Numbers are routinely used to name products but that there are so many of them that it takes a lot of marketing to make a number distinctive.
Dear Doc: Last month, you promised to follow up with some of the rules under which the new Copyright Claims Board (CCB) plans to hear “small claims” copyright cases. So? Signed,Still Sick of Being Ripped Off Dear SSoBRO: As the Doc said last month, the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) will be a three-judge panel within […]
Dear Doc: I’ve heard that copyright cases are going to be tried in the Copyright Office, and not in federal district courts. What gives? Is this good for authors, songwriters, artists and other creative folks? Signed,Sick of Being Ripped Off Dear Victim: What you have heard is partially correct. Big changes are on the way […]
Dear Doc: I heard that it’s now illegal to put links to photos and videos on your webpages and in social media posts? Really? Won’t that just destroy the entire Internet? Asking for a friend. Signed,Every Internet User, Ever Dear Every: Yup. You heard right, at least as far as New York Federal District […]
Dear Doc: For years, it’s been nearly impossible to do repairs on some kinds of equipment. For instance, unless you had a handheld computer that cost over $4,000, it was impossible to diagnose and fix a GM-Saab automobile. The same is true of John Deere farm equipment. Manufacturers use copyright and trade secrecy laws to […]
Dear Doc: Recently, many companies are sending me long emails with their new “Terms and Conditions”. These are harder to read than hieroglyphics on a pyramid wall, but some parts seem more important because THEY ARE PRINTED IN ALL CAPS. So what is “arbitration” and why do companies want me to consent to it? Can […]
Dear Doc: When some big company just outright steals an inventor’s patented invention and makes zillions of dollars off of it, why can’t the inventor stop them? What gives? Signed, Little Guy Dear LG: The Doc has found a very good answer to your question. The Doc may not agree with everything the author says […]
Dear Doc: What the heck is an NFT and what does it have to do with copyrights? Signed.Dazed and Confused Dear D&C: That is a very good question. Which is why the Doc will provide you with an answer, and also offer you the chance to purchase a unique and priceless version of the answer, […]
Dear Doc: It’s a year into the pandemic, and it seems that most “information workers” are working virtually, while most “essential workers” are still bravely showing up every day. Apart from the unfairness in that, and the fact that if we had all just locked down for several weeks at the start we could have […]
Dear Doc (hope you’re well and alive): I heard of a case that’s just jive.You can go, but not boldlySaid the judge, rather coldlyFar too Seuss, your project, contrived. Signed,ComicMix Dear CM: I suppose that you are asking about a recent court decision in a dispute about the book “Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!”, a mashup […]