Copyright Law Blog

Websites and Intellectual Property, Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights

August 7th, 2009 at 06:41pm Under copyright protection

To clear up confusion as to how to protect the Intellectual Property of websites, this article will give a brief explanation on how websites might be protected under Patent Law, Trademark Law, and Copyright Law.

The first concept to understand regarding Intellectual Property is the fact that patent law, trademark law, and copyright law overlap.  It is possible to get a patent, a trademark, and a copyright on a bicycle.  A patent can be applied for a unique braking system on the bike.  A trademark can be created for a unique and non-functional look of the bike (and word marks).  And a copyright can be extended to various graphics on the bicycle as well.  The three pillars of intellectual property: patents, copyrights, and trademarks are no mutually exclusive.

As such, a website which incorporates a novel and non-obvious method or process can be afforded patent protection.  One bad example is the Amazon 1-click patent.  This is a bad example in the sense that the patent was probably improperly issued due to serious questions related to USC 103 which requires non-obvioiusness.

A website may also be able to qualify for trademark protection through various logos, words, colors, sounds, or other source identifiers which are placed throughout the website.  A consistent look throughout the website pages can be given trademark rights.  A closely related issue may be cyber-squatting which is actually covered under another narrow law.

And a website may also have copyright rights as well.  Most websites have an assortment of images, articles, artwork, and other text which certainly comes under copyright law.  Moreover, any software running on those websites may also qualify for copyright law through their source code and object code which may be registered with the Library of Congress.

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Copyright Lawyer

August 6th, 2009 at 06:40pm Under copyright protection

Copyright law protects the intellectual property of creators such as artists, authors, and musicians. While copyright law is supposed to protect creators by preventing other people from using their intellectual property, there are many gray areas in the details that have to be decided in court. Copyright laws can also differ from area to area. This makes it important to find a copyright lawyer that understands local, national, and international precedent so you can protect your substantive works from infringement.

Many courts have upheld copyrights of finished and incomplete works as long as an individual or corporation can prove that they created the work before someone else. Some people accomplish this without hiring a copyright lawyer. They might, for instance, send a copy of a play to themselves in the mail so that it has an official date stamped on it. Or they might have a notary public sign and date a copy of the work so courts will know when the author created it.

This works in some cases, but those who are serious about protecting their intellectual property should consider hiring copyright lawyers. Copyright law is difficult for many laymen to understand. Even the U.S. court system finds it difficult to rule on some cases.

Since there are so many gray areas in copyright law, it is best to hire a copyright lawyer who has significant experience in the field. Most of the cases are brought to civil court, where a copyright lawyer might have the chance to argue your case in front of a judge or committee. In this type of situation, experience is a lawyer’s best asset.

You can determine how much experience a copyright lawyer has by asking her or him how long they have been practicing intellectual property law. You should also ask the copyright lawyers how many of their cases they win so you will know how successful they are.

Consider spending some time looking for a copyright lawyer that has significant experience in your field. If you are a musician, then you should look for a copyright lawyer that has represented music companies and musicians. If you have written a book, then you should seek the services of a copyright lawyer that knows the ins and outs of copyright laws that apply to books. Finding a specialist can only improve your chances of protecting your rights.

After you have found several copyright lawyers with years of experience, a concentration in law that pertains to your field, and a good track record, you can make a short list to choose from. Contact the copyright lawyers on your short list and ask them to give you references. These references will make it easy for you to talk to their other clients. You can often get the best information from other professionals who have used the copyright lawyer’s services. A good reference from a professional music producer, for instance, should typically have more influence on your decision than a part-time musician with self-published material.

Troubling Changes To Patent Rules

August 2nd, 2009 at 06:42pm Under intellectual property

On January 3, 2006 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Patent Office) proposed changes to the current patent filing procedures that will dramatically change the process inventors and small businesses use to seek patent protection. The proposed changes also limit inventors’ ability to protect their inventions. The public may submit their feedback on these changes by May 3, 2006.
CHANGE NO. 1: The first change alters the current “continuation practice” by limiting the number of correspondences that inventors may have with the Patent Office. Additional correspondence may be made with the Patent Office but only under limited conditions.
CHANGE NO. 2: The second change alters the current “claiming practice” by limiting the number of claims that may be presented on an invention, specifically, ten claims per application. The proposed change severely restricts the conditions under which additional claims may be presented.
Interestingly, the stated purposes of the changes are to reduce the back log of un-examined patent applications and increase the quality of the patent application review. Unfortunately, these changes also bring out two important negative implications:
• INCREASE COST TO OBTAIN PATENT
• NARROW PATENT PROTECTION
Under the proposed changes, an inventors may only present ten independent claims even if the technology to be patented requires more. The Patent Office states that more claims may be presented if the inventor provides an opinion as to the reason that the invention is patentable over a prior art search but such opinion may be expensive. Hence, the inventor may have to accept narrow claim coverage that may not sufficiently protect their invention. instead of continuing to pursue broad patent protection. Also, inventors must seek patent protection on multiple aspects of their invention simultaneously which may be cost prohibitive. Moreover, in cases where the Patent Office has incorrectly rejected an application, the inventor may only proceed with a costly appeal process instead of attempting to highlight different ingenious aspects of the invention.
IMPACT ON BACK LOG AND QUALITY: The changes do not appear to achieve the Patent Office’s desired objective of reducing its back log of applications and improving quality. Inventors, when faced with an examiner who does not understand the uniqueness of the invention, would immediately appeal or petition such refusal rather than use up their limited number of correspondences with the examiner. As such, in one aspect, the changes merely shift the load of the work from patent examiners to the appeal board and petition process. Moreover, patent attorneys would file additional applications on the same invention describing the invention in different ways to circumvent the changes increasing the number of applications. As such, in another aspect, it may increase the number of patent applications.
PUNISH EVERYONE BECAUSE OF A FEW: According to the Patent Office, only 1.2% of applicants engage in excessive claiming. The Patent Office has identified a claiming practice used by a few applicants and proposes changes that affect all applicants. Oddly, the Patent Office appears to be punishing all inventors due to the excessive claiming practice of a few.
PUBLIC REACTION: Feedback submitted by individuals, patent practitioners, businesses and trade associations range from full acceptance to full rejection. For example, one comment stated that the Patent Office is not taking into consideration “real-world effects on practitioners and applications.” Another comment from an intellectual property association supports the Patent Office’s efforts in increasing examination efficiency and patent quality but disagrees that the proposed changes would achieve the desired results.
SUBMITING YOUR COMMENTS: For information on submitting a comment, go to www.uspto.gov or www.ContactJamesYang.blogspot.com.
This information is provided for informational purposes only and not considered legal advice. Legal advice requires review and analysis of your specific factual situation.

Copyright in Simple Way

August 1st, 2009 at 06:41pm Under intellectual property

Copyright is a legal concept. It is enacted by governments. It gives the creator of an original work of authorship exclusive rights to it. It is usually given for a limited time. After the expiry of this time the work enters in public domain. Generally, it is “right to copy”, but usually provides the author other rights as well, such as the rights to be credited to the work, which may financially benefit from it, and other related rights. It is intellectual property from like the patent, the trademark, and the trade secret applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete.

        Copyright was initially conceived as a way for governments in Europe to restrict printing. The contemporary intent of copyrights is to promote the creation of new work by giving author control of and profit from them.

Copyright has been internationally standardized, lasting between fifty to hundred years from the author’s death, or a finite period for anonymous or corporate authorship. Some countries have required formalities to establishing copyright; most recognize copyright in any completed work, without formal registration. Generally copyright is enforced a civil matter.

Exclusive rights

Several exclusive rights typically attach to the holder of a copyright:

Ø      To produce copies or reproductions of the work and to sell those copies.

Ø      To import or export the work.

Ø      To crate derivative works

Ø      To perform or display the work publicly (performance rights)

Ø      To sell or assign these rights to others.

Ø      To transmit or display by radio or video (broadcasting rights)

The phrase “Exclusive rights” means that only the copyright holder is free to exercise those rights and others are preheated from using the work without the holder’s permission. Copyright is sometimes called “Native rights”, as it serves to prohibit certain people e.g. readers, viewers, or listeners and primarily publishers and would be publishers from doing something they would otherwise be able to do, rather than permitting people to do something they would otherwise be unable to do.

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Pakistan Law (informative Website About Law of Pakistan)

July 31st, 2009 at 12:43pm Under intellectual property

Pakistan LawAccording to necessity of the world it is felt that there is need to collect the information which gives knowledge about the law of Pakistan. Pakistan Law is first Pakistani Law website providing useful law information to the world wide, this web site is designed for general information only. All information is collected from different law sourcesWelcome to the Pakistan Law website. This website is all about lawyers information in Pakistan, online legal help in Pakistan, legal dispute, legal opinion Information about various Pakistan laws and government policies, news with videos its all about lawyers, Pakistan law firms, courts details of Pakistan and Pakistan law officesThis Web site is divided in various parts1. Pakistan LawInformation base section related to Pakistan law which includes Banking Law, Company Law, Civil Law, Companies Law, Communications and Media Law, Intellectual Property Law, Agriculture Law and Tax Law2. Pakistan Top StoriesWhat’s going in Pakistan, as we know Pakistan suffering from very bad time. Pakistan law provides all latest news top stories lawyers’ comments feedback and their opinions.3. Courts in PakistanList of courts in Pakistan with all important information phones numbers address.4. Pakistan Video BarPakistan Law is with one unique section VIDEO BAR; we have added all latest videos of lawyers5. All about LawyersUseful articles related law, law cases from history it can help law students as well as for professions to get some tipsSite URL http://www.pakistanlaw.net

Created by Muhammad Bilal Sarwari +923 44 44 68 321

Innovative Culture in Business

July 31st, 2009 at 06:43am Under intellectual property

Copyright (c) 2009 Alan Gillies
Consider this… What if, instead of the tiny stylish mobile phone that you have today, you had to keep with you one of those massive phones prevalent in the early 1990’s? You can let go with a sigh of relief that it was just an idea; courtesy of the innovators who gave up many years of their lives designing and creating this ‘mini-world’ for everyone, just the way it is today.
However, this did not come easily. Innovation has to be incorporated into an organizational culture if such revolutionary and landmark achievements are what we are aiming to achieve.
Ideally, a culture is considered as a group of opinions, attitudes, norms, beliefs, and values, while innovation is the implicit and explicit end result of the creativity and understanding of the people working within this company. However, just coming up with something that is ‘out-of-the box’ doesn’t mean that it will always work – often due to organisational circumstance, because even though an exceptional innovation can be created and brought into reality, there are often many factors which can stop this process – in it’s tracks, keeping many amazing ideas from ever reaching their production stage. With the passing of time, innovation has gone far beyond the concept of simply generating creative ideas; it’s something which can now be seen as the culture of a business. This ‘innovative culture’ can often be the difference between a ’successful’ and a ‘not-so-successful’ organization. Such a culture works toward developing an attitude of constant learning and advancement in the abilities of the employees. Every organization has its own unique culture which differentiates it from all of the others, and the success or failure of any of these businesses depends largely on how well this culture is managed. An organization with a well managed innovative culture almost always expands more rapidly than an organization without this understanding. In the case of an organization with a poorly managed culture, integrating and connecting with the innovation of a current culture is not a simple endeavour, as this requires careful planning, strategy, consistent motivation and an unflinching drive toward improvement.
Here are a few factors organizations should utilize for the integration of innovation into their culture:
1. Intellectual Property – This is the most important ingredient of an innovative culture. Regularly bringing up ideas in discussions or debates creates a continuous process of refinement, and these brain storming sessions infuse the members with enthusiasm, thereby stimulating the participants to come up with even more ‘never thought of before’ solutions.
2. Technology – Ownership of ‘tech’ and the process of upgrading these technological advancements are both other aspects which need consideration. This structure acts as an interface between knowledge and products, and is therefore responsible for the materialization of concepts from paper into tangible and intangible services.
3. Effective Leadership – Effective leaders are those who, in the organization, continuously integrate and motivate the creative thinking of their peers and subordinates.
4. Proper Communication – Good communication is absolutely necessary for making useful information available, at the right place and at the right time. Miscommunication at the smallest level in an organization can play havoc with even the most brilliant innovative idea.
To be competitive in our changing business world, businesses require their individuals to develop innovative ideas consistently. These innovative ideas can support any organization when they’re traversing difficult phases of business, as organizations can sell off such innovative ideas in a down turn of a business cycle, or take in high profits during a point of large market share.

Writing script treatment for your movie idea

July 30th, 2009 at 06:41pm Under intellectual property

There are reasons for writing a treatment or outline based on your brilliant original movie idea. Simply put a movie idea or concept cannot be copyrighted. Idea theft isn’t widespread in the movie business, but there is always that remote possibility some intellectual property thief hears your movie idea, loves it, and develops their own script or movie based on your idea. Not many aspiring writers, directors, or producers have deep enough pockets to get into a costly court battle over an idea. Writing a treatment and submitting it to the U.S. Copyright Office protects your movie idea. It is possible to sell a script treatment, but usually that’s reserved for Hollywood insiders or established screenwriters with a proven track record. Not for newcomers on the scene. Hashing out solid a script treatment greatly increases the chances for a tight well written script to be born. This article is mainly for those aspiring screenwriters that have a movie idea they are going to eventually write themselves. A treatment is a full narrative description of the story. This happens, this happens, and finally this happens. It can include bits of dialogue or not. Length can vary from 1-25 pages or more depending how involved you want to get. I’m usually able to get a real good handle on my script idea within 6 pages of a treatment.I myself do not write out scenes on index cards to follow as a road map for my scripts. I heard it works for other screenwriters, but I can’t share with you a technique I personally do not use. I also do not write detailed biographies on characters to get into their heads. If I created them I better know what motivates them and what makes them say or do the things they do in the script.  I use a simple script treatment to flesh out my movie idea into a tight story. Writing a shorter treatment is my personal preference. People develop their own preferences when writing a treatment. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll find yours as you go through the process.  At this point, if you’ve done a little reading on screenwriting you’ll be looking at your treatment to make sure it follows the Three Act Structure as advised in many books. The First Act (the beginning), the Second Act (the middle), and the Third Act (the end). I respect the principal, but do not apply it as a hard and fast rule to my scripts. All good stories will always have a beginning that hooks people, a middle that keeps people interested in how the whole thing will turn out, and the end where you give the viewer the big payoff.   When you write a script trying to force your idea to conform to the Three Act Structure your story can lose zip. It might be your story has four or five acts to get to the end. When I look at my treatment I ask myself one major question; would I watch this movie? Movies, in my opinion, are for entertainment. If you tell a good story that will keep people entertained and watching you’ll do fine as a filmmaker. With a treatment done I always feel more confident going in to write a full script. Think of a treatment as your road map of where you want the story you script to lead. When you’re done with your treatment you’re one step closer to making your movie, not just talking about it. Good writing!Hopefully you found this article useful. Learn more about making movies by picking up The First Movie is the Toughest is packed with no nonsense advice, help, and entertaining stories about making movies outside of Hollywood on limited budgets. This book is for aspiring Screenwriters, Directors, and Producers along with the casual movie viewer with their own great story idea for a movie. No hype. No bull.

Patent Law

July 30th, 2009 at 12:41pm Under intellectual property

Patent law grants exclusively privileges to inventors so they can earn money from the methods and products that they create. There are many different types of patents available in the United States, so inventors might want to seek the assistance of a lawyer or law firm that understands the details of patent law.

Patent Law Regulates Many Different Types of Inventions

Patent laws typically regulate the use of processes, inventions, and improvements on existing products and processes. This potentially spans many different disciplines. For instance, an entrepreneur might develop a new business method that she or he can have patented to prevent others from using it. A biologist might apply for a patent to protect his or her rights to a new organism or biological process. Computer scientists might seek patents for software that they create.

The Advantages of Patent Law

Patent law encourages inventive people to continue developing new products, techniques, and ideas by rewarding them with exclusive economic rights. Without patent law, there would be little economic incentive for someone to spend long hours developing new ideas and products because someone else could immediately profit from the inventor’s hard work. Patent law gives the inventor a certain period of time during which she or he has exclusive rights to financial gain from their intellectual property.

What Does Patent Law Do?

Patent law prevents others from using the ideas and designs of an inventor. Patent law does not, however, require the inventor to use the designs or ideas that are patented. It is possible for an individual or company to patent a process merely to prevent others from using it. According to most patent laws, this is legitimate even if the patent holder does not plan to take advantage of the invention.

What Terms Do Patent Laws Offer Inventors?

The term of a patent is the amount of time that the inventor holds exclusive rights. Typically, this period of time is 20 years in the United States and other countries associated with the World Trade Organization (WTO). There are, however, some differences in terms between different types of patents. For instance, in the U.S., patents for decorative designs that do not offer improved functionality are only effective for 14 years.

In some cases, though, inventors and companies are able to extend the patent term to a period longer than 20 years. This often requires going to court and hiring experienced patent law attorneys, and is usually only pursued when the patent makes large amounts of money each day.

Hiring Patent Lawyers for Professional Services

Many large companies that hold hundreds or thousands of patents employ lawyers that know the details of patent laws. If you need to hire a lawyer to help you seek a patent for your invention, though, you will need to find someone with plenty of experience. Be sure to find a patent lawyer who has experience with the types of patents that you need. Someone familiar with how patent laws pertain to manufacturing may not be able to give you the services that you need when filing for a patent that protects your business method.

Intellectual Property Law Firm

July 29th, 2009 at 12:43pm Under trademark law

An intellectual property law firm should have attorneys with several years of experience protecting the rights of artists, designers, engineers, and business developers. There are several different types of intellectual property, so a law firm might employ lawyers that specialize in individual topics such as copyrights, patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and industrial designs.

Why are Intellectual Property Law Firms Useful?

Intellectual property law gives incentive to those who create new ideas by offering them exclusive rights to earn money from their ideas for a certain period of time. One might see intellectual property law as a type of temporary monopoly that allows the creator to earn money without competing with others who might try to use the idea, process, design, or work of art for their own profit. An intellectual property law firm can help those who create new ideas prevent others from taking advantage of their work without paying the inventor or creator.

Who Needs an Intellectual Property Law Firm?

There are many different types of intellectual property, so there are also many different types of professionals who might need the services of an intellectual property law firm. Those who work in technology development almost certainly need an intellectual property law firm to make sure no one steals their ideas, programs, or designs. Musicians, writers, and artists of all types might also need an intellectual property law firm to make sure they get all royalties that are due to them from the commercial sale of their creations. Even business professionals might need intellectual property law firms to protect their management concepts.

The Two Categories of Intellectual Property

There are two types of intellectual property, so you might want to choose an intellectual property law firm that specializes in the one that affects you most. The first category gives exclusive rights to artistic and commercial creations. This could include a movie, book, painting, or computer software. The second type that an intellectual property law firm might specialize in is typically called industrial properties. These are typically inventions that are used in production or industry.

Finding an Intellectual Property Law Firm

Depending on where you live, you might find that there are several intellectual property law firms for you to choose from. If you work with other professionals and artists who use the services of an intellectual property lawyer, then you might want to ask them which firms they prefer. Colleagues who have more experience might be able to tell you about the positive and negative experiences they have had with the intellectual property law firms in your area, which will help you develop a short list of firms that you can choose from.

Meet with representatives of the firms that get good reviews from the other people in your field. During your meeting, you might want to ask about their qualifications to help you choose an intellectual property law firm that specializes in the type of products and ideas that you create. You should also ask them how much money they charge so you can choose a firm that is affordable for you.

Protecting Your Interests: Using Competitive Intelligence Gathering Techniques at Tradeshows to Safeguard Your Bottom Line

July 29th, 2009 at 12:43pm Under intellectual property

“This looks absolutely amazing!” The attendee was smiling, eyes bright, a wide grin.  “If this is what I think it is, I’m pretty sure this piece of equipment will solve all of our problems.” He turned to the booth staffer, a young woman at her very first show.  “Could you tell me how it works?”

The staffer, thrilled at the possibility of selling a piece of equipment that sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars, was more than accommodating.  She answered every question, even the most technical.  When the prospect wanted to take some pictures, she helped him get good shots — from every conceivable angle.

When the prospect left, he had every relevant piece of sales literature.  He also had a dozen great digital pictures, the card of the booth staffer, and a promise that someone from the exhibitor’s company would be following up directly after the show.

However, the attendee didn’t let the grass grow under his feet.  His organization was in touch with the exhibitor’s organization within days.

However, instead of a purchase order, the communication was coming from the attendee’s legal department — who had a pretty good case that the exhibitor’s display model was based on their proprietary design!

Tradeshows offer the most overt intelligence gathering environment imaginable.  There is no other place where you can find all of the companies in one industry gathered in a convenient location, with all their offerings on display.  Helpful booth staffers will answer questions, often those questions that should raise red flags among an exhibiting team.

This can work against you, or, as illustrated in the story above, it can work for you.  The world is getting smaller every day.  Ideas are stolen. They’re copied, reverse engineered, you name it.  However, as the owner and originator of these ideas, you may have no idea that this has happened — until you stumble across the results at a tradeshow or industry event.

In an increasingly competitive world marketplace, you can’t depend on chance discoveries! Savvy tradeshow exhibitors and attendees know that they have to take the initiative, and carefully approach tradeshows with one eye toward protecting their own intellectual assets.

Determine a goal for your staffers or employees you’re sending to attend a show.  Make it clear to them what type of thing they’re to look for: products that duplicate your own, for example, or that incorporate proprietary technology without permission.

It is never your employee’s role to have a confrontation about these topics at the show. Instead, their role is, as illustrated above, to gather as much information as possible about the product and company, and relay that data back to your headquarters, where it can be acted upon by the appropriate personnel.

Preparation is essential.  You can’t send your staffers in with the command to protect your interests without equipping them to do so.  Here’s how you start that preparation:

Prior to the show, study the exhibitor list. Identify which companies you already know, and make special note of any new names.  It is far more common for emerging, smaller organizations to engage in unscrupulous activities — if only because the larger, behemoth firms have legal firms that keep them from getting into trouble! Sometimes show organizers make this easy by listing exhibitors by industrial categories, but other times you’re left facing an alphabetical list. 

Create a ‘hit list’ of companies that you absolutely have to see.  Of course you’ll want to visit your major competitors – but don’t be myopic.  It is important to pay careful attention to any unfamiliar exhibitors, even if they are only tangentially related to your industry.

Augment your target list with pre-show research, including what readings from trade publications and industry knowledge.  This will generally give you a starting point for your investigations.  Pinpoint those items you definitely want to know more about, and include these on your team’s list of goals and objectives. 

At the same time, it is vitally important to remain aware and open to any information that may arise serendipitously.  It is impossible to know ahead of time what your team will encounter while they’re walking the show floor. 

Having the skills and wit to recognize copyright infringement and intellectual property theft, no matter what form it takes, is a valuable asset in any employee.  Make sure you recognize and reward your team appropriately!