Trademarks Containing Generic Words Can Be Registered

By Lum Law Group 0

On Tuesday June 30, 2020, the Supreme Court approved the trademark registration of “Booking.com” (Opinion of the Court), a generic term which was ineligible for trademark protection in the past. Booking.com had filed to register its domain name at the US Patent and Trademark Office. The office initially denied the registration, arguing that generic names are not eligible for trademark protection. Booking.com’s victory on Tuesday means the trademarks containing generic words can be registered in the future.

Considering trademarking a generic term for your business?

Contact us at 626-795-8886. Our attorney A. Justin Lum, Esq will help you.

Instagram and Fair Use

By Lum Law Group 0

In my last blog I talked a little about copyrights and the First Sale Doctrine.  In this blog, I’d like to go back to Copyrights to discuss Copyright law and the Fair Use Doctrine.

Here is the situation:  Instagram, with over 1 billion monthly uses, has become a common place for individuals and companies to post original stories, pictures, and short videos about the life and business.  Let’s use a video as an example. What is the copyright protection to the creator of the video from Instagram? From other users who see the material? Let’s use a video as an example. What if another user reposts the original post?  Reposts the photo to critique? Uses the video outside of Instagram?

Under copyright law, the creator, unless he assigns his rights to someone else, or creates the video as an employee or “work for hire”, is the copyright owner.  But what happens when he posts that video on Instagram? Well first, under Instagram’s terms of service, Instagram receives a lifetime royalty free license for the video.  Thus if a user merely shares the original post, there will not be any copyright infringement by the user.

What if a user takes a portion of the video and puts it in a new post, with commentary about the video, for the purpose of critiquing it?  Under the Fair Use doctrine in copyright law (17 USC § 107), use “for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.”  Thus, a review of the video would not create an infringement. The idea being that the fair use is designed to give the public some information about that video. This is a clear example of “fair use.”

But what if the video is taken down and then a portion of it is reposted on some other medium? Or a portion of it is taken and reposted on another medium for other purposes, or “repurposed” for comparison to a competitor’s goods?   Well, in such situations, the “Fair Use doctrine” may not be so clear. If the use is clearly for commercial purposes, if there is some gain the person using the video, or part of it, then as you might expect, such a usage would probably be found to be infringing.

So, when seeing material on Instagram, unless sharing other’s posts, limit any uses of other’s materials for a specific purpose as outlined in “Fair Use Principles” above, or better yet, consult an attorney before you consider reposting anyone else’s materials.

copyright first sale doctrine

By Lum Law Group 0

With the explosion of the Internet and the different media outlets, such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Tik-Tok, just to name a few, the issues surrounding copyright ownership and rights have come to the forefront. But these also only reflect long time issues regarding copyright ownership. One such issue is what the doctrine of First Sale.

First, one who creates an original piece of art, such as a photograph, painting or statute, or a story or book, owns a copyright to that work. It is created upon the creation of the work. Unless the individual specifically sells the copyright rights to someone, only that individual has a right to make copies of his work. Most people have a general understanding of this.

Where things can get confusing sometimes is when an individual purchases a book, or a poster, or a piece of art. The question then becomes, what can he do with that piece of work? The obvious answer is that if he purchased that item, whether it is a book, poster or piece of art, he can do whatever he wants with it. Display it in his office, at his home, carry it around in his car and show it to his friends wherever he goes. This is covered in copyright law by what we call, the “First Sale” doctrine. Essentially, the holder of the purchased copy of a copyrighted work has the right to do anything he wants with that copy. However, that’s where his rights end as to the copyrighted work.

In one instance, a client has a poster that he used in his own artwork. His use of the poster in his own artwork is perfectly acceptable. He can sell the artwork as well. However, he cannot take photos of the artwork and then display that artwork on flyers or on his website. This is because his rights do not expand to displays of the poster. He does not have the right to advertise the copyrighted work. And in fact, he has repurposed the copyrighted work, or created what is called a “derivative” work. Without authorization, or proof that he purchased the copyright to the artwork, he cannot therefore otherwise display copies of his artwork in any other medium.

So, be careful what you do with Artwork. But what happens if someone posts a copyrighted work on Instagram and hashtags you on Instagram? And you want to repost it? That is a question for our next blog.

Taco Tuesday and The

By Lum Law Group 0

So by now you’ve all heard about how a famous basketball player attempted to register a trademark for the term, “Taco Tuesday” and a university attempted to trademark the word, “the”.

Well, the first question is, what is a trademark? People often confuse copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Now although there can be an overlap, each concept is very distinct. A trademark is a word, or a design, that becomes associated with a company’s business; A copyright is an original design, while a patent is a new, or improved product, process, business method or design. So there is some overlap, but for now, let’s just focus on trademarks

A trademark (or service mark) is a symbol or a word or words, a “mark” that is, or becomes distinctive for a product or service. When you see the mark, you think of the business. The “apple” for Apple, Inc., the distinctive “M” for McDonald’s, the phrase “Just do it” for Nike. These are all registered trademarks. They are all distinctive for their companies and the companies’ products or services.

Recently, applications were filed to register “Taco Tuesday” and the word “the”. In both cases, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have denied their applications. It would seem obvious that you can’t register “The” or “Taco Tuesday” given the widespread use of both terms. But that isn’t always the case.

In the case of “the”, a generic term cannot be registered as a trademark, and you can’t get more generic than “the”, except for maybe “a”. The reason why this is not allowed is that since it is used all the time, if THE Ohio State University had a registration, they could literally stop anyone from using the on any shirt anywhere. That just isn’t going to happen.

“Taco Tuesday” is another matter. In fact there are two current federal trademark registrations for Taco Tuesday for restaurant services, only. However, in denying the application the USPTO stated that the mark is considered to be a “common place term, message or expression”. As such, it cannot be registered. The USPTO found it was also too similar to a registration for “Techno Taco Tuesday” in the same category of services. Thus, the term “Taco Tuesday” was registerable at one time, but at this time, it is now to common to be allowed registration.

However, as the attorneys for the applicant for Taco Tuesday have since stated, there can be another motive to file such an application: a statement from the USPTO that the term is commonplace, and therefore not registerable by anyone. Thus, it is likely that this determination would be used by individuals who might face litigation from the trademark holders for Taco Tuesday for restaurant services from attempting to broaden the scope of their own registrations.

Thus, the moral of this is that once you come up with a catchphrase for your business, better to protect it early, and police its use, before it becomes essentially a generic term.

How can a minor get a trademark or copyright?

By Jessica Suotmaa 0

Someone recently asked whether a minor, a person under eighteen years of age, can register a trademark or copyright.  Many answered that there are no federal age restrictions, but there might be restrictions in your state.  Some answered that the minor should incorporate and went on to explain how to go about becoming a shareholder in their state.  All of this is good advice, but we thought we would explain the why in addition to the how.

Can a minor register a trademark or copyright?

The answer is yes, a minor can own a trademark or copyright. There is no age restriction for registering a trademark or copyright.

However, a minor may not be able to enforce a trademark or copyright.  In federal court, a minor needs a guardian to sue for infringement. In most state courts, a minor would also need a guardian to be in charge of the business proceedings involving a trademark or copyright owned by a minor.

When does a minor benefit from incorporating and becoming a shareholder?

Depending on the state, incorporation comes with certain costs.  In California, the tax liability alone is a minimum of $800 annually. As such, we would not recommend just any minor with a copyright or trademark to incorporate.

Having said that, there are instances when incorporating would be beneficial to a minor with intellectual property.  Such instances would include minors who are in business and therefore have business income, earnings, and sales.  If a minor needs to sign contracts in relation to their intellectual property, then it may be beneficial to incorporate so as to protect the minor’s interests.

How does a minor form a corporation in the state of California?

In California, a minor cannot be a Director or officer for a corporation, but a minor of any age can own stocks.  This means a minor can be a majority stock holder in a corporation.

While the age restriction does mean the minor would need another trusted adult to act as an officer for the corporation, it also means that the minor can sue any of the officers as a shareholder.  This is an important protection for the minor in the event an officer or guardian acting as an officer, misuses the corporate funds or intellectual property.

 

Do you have more questions regarding minors and intellectual property? Contact an attorney today!

Intellectual Property Infringement

By Jessica Suotmaa 8

We recently received a copyright infringement inquiry from a local Etsy.com seller. Etsy removed a portion of her products from her shop, and Facebook.com blocked her account. Etsy and Facebook informed her that she had infringed upon a popular sport’s team’s intellectual property (IP). Needless to say, she had a few questions:

1. Does the Etsy seller agreement not protect her?

Etsy.com has published it’s own “intellectual property policy” for sellers which states that they “comply with intellectual property laws and industry best practices“.

If you’re not sure what a copyright or trademark is, please read our blog posts about the two topics, as well as the importance of protecting your intellectual property.

In summary, the most common infringement causes for creators include any “fan art” based on copyrighted character (e.g., Harry Potter) or trademarked logos (e.g., Nike’s check mark). Your creation does not have to look exactly the same as it can be your interpretation of it, but it can still be considered intellectual property infringement, especially if you are profiting from it.

2. Is she going to be sued by the corporation that owns the trademark/copyright?

Intellectual Property owners and their legal representatives will warn you with a letter, usually called a “cease and desist” letter. They will also send it to Facebook or Etsy to have your listings removed. Facebook and Etsy then remove all your listings described as infringing on the IP owner’s copyright or trademark.

Do you sell on your own website and domain? Then, the letter is sent to the business or business agent’s address on record for the business.

You may be sued for copyright or trademark infringement if you fail to comply with the cease and desist letter, or you are caught continuing to infringe on their IP despite the warning.

If you have received a warning letter from the owner or agent of an alleged owner of a copyright or trademark, you may want to consult with an attorney on your options.

3. Is buying licensed fabric, sewing clothing out of it, and selling it on Etsy illegal?

“Licensed fabric” refers to wholesale fabric with trademark logos (e.g., NBA) or copyrighted characters (e.g. Disney character).

When she asked this question, there was mention of the First Sale Doctrine, which protects the rights of the person buying a copyrighted item. This doctrine applies to the first sale, not subsequent sales, and it does not protect “reproduction”.

However, the issue with licensed fabric is that it is usually sold with a set of rules. If you carefully read the fine print on the licensed product you buy, you should see a disclaimer like one of the below:

“FOR INDIVIDUAL USE ONLY.”

“NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE.”

We did a quick search on Google and other popular wholesale retail websites, and found these disclaimers were on the product listings.

What do these disclaimers mean? It means you cannot buy the licensed fabric, create your own products, and then sell them for profit (“commercial use”). If it says “individual use only”, then you cannot even give them away for free.

4. What can she do about her situation?

In the case of our inquirer, she has to rethink her Etsy business model of selling creations featuring the intellectual property of others. However, she does have options:

a. She can request permission from an IP owner to use a logo or character for her creations.

b. She can hire an attorney to contact the IP owner alleging infringement and then try to have her social media accounts unblocked.

c. She can create her own characters and copyright them.

d. She can use fair use patterns/fabrics with no copyrighted or licensed characters and logos.

Do you have additional questions about this topic? Please feel free to comment any general questions and perhaps we can expand on this topic in a separate blog post. If you have questions specific to your situation, please contact us for an answer.

Are SEO citations infringing on intellectual property?

By Lisa 0

An SEO citation is a reference to any business within a website or blog. It typically includes the business’s name, address, and phone number. Although citations help users find local businesses and can positively impact search engine ranking, SEO citations on a national scale are virtually useless. Google, however, uses citations to confirm the legitimacy of a local business.

What Does a Citation Mean?

When a business is cited repeatedly and accurately it increases Google’s confidence that the business in question is real and reliable. Citations are important for local SEO as they determine which data is displayed in the “local block,” that snippet of map imagery with noted listings that comes up on any local search engine results page (SERP).

Although SEO citations are generally categorized as NAP (Name, address, phone number), they are not limited to local information. A citation may include any plain text reference to a business’ site, product, brand, or content. More often than not, an SEO citation is simply a weak back-link in plain text.

Do Citations Violate Intellectual Property?

An SEO citation, like most references to someone else’s ideas or content, lies within a gray area. Unlike a backlink, a citation may directly quote pieces of a business or person’s intellectual property without much accreditation. For example, snippets of music, video, written content, and images can be used as a citation as long as the larger piece of content in which the citation is included is original content. Youtube videos are great examples of SEO citations as no intellectual property is violated because embedded Youtube videos always link back to the original source. Here’s general rule of thumb for preventing the crossing of intellectual property boundaries: as long as the overall content is original, your SEO citation should be in the clear.

Has Your Business been Cited?

It’s important to keep track of all of your local SEO citations, but it’s also important to check on the citations of competitors. How can one find out if a website or business has been cited? Simply type the business name inside quotation marks into Google, along with the site name. Excluding the business’s original website, count the top five to ten results where the business’s name, address, phone number or other SEO citation content is located. Established websites can have hundreds of citations listed from each URL, so make a note of exactly where every citation is located.

Resources

/portfolio-galleries/intellectual-property/

https://searchengineland.com/local-experts-say-relevance-citations-important-authority-216537

https://www.thehoth.com/local-seo-tool/

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/citation-building-customers-find-local-businesses/166649/

 

creative people need to care about their intellectual property

By Jessica Suotmaa 1

Risk of loss

There is always the risk you will lose the rights to your creations.

With patents, your invention can become a public invention with no exclusive usage rights.

With trademarks, your mark can become generic. In fact, “Google” might lose its trademark because they argue that the verb, “to google something”, is now part of the English language and culture. Other examples of trademarks that have become generic include: Aspirin, Dry Ice, Laundromat, Kerosene, Zipper, Heroin.  Once a trademark becomes generic is possible to lose your right to sue upon perceived infringement.

With copyrights, it is also possible to lose the right to sue.

 

 

Contact Lum Law Group and find out how to protect your intellectual property!

Protect your innovation!

By Jessica Suotmaa 2

Intellectual property refers to creations of the intellect for which a monopoly is assigned to designated owners by law. Intellectual property rights are the rights granted to the creators of Intellectual property and include:

  • trademarks,
  • copyright,
  • patents,
  • industrial design rights, and
  • in some jurisdictions trade secrets.
  • Artistic works including music and literature,
  • as well as discoveries,
  • inventions,
  • words,
  • phrases,
  • symbols, and
  • designs, can all be protected as intellectual property.

Intellectual property has a very broad scope and thus it can be said that Intellectual property rights include patents, copyright, industrial design rights, trademarks, plant variety rights, trade dress, geographical indications, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets. There are also more specialized or derived varieties of sui generis exclusive rights, such as circuit design rights (called mask work rights in the US) and supplementary protection certificates for pharmaceutical products (after the expiry of a patent protecting them) and database rights (in European law).

All businesses have intellectual property, regardless of their size or sector.

Thus, it goes without saying that all businesses have intellectual property, regardless of their size or sector. This could be the name of your business, copyright, designs, patents, and trademarks. Your Intellectual property is likely to be a valuable asset. Securing and protecting it could be essential to your business’ future success. In the other words, Intellectual property often translates directly to monetary gain. If you don’t know how to adequately protect your intellectual property, your business is at risk.

Intellectual property often translates directly to monetary gain.

The importance of protecting your Intellectual property can be more easily understood as follows: if you do not protect it, you will have to risk the losing one of the following:

  1. Branding: Establishing a strong brand is pivotal to business success. Protecting that brand is equally important. The name of your company and its logo are part of the branding that sets your business apart. Elements of your brand, from your company name to your logo can be subsumed and eroded. This can damage perceptions in the market of your quality, products, and reputation.
  2. Products: Unique investments that you’ve made developing technologies may be compromised; only through proper patenting, etc. can you ensure that you control and can market the products you develop.
  3. Ideas and thought leadership: Protecting original contributions to the thinking around your industry can be an important step to establishing your company as a market leader. Copyrights ensure proper attribution of your materials.

As such, there is no doubt that, in a business, intellectual property is everywhere. The name that you choose will be your trademark, even the smallest new process created within your firm may be patentable, and much of the creative work of your employees will be protected by copyright. Protecting your intellectual property rights is protecting your business, so you must claim your intellectual property rights before it’s too late.

Have questions? Talk to an experienced intellectual property attorney today! Contact us.

Definition of a copyright

By Jessica Suotmaa 0

Definition of a Copyright

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship”, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.  This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.  Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

  • reproduce the work in copies of phonorecords
  • prepare derivative works based upon the work
  • distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
  • perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audio-visual works
  • display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audio visual work
  • perform the work publicly (in the case of sound recordings) by means of digital audio transmission

(17 U.S.C. Section 102)

Who can claim Copyright?

“Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form.  The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work.  Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.” – 17 U.S.C, Section 201(a)

Term of a Copyright

For works created after 1978, the duration of ownership is for the life of the author(s) plus seventy (70) years after the author’s death.

For works that are anonymous, pseudonymous, or a work made for hire, the period of time is ninety-five years from the date of first publication, or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever is sooner.

Notice of Copyright

The following symbols are used to show copyright:

(c),  © , Copr. or Copyright

Examples:

  • “Copyright 2017 Albert Justin Lum”
  • “Copr. 2017 Albert Justin Lum”
  • “© 2017 Albert Justin Lum”
  • “Copyright © 2017 Albert Justin Lum”

Why Register your Copyright?

Without copyright registration, damages are limited to actual damages.

With copyright registration, one can obtain statutory damages, up to $30,000 per infringement for innocent infringement (“I didn’t know I was violating copyright laws”) to $150,000 per infringement for willful infringement (“Copyright? Who cares!) as well as attorney fees; and injunctive relief.

What does “Work for Hire” mean?

A “work made for hire” is–

  • a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or
  • a work specially ordered or commissioned for use…
    • as a contribution to a collective work,
    • as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work,
    • as a translation,
    • as a supplementary work,
    • as a compilation,
    • as an instructional text,
    • as a test,
    • as answer material for a test, or
    • as an atlas,
  • if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire.
  • For the purpose of the foregoing sentence, a supplementary work” is a work prepared for publication as a secondary adjunct to a work by another author for the purpose of introducing, concluding, illustrating, explaining, revising, commenting upon, or assisting in the use of the other work, such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial illustrations, maps, charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements, answer material for tests, bibliographies, appendixes, and indexes, and an “instructional text” is a literary, pictorial, or graphic work prepared for publication and with the purpose of use in systematic instructional activities.

(17 U.S.C, Section 201(b))

Bottom line, if you hire an independent contractor to create something for you, make sure there is an agreement that whatever is created is made as “work for hire” and the owner of the copyright will be you.

 

Not sure if you should be registering a copyright? Perhaps you’re worried about breaking copyright laws? Read more on how we can help your business with intellectual property!

Example of trademark

By Jessica Suotmaa 0

Definition of a Trademark

The term “trademark” includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination of the above that is

  • used by a person, or
  • which a person has a true intention of using in commerce and applies to register on the principal registry established by this chapter

(15 USC, Section 1127)

Legal professionals refer to trademarks, registered trademarks, and service marks as “marks”.

What are Trademark symbols?

Trademark symbols are notices of trademark ownership. When you see a word, symbol, or picture with a trademark symbol next to it, you know it has been registered in the federal database.

The three types of symbols are:

  1. Registered Mark – R – e.g. Nike’s “Just do it®” has been registered with the U.S. government, so Nike can use the ® symbol with its trademarks.
  2. Trademark – TM – e.g. Starbucks used ™ on their logo while waiting for their redesigned trademark to be approved
  3. Service Mark – SM – e.g. United Airlines’ catchphrase “Fly the Friendly Skies℠” is a good example of a company that provides services using a “service mark”

It’s important to note that companies/brands cannot use the ® symbol until their trademark registration application has been approved by the U.S. government. Pending trademarks should use the ™ symbol.

Ownership and Registration

  • Trademark Ownership – Created by use in commerce.  Ownership is maintained wherever the mark is used in commerce so long as it is used in commerce.
  • Federal Registration – Filed with USPTO – Term of a federally registered trademark – Registration is valid for ten years and is renewable before the expiration of the term.
  • State Registration – File with the California Secretary of State.

Why you should register a Trademark

No Registration – Can only prevent competitors from using a similar mark in a state, or part of state where your trademark was used first.  Governed by state unfair competition laws.  Damages limited to actual damages.

Federal Registration – Can prevent competitors from using a similar mark in all 50 states if competitor did not use the mark before you used your trademark, or before you registered your trademark.  Possible treble damages, attorneys fees and other remedies.  Possible injunctive relief.  Case is in federal court where the infringer has greater difficulty delaying case.

State Registration – Additional evidence of use (instate)

Who should register a trademark?

If you are forward thinking and want to protect your trademark before someone else realizes what a great trademark it is, or a creator who wants to protect their original work/art before someone starts copying it, we can help you protect your intellectual property.

If you’ve already registered intellectual property in the past, but you believe a competitor has infringed upon your intellectual property, we can help you litigate your case.

Have more questions about trademarks? Read more on how we can help your business secure your intellectual property!

Do you have an invention you need to patent?

By Jessica Suotmaa 0

Definition of a Patent

“Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.” – 35 USC, Section 101

Definition of an Inventor

“The term “inventor” means the individual or, if a joint invention, the individuals collectively who invented or discovered the subject matter of the invention.” – 35 USC, Section 100

Patent Rights

A patent gives the patent owner the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing a patented invention for the term of the patent. It does not give the patent owner the exclusive right to make the invention (the invention may be an improvement of another invention, therefore, making it might be affected by another invention).

Term of a Patent

The term of a patent (validity period) is twenty (20) years from the date the application is filed.

 

More on how we can help your business secure your intellectual property!

IP is the sword and shield of your business

By Jessica Suotmaa 0

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols: names, images, and designs used in commerce.

IP is divided into two categories:

  1. Industrial property, which includes…
    1. inventions (patents),
    2. trademarks,
    3. industrial designs, and
    4. geographic indications of source;
  2. Copyright, which includes…
    1. literary and artistic works, such as
      1. novels,
      2. poems,
      3. plays,
      4. films,
      5. musical works,
      6. artistic works, such as
        1. drawings,
        2. paintings,
        3. photographs and
        4. sculptures,
    2. architectural designs.

Think of intellectual property as the “sword and shield” against your business competitors. By registering your intellectual property, you’re ensuring your “enemies” cannot take your weapons from you or copy your weapon technology.

 

More on how we can help your business secure your intellectual property!

Small Business Owners: Trademark Your Brand and Grow Your Business

By Jessica Suotmaa 0

Our intellectual property attorney, A. Justin Lum, was interviewed by Steve Thompson, writer of 245 Days to Go, a blog for small business and startup entrepreneurs and Contented Writing.

One of the biggest issues for a startup business is protecting your ideas. Every startup is built on the solid foundation of an idea and the passion of an individual. We can all see a niche in the market or something that has never been tried before. As an entrepreneur, you look to develop what you offer every day so customers can see your product or service and flock to you. This is how success is made.
But without the proper protections in place, you are vulnerable to other businesses and unscrupulous operators. Something needs to be done. Don’t worry – there is help at hand.
clothing copyright zipper denim

By Justin Lum 0

Do you or your company make designs that are used in fabrics for sale to companies that export to the United States either fabric, or finished clothing companies in the United States?  Or are you a buyer of designs made by people outside the U.S.?  What you may not realize is that there may be companies in the United States that see those same designs and are then making slight variations of those designs and then registering copyrights in the United States on those variations to then accuse the imported fabrics of infringing the variations.

This may impact your company’s ability to sell fabric and/or garments in the United States.

How can you prevent this from happening?  By filing a U.S. copyright registration first.  Our office can help you to register copyrights for your designs in the United States.  This will not only protect your designs from being copied by companies in the United States, but provide assurances to your buyers in the United States and enhance your company’s reputation within the industry drawing companies to use your copyrighted designs because they know they are protected in the United States.  Contact us so we can determine what is the best and most economical way to protect your intellectual property.

House of Representatives

By Justin Lum 1

Yesterday the Supreme Court made it easier for patent litigation winners to obtain their attorney fees from the losing party in “exceptional” cases.

Although there are standards to be met, the Supreme Court has, in overturning the Federal Circuit, given more power to both plaintiffs and defendants when there is misconduct by either party during the litigation, regardless of whether it is sanctionable.  The Supreme Court has stated that a case with merit-less claims or (rather than “and”) brought in subjective bad faith, may warrant an attorney fees award. Ocean Fitness v. Icon Health.

 

昨天最高法院推进了一项法例，在特殊专利诉讼中，获胜方可以从败诉方获得律师费。尽管条例标准即将出台，最高法院已经赋予原告和被告更多权力，当在诉讼中他们中的一方因另一方的不端行（无论是否该受到制裁）而受损害时。最高法院已经表明在案件中，其中一方无价值的陈述或着带入主观错误观点，可能会奖励另一方律师费。

Intellectual Property Rights - What's Mine Is Mine

By Justin Lum 2

It’s been stated that “good artists borrow and great artists steal”. Whether or not that’s true is irrelevant but what is relevant is that if you’ve invented or created something, it’s yours. Even if others disagree, you’re protected under the legal statutes of intellectual property rights. However, creative ideas, no matter how original, are intangible and proving that something was yours first can become murky and difficult to prove. In some instances it becomes necessary to hire an attorney to ensure that you and your creation are properly safeguarded against potential thieves. Especially if your idea has the possibility of generating capital, certain legal defenses need to be in place to assure you, the inventor, that what you’ve created is yours and not to be copied, identically designed, or otherwise stolen all together.

There are two types of intellectual property rights, copyright and industrial, that defend against different aspects of intellectual property. Copyright law states that anything artistic in nature, such as literary or musical works, are protected against duplication. Industrial property, which consists of distinctive things like trademarks and symbols, are similarly secured. No one can copy the logo or symbol of a corporation without being held accountable for infringement, nor can anyone pass off a hit song as their own. Intellectual property rights protect both individuals and companies as a whole.

With the rapid rate of technological expansion, copyright and industrial infringements are becoming evermore prevalent and it’s more important to know your rights as a creator. These laws are in place to ensure the growth and expansion of our arts communities and to protect those who participate. To guarantee the fullest and most thorough protection available it may become necessary to hire an attorney. After all, no one knows the law better than a lawyer and to make sure that you’re getting the maximum level of defense our legal system can offer, hiring a lawyer is the safest bet.

It’s not difficult to steal ideas and if your idea is bankable or otherwise important to you then you may need the aid of a lawyer to confirm that your property is protected under the law. The likelihood is that what you’ve created is important to you, and possibly profitable to others. If it’s important enough to protect legally from potential thieves then hiring a lawyer is a concrete way to create peace of mind. Never has the phrase “a mind is a terrible thing to waste” had more meaning and relevance than when discussing intellectual property.http://www.lusmile.com

 

This article was written by Roger Brent Hatcher, an attorney at Smith, Gilliam, Williams & Miles, a leading Atlanta Law Firm since 1928.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roger_Brent_Hatcher
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常言道:好艺术家借鉴，伟大的艺术家剽窃。这句话是真是假与我们无关，但如果我们发明，或着创造一件完全属于自己的东西的时候就与我们有关了。即使别人不同意，但你还是被知识产权法保护。然而，无论多么原始的创意都是无形的资产。但要证明那些创意是你首先提出来的也非常困难。在某些情况下你需要雇一位律师来确保你和你的创意能合适地被保护，并对抗潜在的剽窃。尤其是如果你的创造可能会转变为资本，必然要适当的法律保护来确保你是发明者：那属于我，不可复制，不可模仿，不可剽窃！

知识产权有两种类型：著作权和商业权，分别用于保护知识产权的两个不同方面。本质上著作权是指艺术类作品，例如文学和音乐作品，是受保护不可被复制的。商业资产是由类似商标和标志可区分的事物组成，商业资产也一样受到保护。没有人能在没有授权的情况下复制一个企业的标志或商标。当然任何人也不应该忽视自己创造的流行歌曲。总地来说，知识产权同时保护个人和企业。

随着科学技术的急剧发展。侵权行为也比以往更普遍，创作者了解自己的权益也愈发重要。那些法律可以适当地确保我们作品累积和保护那些参与者。为了确保最完整和最彻底的有效保护，这可能就需要雇一位专业律师。毕竟，没人会比律师更懂法律，也能得到法律系统提供的最大化防护，所以雇一位律师是最安全的投入。

要剽窃一个创意并不难，如果你的创意可能产生经济效益，否者你可能需要律师的帮助，来确保你的资产受法律保护是很重要的。可能你创造的东西与你而言很重要，但也可能对其他人来说也有利可图。足够的法律保护避免潜在的剽窃，而雇一位律师正是一个让你后顾无忧的具体方式。当说到智力财富的时候，不再让谚语“浪费心智是一件可怕的事”跟自己有更多关系。

 

 

    *本文由罗杰*布伦特*哈切撰写，他供职于创建于1928年的斯密斯*吉利姆*威廉姆斯&米勒律师事务所