When Do Small Business Owners Need to Lawyer-up and Why You Need an Attorney too

If you’re thinking about starting a small business, or perhaps you’re already the owner of one, hiring an attorney may not have crossed your mind. Perhaps you’re worried about the stereotype of how expensive attorneys can be, or maybe you’re a capable do-it-yourself person who doesn’t need help. Either way, this article will give a […]
Instagram and Fair Use

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 […]
Copyright and the First Sale Doctrine

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 […]
Why even worry about your Intellectual Property?

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 […]
The Importance of Protecting your Intellectual Property

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 […]
What is a Copyright?

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 This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.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 […]
What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

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: Industrial property, which includes… inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; Copyright, which includes… literary and artistic works, such as novels, poems, plays, […]
Intellectual Property in Clothing design, manufacturing, and retail

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 […]