Archives for the ‘Intellectual Property Law’ Category

Although copyright protects architectural work, protection does not extend to the “individual standard features” of such work such as common windows, doors and other “staple” building components.
US Copyright Law defines an “architectural work” as: the design of a building as embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including a building, architectural plans or drawings. The
work [...]

The Fifth Circuit has ruled in favor of four universities (Lousiana State University, the University of Oklahoma, Ohio State University and the University of Southern California) against an apparel company that sold t-shirts with the schools’ color schemes and other identifying indicia referencing the games of the schools’ football teams.
Said the court: “We conclude that [...]

Recently, both Legal Literacy and Wisconsin Business Law and Litigation have blogged about the dangers of including another’s trademark in your website’s metatags. (If you’re unfamiliar with metatags and want to see some for yourself, click on “View” [in the Firefox or Explorer browsers], then “Page Source” or “Source.”)
Believing that search engines use metatags to [...]

You’re starting a business and (after conducting a thorough trademark search) have settled on a Very Clever Name. You log in to your favorite domain registry and snap up VeryCleverName.com. Your budget is limited, but you know it’s good practice to build as extensive a domain portfolio as possible, so you also purchase variations of [...]

Twice this week I’ve heard lawyers proclaim in public that you don’t own the copyright to your work anymore, if you’ve signed a “work made for hire” agreement.
That’s not necessarily so.

The general rule is: if you create copyrightable material, you are called the “author” of that material and you own the copyright.
That general rule doesn’t [...]

If a business has a new idea or product, the immediate thought is to go out and patent the idea. While this may be appropriate in some cases, in others utilizing Trade Secret law may serve you better. If you take a look at products like Coca Cola or Krispy Kreme donuts, they have protected [...]