Dear Doc: I’m going to the beach and I am tired of re-reading old spy novels. Know any exciting books about intellectual property law? Signed, Eccentric Beachbum Dear EB: Absolutely! The “Doc” just loves a good suspenseful mystery, and in the Doc’s opinion, there is none better than William Rosen’s The Most Powerful Idea in […]
Ask Dr. Copyright
Ask Dr. Copyright is a monthly column that tackles common misconceptions in the areas of intellectual property law especially, copyright.
Ask Dr. Copyright
May 31, 2012
Ask Dr. Copyright, Copyright, Intellectual Property
Dear Doc: I have heard several of my friends say that university copyright policies are complicated and are a “bear” to deal with. What, exactly, does that mean? Your friend, Yogi Dear Yogi: Many colleges and universities have so-called “intellectual property policies” that they say apply to student-created work. Many of these policies say that […]
Ask Dr. Copyright . . .
April 30, 2012
Ask Dr. Copyright, Copyright, Internet Law
Dear Doc: I hear a lot about storing files on “the cloud” these days. From your perspective, do I lose any rights when I use such a service? They sure are convenient! Signed, Will Robinson DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!!! DANGER!!! The “Doc” has reviewed the terms and conditions of the license agreements of a few “cloud” […]
Ask Dr. Copyright
March 29, 2012
Ask Dr. Copyright, Copyright
Dear Doc: What ever happened to “RightHaven” that company you called a “copyright troll” and that was suing bloggers for quoting from the Las Vegas newspaper? Signed, Just Curious, With Nothing Better to Do Dear JC: It turns out that RightHaven was beaten back by some of the defendants that it sued, with the help […]
Ask Dr. Copyright
February 29, 2012
Ask Dr. Copyright, Copyright
Dear Doc, A few years ago, I remember reading that Google was digitizing every book in a bunch of libraries, and that soon, we would be able to search them all online. What’s up with that? Signed, Still Waiting After All These Years Dear SWAATY: You’re right – Google did start the Google Books Project […]
Dear Doc: My company makes small electronic products. We design circuit boards and write software, selling the finished products to a variety of industries. Recently, we found out that a former employee may have given our designs to a competitor. Can copyright law help us? Signed, Ripped-Off Dear Rip: You betcha (as Sarah Palin has […]
Dear Doc: A friend of mine (if ya know what I mean) uses peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software. She downloads cool things from the Internet, but then sorta-kinda-almost instantly erases them from her computer. Is this okay? Signed, MovieFan Dear Fan: Ahem…If I were your friend, I would stop doing that stuff. NOW! You see, […]
Ask Dr. Copyright….
July 28, 2011
Ask Dr. Copyright, Copyright
Dear Doc: We have a small business, and recently, one of our key employees quit unexpectedly. Of course, we quickly secured things, but a customer just called to say that she has been contacted by the fellow, and that his company’s brochure is quite similar to ours, offering the same services and products. We did […]
Dear Doc, What ever happened to that “Copyright Troll” that was trying to sue anyone who quoted the Las Vegas newspaper? Jus’ Wondrin’ Dear Jus: Funny you should ask. You will recall that Righthaven LLC (the “troll” you talked about) is a company that brought hundreds of law suits for copyright infringement against web sites, […]
Dear Dr. C, I heard that a copyright troll died recently…what’s the scoop? Sincerely, Morbidly Interested Dear Morbidly, Righthaven LLC is a company that has brought hundreds of law suits for copyright infringement against web sites, bloggers, and mainstream media companies that have used content from the Las Vegas Review Journal. Quotations as small as […]