get it to market. Merchandise buyers may spend months reading, researching, attending events such as this to obtain and fill your showrooms and catalogue with ineffable elements of style. This is original, authentic design. Authentic designs—pieces produced by designers or their authorized manufacturers—are investments.

Therein lies the problem for today’s furniture designers and retailers. It takes intellectual and financial capital to conceive, create and produce good design. Yet, today’s consumer driven, price-focused economy is making it more and more difficult for a designer to protect and profit from the investment of this intellectual capital.

This presentation will focus on why certain designs are protectable, how to protect them, and how to defend against knock-offs.

Advertising, Branding, Chicago, Content Development, Copyright, Creative Content, Entertainment, Fashion, Fashion Design, Fashion Law, FTC, Infringement, Internet, Law, Litigation, Marketing, Media, Monetizing Content, Platforms, Social Media, Start-ups, Strategy, Technology, Trademarks, Video

Entertainment & Fashion Law News Update

Entertainment Law News & Events

Entertainment Law Initiative Luncheon Set For Feb. 8 | GRAMMY.com
The GRAMMY Foundation announced today that the keynote discussion at the 15th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Luncheon & Scholarship Presentation

Colorado IP and entertainment lawyer David Ratner forms ‘Creative …
‘Creative Law Network,’ a Denver-based law firm, will focus on small to mid-size businesses and artists.

Florida Bar Hosts Entertainment Law Event | Billboard
NEW YORK–The Florida Bar Assn.’s Entertainment Arts and Sports Law Section will host its sixth annual legal symposium on music, film and TV on March 26.

UNH Law to debut sports and entertainment law institute
Concord Monitor
The University of New Hampshire’s School of Law will open a Sports and Entertainment Law Institute next fall, giving students the opportunity to focus their studies for a law career in either field.

Entertainment lawyer Mike Novak dies
The Macomb Daily
For nearly three decades, Mike Novak’s name was synonymous with entertainment in the Detroit area. During his career the Troy-based attorney, a resident of Grosse Pointe Shores, represented the likes of artists such as Bob Seger and Kid Rock.

Use a Law Degree to Enter Environmental or Entertainment Fields
U.S. News & World Report (blog)
If you have a question about law school, E-mail me for a chance to be featured next month. This week, I will address questions from readers about pursuing environmental and entertainment law.

Fashion Law News

Minnetonka’s Trademark Suit Against Target Tip-Toes Away http://t.co/sF6vtszP via @FemmeLegale

VIDEO: First Ever Northern California Fashion Law Panel Produced …
First Ever Northern California Fashion Law Panel

Following the Dress Code: Fundamentals of Fashion Law with BK …
February 13th – 6:00-8:00pm 2 MCLE Credits (Professional Practice) 123 Remsen Street, BrooklyModerator: Allegra Selvaggio, Esq.

About The Author

David M. Adler, Esq. is a 2012 Illinois SuperLawyer, author, educator, entrepreneur and partner with Leavens, Strand, Glover & Adler, LLC, a boutique law firm in Chicago, Illinois created with a specific mission: provide businesses with a competitive advantage by enabling them to leverage their intangible assets and creative content in order to drive innovation and increase overall business value.

Advertising, Branding, Cloud, Compliance, Computing, Content Development, Copyright, Creative Content, Data, Entertainment, Entrepreneurs, Infringement, Internet, Law, Legislation, Litigation, Marketing, Media, Monetizing Content, Platforms, Regulatory Compliance, Social Media, Technology, Video

Act Of Uploading Photos To Web Site Is Sufficient to Assign Copyrights

website is down
website is down (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

In today’s business world, web sites are no longer simply a static online presence. Today’s web sites are highly interactive and often make use of content (photos, text, images, videos, etc.) that have bee uploaded by visitors and registered users. With the speed of search engines, social networking platforms and mobile computing technologies, any online problem can quickly have far reaching effects well beyond the initial issue.

In order to ensure that web site operators may make as broad a use of this content as possible and that these web sites do not violate the rights of those whose content has been uploaded, many web site have Terms of Use that contain intellectual property licenses, assignments and indemnifications.

A recent federal District Court in Maryland examined whether the mere act of uploading photographs to a website met the requirements of forming a valid electronic contract sufficient to assign copyrights in the photographs under Section 204(a) of the Copyright Act, which requires assignments to be in writing and signed by the assignor.

In Metro. Reg’l Info. Sys., Inc. v. Am. Home Realty Network, Inc., No. 12-cv-00954 (D. Md. Nov. 13, 2012) the defendant argued plaintiff could not state a claim for infringement on the photographs because the assignments of these photographs to plaintiff were void. Defendant argued that the web site Terms of Use Agreement (“TOU”) and the electronic process in which subscribers assigned copyrights in the photographs to plaintiff did not comply with Section 204(a) of the Copyright Act. The Court disagreed.

The Court first looked at Section 204(a). That section provides that “[a] transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of law, is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or memorandum of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or such owner’s duly authorized agent.” 17 U.S.C. § 204(a). The Court then turned to the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (“E-SIGN”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 7001 et seq., to reject defendant’s argument that the assignments were invalid. E-SIGN provides, in relevant part:

“[n]otwithstanding any statute, regulation, or other rule of law . . . with respect to any transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce–
(1) a signature, contract, or other record relating to such transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form; and

(2) a contract relating to such transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because an electronic signature or electronic record was used in its formation.

15 U.S.C. § 7001(a).

“The term ‘electronic signature’ means an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.” Id. § 7006(5). The Court concluded that the  TOU was clear in its terms and that the electronic process by which  subscribers assigned the copyrights in the photographs met E-SIGN and Section 204(a) requirements. Accordingly, the Court held that the assignments were not invalid as a matter of law.

Advertising, Branding, Chicago, Compliance, Content Development, Copyright, Creative Content, Design, Entertainment, Entrepreneurs, Facebook, Fashion, Fashion Design, Fashion Law, Finance, Infringement, Internet, Legislation, Litigation, Marketing, Media, Production, Regulation, Small Business, Social Media, Start-ups, Technology, Uncategorized

Fashion Law: Legal News Roundup

Israel’s Ban on Ultra-Thin Models

FASHION-SAFRICA-NIGERIA-BAKARE
FASHION-SAFRICA-NIGERIA-BAKARE (Photo credit: Bohan Shen_沈伯韩)

 

The Atlantic

By Talya Minsberg A new Israeli law prohibits fashion media and advertising from using Photoshop or models who fall below the World Health Organization’s standard for malnutrition. When a 14-year-old girl delivered a 25,000-signature petition this week to Seventeen asking them to curb their use of Photoshop, the magazine issued a press statement that congratulated the girl on her ambition but was conspicuously silent on changing their editorial practices.

An Impossible Conversation About the Met’s Spring 2012 Costume Institute Exhibit

Huffington Post (satire)

So, culturally and historically, the reason women care so much about fashion is that until very recently, we weren’t allowed professional, legal or vocal ways of expressing ourselves. Fashion was a way of articulating our feelings about ourselves.

Small Aussie fashion label turns George Lucas legal threat into ‘Star …
Dallas News Small Aussie fashion label turns George Lucas legal threat into ‘Star Wars‘ clothing deal.

AsianFashionLaw | Page 5
Fashion lawyers are legal experts too. Sometimes I feel as though people think I am in design studios all day twiddling my thumbs as I look at models wearing …
www.asianfashionlaw.com/page/5/

Adidas-India’s ex-MD slaps legal notice on company – Fashion United
The Adidas-saga in India seems to be taking a different turn. – Fashion India News, Network, Business Community, fashion industry, international, platform for …
www.fashionunited.in/…/adidas-indias-ex-md-slaps-legal-notic…

Advertising, Branding, Chicago, Compliance, Content Development, Copyright, Creative Content, Design, Entertainment, Entrepreneurs, Facebook, Fashion, Finance, FTC, Infringement, Internet, Legislation, Litigation, Marketing, Media, Monetizing Content, Privacy, Regulation, Security, Small Business, Social Media, Start-ups, Technology, Trademarks, Uncategorized

Social Media World Legal News Roundup

The legal and regulatory environment impacting social media is constantly evolving. Here is a collection of recent articles impacting everything from law enforcement use of social media to new legislation.

A social media tip line for police
Boston.com
“Use of social media has provided an additional outlet for people to interact with law enforcement” says Lauri Stevens – founder of LAwS Communications, a consulting company that helps law enforcement agencies expand into social media.

Social media limits and the law
Monterey County Herald
Leland Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, introduced a bill that would prohibit employers, public or private, from requiring or requesting in writing a prospective employee to disclose user names or passwords for personal social media accounts.

Ariz. bill says unlawful to ‘annoy’ others online
BusinessWeek
“Speaking to annoy or offend is not a crime,” Media Coalition Executive Director David Horowitz said. Horowitz said if the proposal becomes law, speech done in satire, political debate or even sports trash talking could get people in unnecessary legal trouble.

Social Media in China, Innovation
Washington Post
Apr. 2, 2012 – April 2 (Bloomberg) — Vivek Wadhwa, fellow at Stanford Law School and head of academics at Singularity University, talks about social media in China and innovation.

UAE legal experts want libel to apply to social networking sites
GMA News
Claiming that Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites can be used to spread rumors and false information, the legal community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking that libel laws be applied to offenders on the Internet.

Is Your Facebook Password Like Your Mail, House Key, or Drug Test?
The Atlantic
A day after it was proposed, the amendment was voted down — almost entirely along party lines — thus closing one door to social media privacy legislation, at least on the national level. (There are similar social media privacy laws — full bills, …

Sponsor: Arizona bill isn’t aimed at Internet trolls
CNN
The fear is that the bill would prohibit hateful comments on news and social-media sites, amounting to a ban on so-called Internet trolling. The problem: The bill won’t do any of that, its sponsor told CNN on Wednesday. “I think they’re absolutely …

How Family Law Attorneys Use Social Media Evidence [Infographic]
PR Web (press release)
Family Law Attorneys Dishon & Block formally released today an infographic that illustrates how attorneys use social media to collect “smoking gun” evidence for divorce and child custody cases. With the advancement in technology and modernizing of laws …
See all stories on this topic »
PR Web (press release)

Branding, Broadway, Chicago, Content Development, Copyright, Creative Content, Entertainment, Entrepreneurs, Marketing, Media, Monetizing Content, Musicals, Production, Theater

David Adler to Speak on Legal Issues In The Life Cycle of Theatrical Production

David M Adler, noted entertainment and creatival arts lawyer will be participating in the Visiting Artist Series with Reginald Lawrence (Shepsu Aakhu).

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 11:50 – 1:30 pm
DePaul Center – Room 80051 E. Jackson Blvd.Chicago, IL 60604
Lunch will be served.

Visiting Artist Reginald Lawrence (Shepsu Aakhu) will discuss the legal issues that he has faced in his multi-dimensional career as a playwright, producer, director, and arts educator.  In particular, he will focus on the life cycle of a theatrical production from dealing with authors to hiring actors, directors, and crew to mounting the finished production.  He will share his perspective on legal questions related to collaboration, intellectual property, and production credit.
Leading Chicago arts lawyer David Adler will join in the conversation, and Professor Margit Livingston will moderate.
For more information on the Visiting Artist Series, please click here.

Registration: General registration is $25 for the 1.5 hour CLE discussion.  To register, please visit http://www.regonline.com/reginaldlawrence.
DePaul students, faculty, and staff can register to attend for free by emailing Cecelia Story at cstory@depaul.edu.

DePaul University College of Law is an accredited CLE provider. This event has been approved for 1.5 CLE credits.

 

Content Development, Copyright, Creative Content, Entertainment, Infringement, Litigation, Media

Marvel Comics Wins Key Work-For-Hire Decision Against Stan Lee’s Heirs

What is this case really about? Judge Colleen McMahon notes in her opinion that “this case is not about whether Jack Kirby or Stan Lee is the real ‘creator’ of Marvel characters, or whether Kirby (and other freelance artists who created culturally iconic comic book characters for Marvel and other publishers) were treated ‘fairly’.” Rather this case is about “whether Kirby’s work qualifies as work-for-hire under the Copyright Act of 1909, as interpreted by the courts.”

On Thursday, Judge McMahon ruled that the heirs of the late Jack Kirby, creator and co-creator of the well-known Marvel Comics superheroes such as Fantastic Four, X-Men, the Hulk and more, have no legal claim to the copyrights of those characters.

Despite press efforts (including two pieces in the New York Times) to characterize the proceeding as “unfair” to the artists and creators upon whose labors companies profited, the decision reflects long-standing law that vests ownership of certain creative works in the company that commissions them as a “work-made-for-hire.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David M. Adler, Esq. is an attorney, author, educator, entrepreneur and partner at the boutique intellectual property, entertainment & media law firm LEAVENS, STRAND, GLOVER & ADLER, LLC based in Chicago, Illinois. My responsibilities include providing advice to business units and executives on copyright, trademark, ecommerce, software/IT, media & entertainment and issues associated with creating and commercializing innovations and creative content, drafting and negotiating contracts and licenses, advising on securities laws and corporate governance and managing outside counsel. Learn more about me here: http://www.ecommerceattorney.com and here: Leavens Strand Glover & Adler, LLC

Uncategorized

Five Things To Know Now

Here are five interesting articles to look at this weekend.

1. Copyright Fair Use Gets a Boost. Last Friday, the federal district court in Nevada held that the non-profit organization Center for Intercultural Organizing’s posting of a copyrighted news article was a non-infringing fair use. The well-reasoned opinion sets a powerful precedent for fair use and against copyright trolling. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/04/righthaven-v-cio-it-s-hard-out-here-troll

2. Proper Authentication of Social Media “Evidence” Used at Trial. The Maryland Court of Appeals in the case of Griffin v. State examined a relatively new social media legal issue: determining the appropriate way to authenticate at trial electronically stored information printed from a social networking site. http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/2011/04/the_maryland_court_of_appeals_2.html

3. Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011 Does Not Spell Do Not Track. Although the proposed law requires disclosure of “clear, concise and timely notice” of a company’s privacy policies and practices regarding the collection, use and distribution of personally identifiable information, the bill does not include specific authorization for a do-not-track mechanism. http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/bentley/senators-formally-introduce-online-privacy-bill/?cs=46477

4. Is Your Web Site Eligible For Trade Dress Protection? While Copyright law protects certain original expression from unauthorized copying, Trade dress law protects commercial use of certain distinct features in connection with a product or service. When consumers associate such “look & feel” features with a product or service, trade dress protection exists. Protection has been extended to the packaging of a product, the décor of restaurant, the design of magazine covers, and even kiosk displays.

In Conference Archives v. Sound Images, 2010 WL 1626072 (W.D. Pa. Mar. 31, 2010), a federal district judge in the Western District of Pennsylvania suggested that under the concept of “look and feel,” trade dress law can reach beyond static elements on a website, such as photos, colors, borders, or frames, to include interactive elements and/or the overall mood, style, or impression of the site since a graphical user interface promotes the intuitive use of the website.” Conference Archives, 2010 WL 1626072 at *15.

5. Do We Need An Open Wireless Regime? See what the EFF has to say. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/04/open-wireless-movement

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David M. Adler, Esq. is an attorney, author, educator, entrepreneur and founder of a boutique intellectual property law firm based in Chicago, Illinois. With over fourteen years of legal experience, Mr. Adler created the firm with a specific mission in mind: to provide businesses with a competitive advantage by enabling them to leverage their intangible assets and creative content in a way that drives innovation and increases the overall value of the business. Learn more about me HERE and HERE

David M. Adler, Esq. & Assoc.: Safeguarding Ideas, Relationships & Talent®