EOC Week 10: Lawyer Jokes

Question: How can you tell that an attorney is about to lie?
Answer: His lips begin to move.
http://www.stromer.com/jokes/185jokes.html 

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a herd of buffalo?
A: The lawyer charges more.
http://www.ahajokes.com/law001.html 

Q: What do you call a lawyer gone bad?
A: Senator.
http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Lawyer.htm 

Q: How are an apple and a lawyer alike?
A: They both look good hanging from a tree. http://www.iciclesoftware.com/LawJokes/IcicleLawJokes.html

Your Own Argument and Opinions

Having talked with a lawyer I feel that they knew what they were talking about. Having done my studies from the class I was prepared and had in minor stand figured out what actions to take, but after speaking to them and having them provide additional information to my questions it was no doubt they understood the law for copyright and intellectual property. "The copyright owner controls the use of the work, and any person who uses it without proper "permission" could be sued for financial damages. The main reasoning to acquire permission is to avoid a lawsuit" (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 269). Being that I am done with this final project now, I found it very enjoyable to interview Alexandra about the law having to do with my career in this near future. Its always great to ask questions that could affect you one day with someone who knows what they are talking about so you are prepared for any situation thrown at you. I enjoyed speaking to Alexandra in person about the proper steps necessary to claim a product your own. She also answered a few concerns I had regarding my next move for the my brand. " The first sale doctrine permits the purchaser of a legal copy of a copyrighted work to treat that copy in any way desired, as long as the copyright owner's exclusive copyright rights are not infringed"(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 269) Speaking to a lawyer is more affective then trying to find these answers out on your own, you get helpful information. I am very appreciative of the fact Alexandra took the time to help answer my questions and give knowledgable answers from her experience. “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) The ending result is no matter what creative field you are in, it is wise to have a good attorney to be able to turn to for any legal concerns you have. This is something that every field may have to face at some point in their career. “Trademark law consists of the legal rules by which businesses protect the names, logos, and other commercial signifiers used to identify their products and services.”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 379) I am very pleases with this final project and its outcome, it actually gave us real life experience in a situation so we will be familiar with how to handle something along these lines in the future.

Rule of Law

During the interview I asked Alexandra all these questions pertaining to my curiosity in my field of fashion. During our interview we discussed primarily copyrights, patent laws, and infringement. When it comes to my work, I want it to be legally protected. "Infringement of a copyright can be treated as a federal crime under the Copyright Act if it is done intentionally and with full knowledge that an infringement is occurring." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 243) Although there are laws to cover me while I have a copyright on my work, there are some laws that have gray areas. Although ultimately it is infringement to use copyrighted works without permission, there are exceptions to this law, which was shocking news to me. “As a general rule, and infringement will be deemed deliberate if it begins after the mark in question has been federally registered, because the infringer is deemed to have notice of the existing mark”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 412) Her logic pertaining to my questions was more that they were business decisions that needed legal backing rather than strict legal issues. It was exciting and very interesting to learn about the limitations I have and what I can do if someone takes one of my patented designs. “Profits reaped by an infringer as a result of a copyright infringement are one possible element of monetary damages a court may require the infringer to pay the copyright owner. Defendants profits will only be awarded where these profits exceed the amount of profits lost by the copyright owner as a result of the infringement”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 318)

Reasoning of the Law

As I looked over Alexandra's way of processing the questions I had asked, I observed that she is a very detailed thinker.  During my interview with the Alexandra, I found there was a lot of gray area in the world of intellectual property law. She was aware of the processes that copyrights go through from the state to federal laws and how long copyrights last.  Most of my questions came back with depending circumstances. “A copyright actually encompasses a bundle of separate exclusive rights, including the exclusive right to: reproduce the work, display or perform the work, distribute the work, and prepare adaptations of the work.”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 443)  I found that the logic behind her answers were direct results of her personal experience and knowledge in the field. When it came to cases regarding infringement, there were several scenarios that have different answers. In my scenario, I use hardware and materials bought from local stores to make my shoes and accessories, so with that being said licensing could become a possible issue since they are not my own personal finishings. Alexandra had to ask additional questions about this situation to be able to give me the best possible answer.  “Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trade mark or service mark on competing or related goods and services”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 446)  The ultimate answer was I would have to find a manufacture to make hardware and materials just for my personal brand, as I had assumed, in order to put my label on it and sell the merchandise that I make. Otherwise, store bought finishings are just licensed for a one time product for personal use and not meant to made into multiple copies to be sold.  “An infringer who commits one or more infringements during a 180-day period for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain can be fined and imprisoned for one to five years depending upon the value of the infringements.” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 244)

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.