Imagine how surprised some photographers are when we tell them that the government fee for registering the copyrights of a complete photo shoot — comprising hundreds of photographs — is only $35.00 if you do it online. It seems like nothing the government charges these days is only $35.00! It represents one of the best […]
Blog – Adam Garson Law
Beware of the On-Sale Bar
August 30, 2013
Patent
If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, then you know that a sale or offer for sale of your invention will terminate your patent rights unless you first file a patent application. Did you know that the on-sale bar also applies to commercial sales of the invention to you, as from a contract […]
Ask Dr. Copyright – What’s Fair Use?
July 31, 2013
Ask Dr. Copyright, Copyright
Dear Doc: I know you’ve explained the legal concept of “fair use” before, but I have a question about that. Does it infringe an author’s copyright in a book to paraphrase one sentence from the book in a movie, if you give credit to the author, or is it fair use? Sincerely, Absolom Absolom, Mississippi […]
The DMCA to the Rescue (Maybe) …
July 31, 2013
Copyright
In a recent embarrassing broadcast by KTVU television of San Francisco, the morning anchor, Tori Campbell, identified the pilots of the recent San Francisco Asiana airline crash as “Captain Sum Ting Wong,” “Wi Tu Lo,” “Ho Lee Fuk,” and “Bang Ding Ow.” As she read the names, Campbell didn’t flinch and, even more perplexing, […]
New Rules, New Strategies for Innovators
July 31, 2013
Patent
The past 15 years have seen an unprecedented attack on patents and patent-owners in the United States. Orchestrated by foreign nations, multinational corporations, and a variety of other groups, largely funded by similar vested interests, this attack has reduced much of the value formerly associated with patented innovations. In past issues of our newsletter we […]
It’s time for a story. We’ll start with the moral – read your non-disclosure agreements and comply with ALL of the requirements of the agreement to keep your information secret. Back to the story: In license negotiations for an invention, Convolve and another party signed a non-disclosure agreement. Like many non-disclosure agreements, the agreement required […]
Dear Doc: I took my daughter out to dinner for her birthday at a local eatery (that’s what they call a restaurant when they want to charge more for the same old burritos) and at the end of the meal, all of the servers gathered around, slapped a sombrero on her head, and sang some […]
Protecting the Latest Food Sensation
June 29, 2013
Trademark
OMG, I have to try one of these…. That appears to be the general consensus about the so-called “Cronut,” the new New York City food sensation. Early morning lines stretch around the block with customers lining up to buy this croissant-donut hybrid two hours before the Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo opens. It’s so wild […]
Patentable Subject Matter, the Sequel
June 29, 2013
Patent
In the issue that will not die, the Supreme Court again considered what can or cannot be patented. This time the question was whether human genes can be the subject of a patent. The U.S. Constitution at Article One, Section 8 gives Congress the power “to promote science and the useful arts, by securing for […]
(Dr. Copyright is off this month – although some might say that he’s always been a bit off – so our very own Dr. Trademark has stepped to the plate to hit more of your burning legal questions out of the park.) Dear Doc.: I was given a prescription for Noroxin to treat a UTI, […]