You have successfully developed intellectual property that sets you and your company apart in a crowded market. However, if you thought creating unique intellectual property, or IP, was the hard part, you are wrong. Now comes the real challenge: Protecting your IP...
Year: 2018
Understanding fair use: When is it ok to use my work?
As an artist or creator, you take great pleasure in seeing the effect your work has on others. Unfortunately, there are numerous people out there who do not understand the difference between inspiration and plagiarism. When someone tries to replicate or sell your work...
Preparing an expert witness for trial
Testifying at a trial can be stressful, even if the witness has testified before. If the jury senses the witness is unprepared, it is difficult to gain back confidence in that witness. Thorough preparation before trial may help avoid the damage an unprepared witness...
How trial attorneys persuade the jury
The main goal of a trial attorney is to persuade the jury or, in a bench trial, the judge. To achieve this, lawyers need more than logical arguments. Persuasion is more than convincing. This strategy uses both emotion and appeal to reason. Persuasion includes getting...
Preparing for testimony
When you are about to embark on litigation, one common source of substantial stress is testimony. However, proper preparation and explanation helps you feel confident and at ease, once you know what to expect. Deposition testimony is a little different than trial...
On copyright, publishing and nom-de-plumes
What do Mary Ann Evans, Eric Blair and Ted Geisel have in common? They are all the real people behind famous pseudonyms (George Eliot, George Orwell and Dr. Seuss respectively.) The pen name is a classic strategy for writers who want to keep their public lives and...
Is graffiti art protected under the Visual Artists Rights Act?
By its very nature, graffiti art is often public, immovable and temporary. And the artists that specialize in this medium frequently believe that these characteristics make graffiti art exempt from copyright protection. However, a recent ruling issued by a U.S....
Will Congress once again extend the copyright term?
Want to protect your intellectual property or make use of someone else's IP for artistic purposes? If you're planning on doing so in California or another U.S. state, Congress could end up making things harder than you anticipate. Here's a quick look at the term (or...
3 Questions To Ask When Licensing Your Intellectual Property
Companies interested in leveraging market trends rely on intellectual property licenses to protect their rights and interests. These IP licenses constitute the very backbone of entrepreneurial and corporate profitability. Unfortunately, far too many IP firms base...
Are Ideas Getting More Expensive?
In terms of U.S. productivity growth, optimists and pessimists may disagree on a whether renewed resources and innovation are just around the corner. But the one thing they should agree on is that new ideas are getting more expensive.Consider that during the 1950s and...