Copyright Law Blog

Knowing The Legalities Of Your CD

August 13th, 2009 at 06:35pm Under copyright act

Once you’ve finished your recording, what now? You have all the right mixes finished and everything is in its place, but there is still work to be done before your CD will truly be finished. By knowing what needs to be done after all of the recording is finished, you’ll have a much easier time getting from recording to successfully finished product: your CD.
After the CD is finished recording, the first thing which needs to be done is to send a copy off to the copyright office. This will ensure that no one else can release your music as your own, as well as letting you have a written record of what you have done. Normally, what you’ll need to do is to fill out a copyright sheet for the copyright office and send that in along with your CD and a fee for the copyright. Your copyright will last a number of years before expiry; at which point you will need to re-register your copyright.
After doing this, there a number of ways which you can license and register your compositions. ASCAP and BMI are the best places to start. Both of these organizations act as a sort of head office for keeping track of compositions. If anyone else ever performs your compositions, these organizations will send you a performance fee for your compositions. If you have not yet finished your CD, you should nevertheless consider registering with ASCAP or BMI for musician’s rights and then send them copies of any music you record to keep a record of this.
Next, you should think about how royalties for the use of your music by others will be administered. If someone wants to use a piece which you have composed for a compilation album, for example, you’ll want royalties. There are businesses which take care of royalties and publishing licenses such as Harry Fox; doing this will let you get royalties for each sale of your work by someone else (such as a compilation album maker).
There are other licensing options to think of as well. If another band uses your composition, or your music is used on television or for a commercial, these people must pay you a royalty fee along with a mechanical licensing fee. You still hold the copyright to your music, but basically ‘rent’ out the song to others for their use. ASCAP and BMI can usually track your composition’s appearances as long as you have registered your recordings with them and the person using your work goes through the proper channels to obtain permission to use your music.
Once this registration issue has been handled, you have some choices as to how to go forward with preparing your music for distribution. The growth of the internet as a marketplace and venue for entertainment means that you can approach sales of your music via physical CDs as well as digital distribution; e.g. – downloads.
Digital distribution offers the musician a lot of possibilities, such as websites like SnoCap, CDBaby and IODA. All of these take your music, convert them to MP3 format and distribute your work to websites and online jukeboxes which will make them available to the public. All you have to do to accomplish this is to register your CD or other recordings through this (there is a small fee) and the portal will do the rest of the work.
Whatever sort of music you are recording and no matter how you intend it to be used, experienced and enjoyed, you should always have the legalities of the recording process in mind. This will help you not only to sell your music, but to achieve wider distribution for your work.

Recruitment Law: the Importance of Knowing the Regulations

August 9th, 2009 at 12:43pm Under copyright law

Copyright (c) 2007 Mandy Leonard

As a recruitment consultant your days are generally spent focusing on making sales and dealing with client requirements. Getting roles, finding candidates, chasing feedback, organizing interviews, the list goes on, leaving little time to focus on the clients themselves. But with such focus on making a sale, are you inadvertently leaving your clients open to risks?

Over the past few years government legislation has tightened the regulations governing employment law, yet very few recruitment consultants are aware of the implications that theses changes have for their clients. It is shocking to think that companies are using agencies to provide services that are potentially opening them up to law suits that may cost them millions of pounds.

There have been numerous instances over the past few years which have brought home the risks faced by employers today. The most notable of which was the case of Muscat vs. Cable & Wireless Plc. In this case, a temporary worker was able to successfully sue Cable & Wireless for wrongful dismissal because the contractor was able to prove that the working situation was one of “implied employment”.

“Implied Employment” refers to a situation where a contractor working for a client through a Limited Company and a recruitment agency is treated by the client the same as a permanent employee. This includes having to organize annual leave, contract extensions and pay rises with the client directly. From a recruitment agency standpoint, this is unacceptable.

First and foremost, there is rarely a direct contract between a contractor and a client, the contract is between the contractor’s Limited Company and the agency. The agency will then have a contract with the client to provide the services of the contractor’s Limited Company, not the contractor specifically. Quite simply, any contractual negotiations, any annual leave, sick leave etc, all of this must go through the recruitment agency. Line managers who involve themselves in these conversations or behaviours are opening themselves and their companies up to some serious legal risks.

Yet many agencies do not train their consultants about these regulations or the risks that their clients face. It is understandable that managers within an organization would not be aware of the legal aspects of hiring contractors. Therefore it is the responsibility of the recruitment agency to ensure that the client is aware of the risks and that the consultant ensures that both the contractor and the managers work in such a way as to negate those risks.

Thankfully these lawsuits do not happen very often but this does not mean that recruitment consultants can continue to be complacent. These cases still happen, this behaviour still continues and clients are still put at risk because consultants are not trained sufficiently in the requirements of contract law. By no means should recruitment consultants become employment law experts, but it is important if they are working within recruitment, to understand the simple things which can be done to minimize these risks.

Firstly, consultants should always read the contracts which go out to their contractors. If at any point a contract uses terms like “the employee” or “the team” this can be considered implied employment. The contractor must always be referred to as “the Limited Company” or “the Company”. That is because the contract is with the Limited Company, not the individual contractor, hence the presence of the right of substitution clause.

It needs to be reinforced that any contractual negotiations or annual leave must go through the agency. As the contract is between the agency and the client, the contractor and the client have no legal grounds to make these negotiations, only the agency can negotiate with the client on behalf of the Limited Company. It is recommended that recruitment consultants understand the basics of the IR35 regulations. These are all laws which govern the industry that you work in and can have a direct impact on your working life.

To learn more, speak to your agency’s legal team. They should be in a position to provide training and information about the regulations and give a deeper understanding about the nuances of contract law. For more information on the Muscat vs. Cable & Wireless Plc case visit : http://www.msi-network.com/Content/general/UK_employment_law_update_3.aspx

Look beyond the sales and understand your industry. Not only will you be protecting your clients and your contractors, you will be building trust with them making yourself a consultant they will want to work with again and again.

What’s in Your Portfolio?

August 8th, 2009 at 12:41pm Under intellectual property

 

In the dot-com era, while a portfolio with several patents was a positive sign of technological prowess, private equity investors and venture capitalists did not rigorously scrutinize the value of a start-up’s portfolio. Instead, they were primarily interested in finding the right opportunity, funding it and making a quick profit with an exit strategy spanning three to five years.

 

Back then, investors did not bother with extensive valuation procedures, since the market fury was conducive to realization of profits before a start-up’s intellectual property assets were put to the test in a competition-driven market. In the current economy, however, start-ups are taking much longer to reach the IPO stage. This slowdown has reduced investor interest in traditional valuation factors such as market timing, experience, management and financing strategies. Now, more than ever, the value and strength of a company’s intellectual property portfolio defines the actual worth of a company in the eyes of investors.

 

There are several methods for attempting to attach a dollar value to an intellectual property portfolio. An upper limit value can be determined by estimating the cost of designing around the patent (i.e., designing a non-infringing product). In certain cases, however, revenues generated from licensing a patent may be worth far more than it would cost to design around it. Ultimately, the true value of any intellectual property can be calculated based on the present value of the future profits that it will provide.

 

A patent portfolio’s value and strength is largely a function of the breadth of the patented claims in relation to what is already in the public domain and how long it will take before a competitive product can enter the market. In the pharmaceutical industry, for example, obtaining a patent is exceedingly valuable as it is relatively difficult to design around a well-drafted set of claims, further governmental regulations typically stifle competition by drastically limiting a pharmaceutical product’s entry to the market.

 

In contrast, patents in the semiconductor, communications and software industries can generally be invented around with greater ease, creating the risk that a start-up will find new and unexpected competition as soon as it attempts to commercialize its technology. That said, unexpected competition is much less of a threat if a company has strategically carved out a sacred space for its technology by obtaining a critical number of patents that cover its most commercially viable products.

 

Qualcomm Inc., the pioneer of code division multiple access (CDMA), has over 4,000 pending patents/patent applications and, as of 2005, had licensed the various technologies covered by these patents to more than 130 wireless equipment manufacturers worldwide. Before Qualcomm managed to obtain these core patents, Qualcomm was nothing but a fledgling telecom company. In the 2005 fiscal year, licensing and ongoing royalty fees received by Qualcomm accounted for 32 percent of its total consolidated revenues of $5.67 billion.

 

Another well-known success story in the realm of licensing is IBM. Earning about 3000 patents each year, IBM has been consistently on the top of the list, as the number one prosecutor of technology patents. In the 2004 fiscal year alone, IBM made $393 million in licensing and royalty-based fees, up 16 from the year before. Thus, for both young and old technology companies, an early start and continued maintenance of an internal program to mine for valuable intellectual property (e.g., by way of inventor incentive programs and progressive filings) are critical to reaching a commanding IP position in the market.

 

In high-tech industries, where the patent landscape is very densely populated, a cluster of patents covering a niche market is a sign of strength. Such a cluster increases the difficulty of designing around a product, and also provides for design flexibility in the future as the related technology evolves. Most patent savvy companies, instead of only patenting specific features of a product, launch aggressive campaigns to obtain rights to ideas that broadly cover the design landscape to which their specific products belong. This approach allows a company to build an overall stronger portfolio in the related space, sometimes completely barring their competitors from entering the corresponding market.

 

A strategically maintained patent portfolio should define the outer boundaries of the intellectual property a company has already developed, so that the company can protect itself from encroachment by competitors. More importantly, however, a patent portfolio should be also implemented to propel a company in a direction that would best position it to take advantage of future advancements in the technology.

 

For example, companies such as Nokia, Sony-Ericson and Samsung routinely file patents that cover present or future telecommunication standards. These companies know very well that obtaining a patent that covers the essential technology behind a telecom standard will firmly secure their market positions and will further deal heavy blows to competitors, who will eventually have to either license the right to use the respective technology or leave the market.

 

Consequently, for a young company, the strategic positioning of patents reduces risk and makes its technology more attractive to investors. Besides providing strength through fortification, portfolios with multiple patents can provide value in a variety of other ways. For example, with multiple patents in its portfolio, a company may be able to avoid costly litigation by offering to license or cross-license certain intellectual property rights.

 

Enforcing or defending a patent infringement suit can become very expensive, very quickly, due to the costs associated with hiring legal counsel and the related court fees.[6] For example, the legal costs for asserting a few patents in the United States Federal Court system can easily exceed $3 million. This predicament is further compounded for younger companies that often operate on very thin budgets. Advantageously, a company with a reasonably well-maintained patent portfolio will have a bargaining advantage and also greater leverage to avoid litigation by way entering into cross-licensing agreements.

 

Hence, a well-balanced portfolio can open the door for cross-licensing opportunities and stimulate cooperation from other companies. The true value of a cross-license is not apparent from finances alone, because income from cross-licensing is only recorded when cash is exchanged. Depending on the structure of a licensing agreement, a patent may be even used as a form of corporate currency, in the same way that corporate stocks can be used to purchase other assets.

 

Companies with foreign market presence should develop their portfolio with an international objective to limit the commercial exploitation of their products worldwide. Many companies concentrate on the US market alone. While the US is a large market for any product, it only defines a fraction of the global market. As such, emphasis on both domestic and international patents creates a more valuable portfolio. Not seeking protection in foreign markets may help a company save money in the short term. In the long run, however, this strategy will decrease leverage in future marketing endeavors and may prove to be a costly mistake.

 

A comprehensive intellectual property portfolio at the minimum should broadly cover the patent landscape to which the most important company products belong. It must also target the manufacturing regions and consumer markets that might open up in the next 10 years with an eye towards the foreseeable advancements in related technology. Thus, while extraneous and unnecessary filings should be avoided, building a worldwide patent portfolio in strategic markets is highly recommended to help increase a company’s earnings prospects and potential worth.

 

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.

Website Terms and Conditions – Do You Really Need Them?

August 1st, 2009 at 12:40pm Under copyright infringement

For some mysterious historical reason, the contract between the operator of a website and its customers long ago became known as the “terms and conditions” of the site—and back in those days (the Wild, Wild West of the 1990s), a good many operators of websites just copied the terms and conditions verbatim from another site that had terms and conditions looking fancy enough to garner the assumption that they were written by a lawyer who knew something about the subject. That led to a number of very amusing results, including totally irrelevant provisions—provisions that worked against the interests of the site, and so on. This practice is akin to following someone who also is lost.

The “terms and conditions” clause is, in essence, a contract. However, formation of a contract requires both an offer and an acceptance. Terms and conditions are really part and parcel of an offer of the services offered by your website. In order for there to be a contract, the customer must do something to communicate acceptance of all of the component parts of an offer. Just because you have terms and conditions posted doesn’t mean they have been accepted. That is the first point you should take from this article.

Case in point: Some years ago, Netscape tried to enforce the component of its terms and conditions requiring arbitration (more about that later) against a customer. It lost (Specht v. Netscape Communications Corp., 150 F.Supp.2d 585, S.D.N.Y., 2001). Apparently, there was no requirement in one of Netscape’s upgrades that the customer make any manifestation of acceptance of the terms and conditions, usually accomplished by clicking an “I accept” button adjacent to them. This is called a “click-wrap agreement,” a term that arose from those so-called “shrink-wrap agreements” on computer software—you know, the ones where it reads on the wrapper of the disc on which the program is recorded that “by breaking this seal, the customer agrees to…” The best click-wrap agreements are the ones in which the default setting reads “I do not agree,” so the customer must change the selection to the “I agree” button, and then click. This obviates customer claims that the buttons were confusing or that the “I agree” button was accidentally pushed.

Perhaps the most important components of terms and conditions have to do with dispute resolution. Let’s say you operate a website in New York and have a disgruntled customer in Montana—or worse, in Paris, France. The customer in one of those far-flung places can claim that, since you took advantage of the stream of commerce in that jurisdiction by selling your services within it, then you are subjecting yourself to being sued there in the event of a dispute. Think about it: If the customer in Montana defrauded the New York webmaster, the New York webmaster could sue the customer in Montana, and in fact would be required to utilize the court system of Montana to collect any money. Turnabout is fair play, and the customer also can sue you in Montana. However, courts consistently have held that the parties to a contract can agree in advance to the place (venue) where disputes arising from it are resolved, so long as the venue has some interest in the dispute (e.g. one of the parties lives there or the contract is to be performed there). This is called a “choice of forum” clause, perhaps the most important term or condition—and the second point you should take from this article.

Another oft-utilized contractual provision involves how (as opposed to where) disputes are resolved. Terms of a contract, and terms and conditions, can provide that disputes will be resolved by arbitration—this is the third point. Here is how arbitration works: If a suit arises from a contract containing a typical arbitration provision, then a party that is sued can demand arbitration, and the judge will suspend the court action pending resolution by arbitration.

An arbitrator is a third party who acts somewhat like a “rent-a-judge”; many arbitrators, in fact, are retired judges. Now, why would you want to be required to pay for something that the state will essentially give to you for free? Because each side is required to post half the arbitrator’s fee in advance—and this is not just $100 or $200 in court filing fees; it is more like thousands of dollars, because arbitrators aren’t cheap. Therefore, if some customer has an inconsequential beef about his Web service, he has to put up some serious money! Plus, he has no right to a jury.

The fourth important point involves “attorneys’ fees” clauses, which may sound like a good idea but require serious second thought. Be realistic: You are much more likely than your customers to screw something up, and an “attorneys’ fees” clause instantly raises the stakes in any dispute. Think about it: Somebody in some department screws up and double bills a customer for $200. An attorney looks at this and figures he can just file suit for the $200 plus his or her fees (granted, some states do not allow attorneys in small claims court), so if you use an attorneys’ fees clause, you are asking to get sued. The general rule in the U.S. (the so-called “American Rule”) is that each party to a dispute bears the cost of its own attorneys’ fees, absent a statute (and there are enough of those as it is) or a contractual provision. Most of the reasons nobody files suits for small amounts of money is that attorneys are so expensive. Why volunteer to pay the opponent’s bill?

Finally, perhaps one of the best reasons not to just copy terms and conditions from another website and post them on your own is that you are subjecting yourself to a claim for copyright infringement—and that’s just one more hassle you and your company can do without.

Are Free Sound FX Sites Doing Things Legally?

August 1st, 2009 at 12:40am Under copyright infringement

Recently, there have been a number of cases involving sound effects companies that are offering “free” sound effects as an enticement for people to sign up for their free accounts. Often times this is in order to harvest email addresses and names for marketing purposes or to sell lists to other marketing companies. The problem is that some of these sites are using copyrighted materials illegally. When companies do this they are not only neglecting their customer’s rights to privacy, but also placing them in potentially precarious legal dangers from the rightful copyright owners.
The issue has often risen from people who are either tired of buying sound effects legally, or who just don’t understand the legal implications and then post blogs on the web, solicit their friends and colleagues, and get people to search their computers for sound effects and then upload them to their newly developed, free sound effects site. Their intentions may be perfectly innocent, giving producers access to a wide variety of sound fx in one centralized location, but the real problem is that most of these uploaded sound effects are copyrighted and subject to the same copyright protections as music, movies and everything else.
There have been cases where people download sounds from these free sites to use in jobs for their paying clientele. Only later to get embarrassing and potentially career ending complaints, letters and law suits from their clients, who in turn have recently been contacted by the copyright owner’s attorney for copyright infringement. Not only can this devastating affair make you and your company look unprofessional, it is highly irresponsible as well. Nobody wants to be reflected poorly in professional circles, and in the highly sensitive environment of copyright law and the legal issues surrounding digital media, companies are coming down harder and people are treading lighter than ever before.
This is why it is important to make sure that the sound effects you are using have been obtained legally and with the appropriate licenses. There are many sites out there that offer sound effects legally. Some of these sites are free, others will charge a nominal fee, and still others may create sounds specifically for you that are licensed only to you. It is true that most of the time if you want a really high quality sound effect you will most likely have to pay for it, but the fee is usually small, ranging anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars, and more often that not it is completely worth it!
If you do want something custom built for you, you will probably pay more for it, but this sound will be licensed only to you and your production and will most likely never be available to the general public, unless releasing it was part of your sound effects/Foley creation agreement or if some one steals it and publishes it illegally.
Your best option is to play it safe. Most of the time the sounds you acquire from legitimate sources will be much higher quality anyway and will thus make your production sound much sweeter!

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

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

International Trademarks and the Madrid Protocol

July 28th, 2009 at 06:41am Under trademark law

To obtain a trademark, one has to file an application with the Patent and Trademark Office. The application sets out the areas, known as classes, you wish the mark to apply to. Once the “PTO” approves your application, it is published for comment. Assuming no objections are raised, your trademark is approved. It is important to understand, however, the mark only applies to the United States.

If you want to gain international protection for your trademark, you need to understand the Madrid Protocol. The protocol was created to deal with problems where two marks were registered in different countries and conflicts then resulted. The idea is to create a clearinghouse where a trademark in one country automatically applies to the other countries signing on to the Protocol. The United States signed on to the Madrid Protocol in 2003. 80 others have signed on as well, including most major economic countries.

To apply for an international trademark, one files a form with the Patent and Trademark Office. The application must perfectly match the national mark you are seeking. Once filed, it is forwarded by the Patent and Trademark Office to the International Bureau in Switzerland where the application is run against an international database and approved or rejected.

The cost for filing the international application is $100 per class you wish the mark to apply to, although there are exceptions where $150 is the cost. If approved, the registration will last for a period of 10 years. You can renew the registration for subsequent 10 year periods as necessary.

Filing an international trademark is a smart move if you envision your business entering international transactions. A question of cost effectiveness, however, certainly needs to be considered for most small businesses. Simply put, your money may be spent more effectively in other areas.

Finding Law And Order Online- Building A Legal Information Resource

July 24th, 2009 at 06:40pm Under copyright law

What do you do if you find yourself, suddenly, in a legal bind? Who do you turn to if you do not have the slightest idea of your rights as a citizen and you do not have your own lawyer? Believe it or not, lots of folks have been caught in this kind of a jam. But lucky for them, more often than not, the solutions are no more than a click away.
A resourceful legal website is certainly beneficial to anyone who needs quick and accurate information about a law suit or anyone who wants to learn more about legal matters. Since people are accustomed to logging on to their computers for all sorts of reasons–to read breaking headlines, check the weather forecast, download recipes, and book airline tickets etc.—it is logical to think that they would turn to a computer when searching for answers to a range of legal concerns.
What is more, a website is an obvious way to promote your company and attract new clients. There are numerous elements that could appear on your site. A full-fledged site defines your company’s mission, explains its background, introduces its employees, and lists contact information. But you can also include several different elements. Consider the following:
- a dictionary of legal terms
- a variety of legal forms
- a directory of lawyers (organized by specialty or geography)
- FAQs and an “Ask the Expert” column
- links to articles covering timely lawful issues
- legal case histories
No matter what your company specializes in, a website can be tailored to cover your areas of expertise. It is also possible to make it as interactive as you desire. Perhaps you want to link to lively message boards and current blogs, or offer the opportunity to have live chats with lawyers. Whatever elements you include, the ultimate purpose of a functional, practical site is to provide information in a way that is as accessible and helpful as possible.
Let’s face it, the ordinary citizen is pretty clueless when it comes to determining lawful behavior, be it at home, at the office, at work, or at play. While we all have an idea of what is legitimate and permissible, most of us don’t grasp the exceptions to the rule or understand the fine print.
Of course, it is impossible to cover every aspect of the law on one website and it is impossible to list all the fields of interest here. But a carefully constructed legal website can, indeed, be a source of comfort and a fount of information for the general public. Here are a few examples of the subjects you might choose to address on your website (either in depth or in a general manner):
- Bankruptcy laws
- Accident insurance
- Copyright law
- Entertainment law
- Investment law
- Criminal law and criminal procedures
- Discrimination laws
- Employment laws
- Family law
It is about time the field of law earned a positive reputation. Your company can blaze the trails by putting up an attractive, effective site that not only showcases your services, but also bestows valuable knowledge on those in need.