Why You Should Consider Negotiating With Infringers

/

As a creative professional, protecting your intellectual property is key to staying successful. So when someone infringes your copyright, what do you do? Sure, your immediate instinct may be to fight back. There’s always a little bit of ego involved… after all, someone just ripped off your work! But as I often tell clients, if someone is already using your work, you might as well get paid for it. Negotiating with your infringer could be a more fruitful avenue. Here’s why.

Read More

The Importance of Mentors

/
The Importance of Mentors

I represent a number of businesses. Some are small, others not so small. Some are brand new, while others are established. Some are run by young people fresh out of college or grad school, while others are run by people on their second, third, or even fourth careers. They range the gamut from TV production companies to interior design firms to furniture makers, to talent management. It’s safe to say that no two businesses I represent are alike, except in one way. They all need mentors.

Read More

How do NFTs Impact Artists?

/
How do NFTs Impact Artists?

Ever since the digital artist Beeple sold an NFT (non-fungible token) of his work for $69 million dollars, there’s been a ridiculous amount of excitement surrounding NFTs. Some have called it a revolutionary way to buy and sell copyrights while others have called it a fad, a scam, or worse. The truth is, it’s far too early to tell what the true economic or societal impacts of NFTs are, at least until the hype dies down. And I’m far from an expert so I don’t think my input on that front is helpful anyway. I’m more interested in the legal impacts of NFTs which are, presently, unclear.

Read More

You Made a Collage, But That Doesn't Give You Rights In the Underlying Work

/
You Made a Collage, But That Doesn't Give You Rights In the Underlying Work

The longer I practice law, the more I recognize certain “seasons” in my work; sometimes I’ll have a period where all my clients are filmmakers. Perhaps six months will go by where all my work revolves around trademarks in some way. Maybe I’ll have ten people in a row ask me about indemnity clauses. Lately many of my clients or prospective clients are visual or graphic artists producing collages. And they all want to know the same thing: can they use the work of others in their collages?

Read More

The Benefits of Copyright Registration

/
The Benefits of Copyright Registration

Oftentimes, I get this question from current or prospective clients: “how do I copyright my work?” I usually tell them, “you don’t have to because you (most likely) already own it. Copyright isn’t an act one engages in, it’s a suite of rights, granted under the U.S. Copyright Act, that attached from the moment your work is ‘fixed in a tangible medium of expression.’” That is, the moment your work is recorded somehow - in writing, on paper, on a computer, in audio, video, etc, etc. Among the rights granted to you under copyright law: the right to own, use, exploit, and transfer ownership to the work. Other than creating it, you do not need to engage in any further actions to own it.

Read More

Repost: You Can’t Copyright Style

/
Repost: You Can’t Copyright Style

Shortly after Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out, something happened that no one could have possibly predicted: people started making fan art. Shocking I know, but in a world where Donald Trump is the leading Republican candidate for President, I’m not sure anything’s a surprise anymore. Anyway, among those artists was Disney and Marvel illustrator Brian Kesinger. But Kesinger wasn’t interested in your run of the mill fan art. He wanted to do something special. The result of his labor: a series of adorable illustrations of Kylo Ren, Han Solo, Leia, and Darth Vader from The Force Awakens done in Bill Watterson’s inimitable style. Kesinger not only nailed the famed Calvin and Hobbes look, he also got Watterson’s voice.

Read More

What Lessons Can Draft Day Teach Us About Successful Negotiations?

/
What Lessons Can Draft Day Teach Us About Successful Negotiations?

Does 2014’s Draft Day - starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner - have the single greatest negotiation scene of all time? I’ll leave that judgement to history, but I will say that watching Costner’s Sonny Weaver Jr. parlay one first round draft pick into three key new players in the film’s finale is as electrifying as it is improbable, and it contains three useful lessons on negotiation for lawyers and lay people alike.

Read More

On Whether You Can Use Someone Else's Copyrighted Work As Reference Material For Your Own

/
On Whether You Can Use Someone Else's Copyrighted Work As Reference Material For Your Own

"As part of my (illustration) process, I source and screenshot or drag images of people, places, and things from Google (usually stock photos) which I then combine and trace to create my illustrations. It would be hard for any of these stock photos to be identified outright in my work, as they are mainly used as the skeleton for postures and environments in my drawings. They are transformed by my invention of things like clothes and other details, and by my linework 'style.' What do you think of this? Am I doing anything legally risky?"

Read More

Repost: Yes Trademark Fair Use Exists!

/
Repost: Yes Trademark Fair Use Exists!

How you reference an existing brand will dictate whether you become liable for trademark infringement or public disparagement of the brand, but there are carve-outs in trademark law that allow you to fairly reference an existing trademark without being liable for infringement. Yes you heard me right; trademark fair use exists!

Read More

You Made a Collage, But That Doesn't Give You Rights In the Underlying Work

/
You Made a Collage, But That Doesn't Give You Rights In the Underlying Work

The longer I practice law, the more I recognize certain “seasons” in my work; sometimes I’ll have a period where all my clients are filmmakers. Perhaps six months will go by where all my work revolves around trademarks in some way. Maybe I’ll have ten people in a row ask me about indemnity clauses. Lately I’ve been in a season where clients are visual or graphic artists producing collages. And they all want to know the same thing: can they use the work of others in their collages?

Read More