Wk. 11 EOC: Forced Choice

I feel that Nina did the best job with her blog. She was clear and concise with her answers. Lana is second. She followed the directions well and her answers made a lot of sense. I felt that Chris did well with his as well. The posts were in depth and detailed. Kiri is next. Her blog is well put together and very organized. Joaquin is next. The project was not complete but part of it was there. I would put myself next in line for the same reason. I had less work than Joaquin but I posted what I had. Last would be Kellie. Her blog had nothing to do with the assignment we were given.

1. How do I know what form of intellectual property protection is available for my work? 

YOU FIRST HAVE TO DETERMINE IF ITS ONE OF THE 5
RECOGNIZABLE FORMS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. (PATENT, TRADEMARK, RIGHT
OF PUBLICITY, TRADE SECRETS, OR COPYRIGHT. ONCE YOU DETERMINE THAT,
DIFFERENT RULES WOULD APPLY FOR EACH.)

2. How "original" does my work have to be to merit copyright protection? 

TO BE ORIGINAL, IT MUST NOT BE "SUBSTANTIALLY
SIMILAR" TO PREVIOUSLY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL.

3. How do I know if I can protect my business information as a trade secret? 

IT MUST BE INFORMATION WHERE STEPS ARE
TAKEN TO PROTECT THAT INFORMATION FROM COMPETITORS IN THE SAME OR
SIMILAR INDUSTRY. GENREALLY, IF THE INFORMATION HAS VALUE TO THE OWNER
AND STEPS ARE TAKEN TO KEEP IT CONFIDENTIAL, YOU CAN PROTECT IT.

4. How much of my work is protected under a copyright? 

ANY ORIGINAL, CREATIVE EXPRESSION IN A FIXED TANGIBLE FORM
CAN BE PROTECTED.


5. How long can I receive protection for my invention under a patent? 

I BELIEVE ITS 20 YEARS FOR A UTLITY PATENT.

6. Can I protect multiple but related works under the same registration? 

YES, THEY CAN.


7. How can I prove that there has been an infringement on my copyright? 

IF THE WORK IS SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO YOUR WORK, YOU MAY
HAVE A CLAIM FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.

8. Are there specialized courts in the United States that hear intellectual property claims? 

FEDERAL COURTS WILL HEAR TRADEMARK,
COPYRIGHT AND PATENT CASES. STATE COURTS WILL HEAR TRADE SECRET AND
RIGHT OF PUBLICITY CASES.

9. What is required for me to pursue an action for the appropriation of a trade secret? 

YOU WOULD HAVE TO
FILE A LAWSUIT IN THE STATE COURTS.

10. What is the relationship of intellectual property to an intellectual economy?

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IS ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE EXPORTS THE US HAS, SO
ALOT.

Legal Authority

Todd Uglow was my teacher for Critical Thinking. I knew he is an intellectual property lawyer so I thought I might ask him my questions. I emailed him and he emailed me back before the end of the day. He was a good choice because he knows the laws surrounding my field of study.

EOC Wk. 10: The Law and Justice Two Movies

In "Erin Brochovich" the lawyers are all for helping the people and getting justice for what is done to the people they represent. In "Flash of Genius" the lawyers see only dollar signs and don't care about getting justice for what was done to the client. 

Wk. 10 BOC: Lawyer Jokes

http://www.lawyer-jokes.us/

A lawyer died and arrived at the pearly gates. To his dismay, there were thousands of people ahead of him in line to see St. Peter. But, to his surprise, St. Peter left his desk at the gate and came down the long line to where the lawyer was standing. St. Peter greeted him warmly. Then St. Peter and one of his assistants took the lawyer by the hands and guided him up to the front of the line into a comfortable chair by his desk.

The lawyer said, “I don’t mind all this attention, but what makes me so special?”

St. Peter replied, “Well, I’ve added up all the hours for which you billed your clients, and by my calculation you must be about 150 years old!”

http://www.ahajokes.com/law017.htmlA lawyer calls his client to tell him about his fee schedule.

"Alright," the lawyer says looking through his papers. "You owe me $1000 down and $417.58 cents each month for the next thirty-six months.

"What! That sounds like a car payment schedule," retorted the client.

"Your right. It's mine."

http://www.workjoke.com/lawyers-jokes.html

A doctor and a lawyer were attending a cocktail party when the doctor was approached by a man who asked advice on how to handle his ulcer. The doctor mumbled some medical advice, then turned to the lawyer and asked, "How do you handle the situation when you are asked for advice during a social function?"

"Just send an account for such advice" replied the lawyer.

On the next morning the doctor arrived at his surgery and issued the ulcer-stricken man a $50 account. That afternoon he received a $100 account from the lawyer.

Wk. 9 EOC: Letters of Permission

The four types of letters I chose are:

1.     1. Photo release

2.     2. Model release

3.     3. Copyright release

4.     4. Music release

I chose these types of letters because they are relative to my field of study and I will be able to use them again in the future. They are relevant in that I am now given permission, by the person I am photographing, to use the picture I take without fear of a lawsuit. I chose the model release because I am now able to photograph the person with their permission and can do as I please with the photos I take. The copyright release give the person who is in the photos a way to use the photos for themselves and not be hassled about who gave them the photos. I chose the music release so that if I decide to put music on my website, I will have the artist permission and cannot be sued over the use of the music.

This issue is relevant to me because I don’t want to be sued for using the work I have created without the permission of the other people involved. I like to know what my limits are and don’t wish to cause harm to other people by not taking every possible step to ensure their safety as well as my own. 

Wk 8 EOC: Bratz Brawl

The Bratz brawl heats up again. Lawyers are going back and forth over who actually owns the "Bratz" doll, Mattel or MGA. Mattel claims the inventor of the Bratz doll created the doll under contract with them and that the proceeds from the doll should go to them. The inventor claims that he created the doll on his own time and at home and that the product does not belong to Mattel.