Dear Dr. ©: I’d like to make a donation to a charity, such as my college. I have some copyrights. May I donate them and take a tax deduction? Sincerely, Copyright Cheapskate Dear Cheap: First, the answer is Yes, you may donate a copyright to your college. Since copyrights last a very long time (if […]
Copyright
International Piracy Makes the Headlines
May 28, 2010
Copyright
In 2003, then Senator Joe Biden and three other Congressmen formed the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus. In an invitation to Congress, the Caucus wrote that “Our bipartisan Caucus will work to support congressional efforts to deal with the problem of piracy and Administration efforts to obtain strong intellectual property protections in the context of international […]
Dear Dr. ©: In old movies, the newsboys (newsyoungpersons now?) are always standing in the street (don’t their parents know that they could be hit by a horsecart?) yelling, “Extree! Extree! Read All About It!” and waving some yellow rag in the air. I remember hearing that facts in news stories can’t be copyrighted, but that […]
Dear Dr. C: I want to publish and sell a line of postcards. I think that I am a pretty decent photographer, and I travel a lot, so most of the pictures will be photos that I have taken on my travels. Is all of this legal? Signed, Shutter Bug Dear Ms. Bug: As with […]
Dear Dr. C: I used Google’s image search and found a really great photo that I saved. It does not have a © notice on it. Now I want to use it on my web site. I may also have done the same thing a “few” times before. Is that OK? — Anonymous (for obvious […]
Dear Dr. Copyright: Is plagiarism the same as copyright infringement? — Sir I. Newton, F.R.S. Dear Sir Isaac: No, plagiarism and copyright infringement are different, and not always in equal and opposite ways at all times and all places. Now that I have you completely confused, let me explain… Plagiarism is an infraction that is […]
Ringtones Freed by District Court
October 23, 2009
Copyright
In our July newsletter, we posed the question of whether the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) was crazy (tongue in cheek, or course). You may recall that ASCAP was seeking public performance licensing fees for ringtones. ASCAP demanded royalties for every transmission and sounding of a ringtone because each was a public […]
Confused over when to use the appropriate symbol when referring to trademarks and copyrights? Here’s the scoop. The “C” in the circle is notice to the world that the associated work is protected by copyright law. Although not required by the Copyright Act, it may be placed on any published work. Registration of the copyright […]
Congress Considers Copyright Protection for Fashion Designs
September 24, 2009
Copyright
Our office frequently receives calls from young entrepreneurs asking us to copyright their latest fashion design. Sadly, we tell them that copyright does not offer the protection they seek and, in fact, they will have to enter the market place with the expectation that their designs, if good enough, will inspire “knock off” copies. This […]
Is a Download a Performance? Composers Think So.
August 20, 2009
Copyright
The Copyright Act is continually subject to pressures created by technological and economic forces. Here’s yet another example. Composers and producers are urging Congress to change copyright law so that music airing in a audio-visual downloads are considered public performances and, therefore, deserving of royalty compensation. Federal law, of course, grants owners of copyrights the […]