The Questions

I had chose questions that I had an idea of the answer too and some that I did not, just so that I could personally see where her thinking was coming from.  She answered all my questions easily and very precise using terms I had learned from the book and some I didn't.  The questions I came up with for the intellectual property concerning the fashion industry had to do out of my own inquisitiveness. I accustomed my questions around trademarks and copyright laws dealing with fashion design, since that is what we have been studying and this is the field I will be pursing. It is wise for me to know the laws in the industry I will have a career in and fully understand them. Currently, I am an hopeful designer for women's shoes and accessories. “As an alternative to seeking damages and profits, copyright who have timely registered their copyright may pursue statutory damages which can be awarded without any proof of harm or defendant’s profits.” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 3281)thinking of brand names for quite a while now and coming up with a logo for my brand name that will stand out and set my merchandise in a caliber that once the client sees the logo they will know it’s my design. Now this is not quite the easiest task because I would be challenging with all high end luxury brands that have been established for more than a decade. “If you are concerned with a creation of your own, you’ll first need to know what form (or forms) of intellectual property applies to it.”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 8)  So as a result, I asked questions about getting my brand name as a trademark. Also when running a fashion retail store, if I wanted to turn my store into a franchise business, what laws should I be aware of when I’m signing away rights for this to happen safe and successfully? I asked about how I would go about protecting my merchandise from infringement because we all know when it comes to luxury goods there are always fake products out there being sold for a cheaper value, and I wouldn't want that damaging my reputation of my brand.  "When an author independently creates a work, it is then considered original, even though it may be highly simular to another work created by someone else. (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 10)  Now those were some of my concerns after our interview that I called and asked her later.  Here are my original questions I came up with:

1. How long does it take to copyright a design?
2.How do I find out if a design has already been copyrighted?
3. How unique and different does a design have to be to call it your own?
4.Do you need a license to make and sell your own clothes?
5.Can you copyright a color?
6. What is the difference between a copyright and trademark
7.Is it legal to be fined for a offensive clothing for example sagging your pants too low?
8. What would be the first step to take if you think someone stole your design?
9. Do you have to get your design patented in every country you sell it in?
10. Are you allowed to imitate a brand?

I wanted to be sure about my limitations and laws regarding this topic so it is something I am aware of if I ever came across this situation. I think because of the fact that it is a public store and anyone can purchase these goods and it is my creativity putting these designs together and coming up with the original design it shouldn’t be an issue but I wanted to make sure.  "A statutory bar is any federal statutory provision that requires the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or a court to disqualify an invention for a patent." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 163)  I feel these questions could help for any artist in any field to understand their limitations because we are all creators of something. I never want to be in a situation where I am not aware of what’s going on around me because in reality this is something that could very well happen to anyone. Plus it’s better to be prepared for this just in case these negative situations happen. ”The Unites States passed legislation that allows a performer or record company to prevent the unauthorized recording of a live performance, even if the performer or record company does not own a copyright in any of the songs being performed” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 219)

Legal Authority

For the first part of the final project, we were asked to come in contact with an Intellectual Property Lawyer to discuss some concerns we had about our major. This sounded quite frightening at first but luckily for me I have two lawyers in the family.  The lawyer I decided to interview is Alexandra Del Pozo. She is part of the law office of ATB which is a law office located all throughout the United States. Even though she is family with her busy schedule it was hard to work something out to meet up and discuss my questions I had in regards to my major. When we were able to meet up and talk about this final project though she was very understanding and took the time to help me understand everything. Since ATB is primarily a corporate defense attorney, Alexandra deals with different cases of intellectual property instead of what goes on in the fashion industry. "Intellectual property law consists of several seperate and overlapping legal disciplines, each with its own characteristics and terminology: Patent law, Copyright law, Trademark law, and Tradesecret law." (Patent, Copyright, & Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 5-6)   In the beginning, I was skeptical about asking some of the questions that I had first written down. Primarily because she deals mainly with corporate defense, and a lot of the questions that I would be asking were going to be dealing with that of the fashion industry. But once I started the conversation with Alexandra, I felt comfortable that she would be able to answer most of the questions I had accurately and to the best of her knowledge.  “Intellectual property laws, along with court decisions and regulations, establish rules for the following activities: selling or licensing of intellectual property, resolving disputes between companies making or selling similar intellectual property products and services, and the registration and administration of intellectual property.”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 5)

EOC Week 8: Bratz Vs. Mattel

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a jury should not have been allowed to consider MGA’s claims that it was the victim of trade secret theft during a trial that was convened to consider a lawsuit by Mattel, which contended that MGA stole the idea for Bratz from Mattel.  The case dates to 2004 when Mattel first filed a lawsuit asserting that the designer of the toys, Carter Bryant, was working for Mattel when he did the initial drawings and early work on the Bratz, hip-hop-inspired dolls with large eyes, heads, lips and feet, and tiny noses. The Bratz doll, introduced in 2001, was a blockbuster and posed a serious challenge to Mattel’s Barbie after decades of fashion doll dominance. Article However, this feud has been going back and forth between both companies with judges giving one company rights to Mattel for the images, yet another judge allowing MGA to continue to produce the Bratz Dolls. It seems as if start of this battle created one of the messiest law suits in recent years and will continue to progress forward, but in what direction? That’s still to be determined. However, Time.com has an idea. They state, “So instead of bleeding money in courts, the companies would be better off spending every dime on market research, as the real winner of the doll-vs.-doll battle will be decided by their customers. "The consumers who are buying dolls don't know anything about a lawsuit," Silver said. "Ninety-nine percent don't know or don't care. They just want to buy the doll their kid is asking for." Article  Sounds like a fair way to look at it. Personally, I think the dispute is getting way out of hand and that each company is money hungry for the revenue of the Bratz Dolls. I, too, don't personally care for the dolls themselves because I think they give little girls a bad image of what a real woman look like, but that's just me. However, the customers do have the final say on these dolls. In other words, may the best doll win.

BOC Week 8: Progress on Final Project

As of our last class I looked up many lawyers in the intellectual property field for consideration. It seemed quite nerve racking to have to call an attorney as a student and a rookie in the field. I luckily have two aunts who are attorneys and can help me with this project or at least guide me to someone who can. When thinking about what to ask on these interviews with the attorneys I was quite timid. I really had to think about what I was going to ask. I wanted to sound like I was a professional in the field and knew what I was talking about. Coming up with 10 questions was quite the struggle, I almost feel like I am pretending to know what I am talking about while trying to find questions that pertain to my field of study and that I actually care to know about and may benefit me.

As far as classwork goes, I am pretty up to date with my blog and my tweets. I will be honest and say that there are a dew days that I forget to tweet, but I get myself caught up by class time. Hopefully I can remember to tweet everyday so that I don't get myself behind. I shouldn't procrastinate on homework because I should be doing it every week in order to receive the full credit.

EOC Week 7: Lawyers

Alexandra Del Pozo
702-254-1186


Sophia Del Pozo
702-497-2493


Kenehan & Lambertsen Limitied
702-997-1732


Weide & Miller
702-382-4804


Richard H. Newman
702-667-4811


Michael Navarro
702-385-3025


Yvette R. Freedman
702-383-9950


Kirk Nevada Walker
702-893-3789


Weiss and Moy
702-784-7682


Marc John Randazza
888-667-1113

EOC Week 5: Patent Trolls

When reading the article "New Breed of Patent Claim Bedevils Product Makers" by Dionne Searcey from the Wall Street Journal, I was surprised on the outcome of the case. Raymond E. Stauffer who is a patent attorney in Roseland, NJ sued Brooks Brother Inc. in Federal Court because they labeled their bow ties with expired patents from 1950. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that had dismissed Stauffer's case saying he didn't have standing to bring it. I guess I was shocked that companies with such profit and value are marking their merchandise with expired patents, which is against the law. Why put yourself in jeopardy of being fined or caught? I mean that is a patent trolls job. "A patent troll is a disparaging term for someone who sues for patent infringement but who does not make or sell any products using the patented technology. In other words, the patent troll is in the business of sueing companies, not in the business of making or selling anything." (Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 112) "It absolutely is a startling development in the interpretation of that provision," says Michael C. Smith, a defense lawyer from Marshall, Texas, who is representing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and mouse-trap maker Kness Mfg. Co. in suits claiming false patent marking. "A lot of these products always have patent numbers on them, and it never occurred to anyone to take them off." Mr. Smith, who declined to discuss the lawsuits he is handling, says he generally advises clients: "Now is a good time for you to have somebody run down your products" and check their patent numbers. Patents have a life span of 17 or 20 years. To keep them valid, companies must pay maintenance fees every four years. Once they expire, the holder is expected to remove the numbers from products. "A patent is a right provided by a government that allows an inventor to prevent others from manufacturing, selling, or using the patent owner's invention. This right covers the invention as specifically described in the patent application's claim alowed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or other patent-examining agencies in other countries." (Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 101) The way Stauffer calculated the liability against Brook Brothers I feel should have had a different outcome. They marked 120 different styles of ties, which sell for about $45 to $100 a piece. But he did say he didn't know how many individual ties were falsely marked, that accurate number of knowing probably would have helped his case slightly. "I would have settled this case for $25,000 back in December of 2008," Mr. Stauffer says. "Brooks Brothers, however, seemed eager to want to litigate the case, and I was delighted to give them the opportunity." So far, none of the suits have reaped the gigantic awards that plaintiffs say could be possible. "Claims are statements included in a patent application that describes that structure of an invention in precise and exact terms, using a long-established formal style and precise terminology. Most patent applications contain more than one claim, each of which describes the invention from a slightly different viewpoint." (Patent, Copyright & Trademark pg. 38) Some of the cases have settled because companies fear a bad outcome or don't want to incur large legal fees fighting them. "You're paying the hostage fee," says Mark Willard, a lawyer who represented hand-tool manufacturer Ames True Temper Co. in a suit involving a shrub rake. "It was manufactured in China using an old mold that still had the expired patent number on it," says Mr. Willard, adding that the company has long had in place a policy of monitoring patents. "This one fell through the cracks."

EOC Week 4: Jeopardy Evaluation

Creating a Jeopardy game to review the definitions and key terms was an interesting way to study them. I found it very interesting and easier to remember. Pinto told us we were going to be playing these games in class but never said who’s game, which kept us on our toes making us study the definitions even more. The class participation was at it’s full potential making the game nerve racking and anxious to find the term. Some of the terms were easy some of the definitions were extremely hard, but creating the game and playing the game made it fun and didn’t feel so much like studying. I feel confident after playing the game with the class that I am fully prepared for the class mid-term, but that’s not going to stop me from studying more at home. I think this was a great way to implement the mid-term and the studying to go along with it. I love the fact that we are always on edge meaning we are never comfortable or given a definite answer. Pinto leaves the class guessing for next weeks lecture. He gave us the Jeopardy game as homework telling us we would be playing Jeopardy in class the next week, but never mentioning if it was his game, my game, or my classmates, so you wouldn’t know what to expect. Then of course playing the game in class he adds his own twists to the rules making it more competitive and making the teams in the class want to win even more. We went from half the class being teamed up against each other, to being split into teams of 5, then switching teams, and being paired up into teams of 3. So it really got us comfortable with our classmates and getting to know each other.