Dear Doc: It seems every day that I read about another federal law suit claiming that some musical “artist” of whom I have never heard, claims that another musical “artist” (of whom I may have heard) stole his/her/its music and infringed copyright. Is it just me, or are these claims becoming more frequent? What gives? […]
All posts by: Lawrence Husick
Ask Dr. Copyright — Plagiarism vs. Infringement
September 7, 2016
Copyright
Dear Doc: I was, for reasons I do not want to explain, watching the Republican National Convention on television. I watched Malania Trump’s speech about her husband, THE DONALD, and thought that it was a very good speech, especially for someone who speaks five languages. It sounded pretty familiar, but it was not until I […]
Ask Dr. Copyright … Trademark Rights in ‘Thank You’
July 29, 2016
Trademark
Trademarking Thanks? Dear Doc: My Mom always taught me to be extra-polite. Growing up in the South, I learned to call my elders “Ma’am” and “Sir”, and always to say “Please” and “Thank you”. I guess that the 2Big2Fail crowd was raised differently. I just heard that CitiGroup thinks that it owns “Thank You” and […]
Ask Dr. Copyright… About Klingon
July 14, 2016
Ask Dr. Copyright, Copyright
Dear Doc: NuqneH! (Hello!) HIQaH! QaH! (Help!) Paramount Pictures Corporation thinks that it owns the copyright to the Klingon language. They’re trying to use that copyright to stop production of a fan film, “Prelude to Axanar” that is being developed with funding from Kickstarter. How is it possible for someone to own an entire language? jIyajbe’ (I don’t understand!) […]
Ask Dr. Copyright … DTSA Immunization
June 6, 2016
Ask Dr. Copyright
Dear Doc: When I joined MegaCorp, I was “asked” (well, told, actually) to sign a nondisclosure agreement that limits what I can do with any trade secrets I may learn while doing my job. That agreement says that I can’t tell a single, solitary soul, and that if I do, MegaCorp will, I guess, […]
Dear Doc: I know that this is not a copyright question, but I have heard that trade secrets are about to get a lot more important. What’s up? Signed, Johnny Rivers Dear Johnny: You hear right. On April 27, 2016, by a vote of 410-2, the US House of Representatives passed the Defend Trade Secrets […]
Dear Doc: I’m an aspiring musician. I write the songs that make the whole world sing. Lately, it seems that I’m having to work much harder to become an overnight success. After all, I write the songs that make the young girls cry. Can you help? Signed, Mandy Dear Mandy: Woof! Wooof, grrrr. Woof! (But […]
Ask Dr. Copyright… Is Mayo Patentable
March 21, 2016
Ask Dr. Copyright, Litigation
Dear Doc: I hear that in patent law, there’s a new worry about “Mayo”. What’s up? Did someone leave it out of the fridge? Did it spoil? Did folks get sick? Signed, The Entire Pharmaceutical Industry Dear Industry: The “Mayo” you heard about has spoiled a lot of things, and is likely to cause a […]
Ask Dr. Copyright…Is “The Big Game” Trademarked?
February 2, 2016
Ask Dr. Copyright
Dear Doc: Everywhere I look today, I see advertisements about what to eat during “THE BIG GAME”. What’s up with that? Signed, Super Confused Dear Sportsfan: According to the National Football League, “Super Bowl®” is their registered trademark for television broadcasting services; television transmission services; distribution of television programming to cable and satellite television systems; […]
What’s So “Efficient” About Patent Infringement?
October 20, 2015
Patent
In a recent editorial in the New York Times, Joe Nocera discussed “patent trolls” and the concept of efficient infringement of patent rights. Briefly, this idea is that large companies just ignore patents completely, taking a “so sue me” attitude, knowing that they have legions of lawyers who can wear down patent owners, and that […]