Thursday, March 14, 2013
Final Project: My Argument and Opinion
Most of my questions dealt with copyrights which "give the ownder of a creative work the right ot keep others from unauthorized use of the work" (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 197) and trademarks which is "a distinctive word, phrase, logo, graphic symbol or other device that is used to identify the sourceof a product or service and to distinguish it from comeptitors." (Patent, Copyright and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 380) After talking with Todd, I gained a little better knowledge of intellectual property law. I agree with most of his rulings, since they make logical sense, but I don't completely agree with him on a certain ruling, and that pertains to the question I asked him about an internet radio site streaming one of my bands songs without permission and being able to collect royalties. In part of his answer, he stated that if my band is aware that this is happening we only have a certain amount of time to bring the site to action. I think we should be able to collect royalties still especially on the sites that are subscription sites where "listeners pay a fee to listen to music." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 339) I enjoyed learning more about the intellectual Property, "These laws
don't prevent someone from stepping on my rights, but they do give me
ammunition to take the trespasser to court" (Patent, Copyright, and
Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 5) After talking to Todd, I feel like I can better protect myself and my work in the world of intellectual property law. He was very friendly and open during the interview and was happy to answer any questions I had to ask. Todd was a very good choice as a lawyer to interview.
Final Project: Rule of Law
Intellectual Property Law "consists of several separate and overlapping legal disciplines, each with its own characteristics and terminology" (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 5) which include patent, copyright and trademark law. My questions pertain mostly to copyright and trademark law since I am in the music industry and it is very important to have an understanding of these laws.
Question 1. If I own a recording studio and I hire a sound engineer and he decides to record his band as a side project at my studio, do I have rights to the songs they just recorded?
Todd ruled this as the sound engineer and his band have the copyrights to all the songs they recorded. Even though the engineer works at my studio and recorded his band with my equipment on his own time, I don't have any rights to their work. The band would be the copyright claimant which is "the party considered to be the basic owner of the copyright." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 237) Also the sound engineer is not under a legal contract stating the studio has rights to their songs.
Question 2. If an internet radio streams one of my bands songs without our permission, could we collect royalties for how many times the song has played?
Mr. Uglow ruled this in two ways. The first one being if I know of the site streaming our song, then we have a statute of limitations which is "the legal time limit by which a person bringing an infringement lawsuit must file suit."(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 331) But if my band is unaware of the actions of the radio site, then if I am unaware of the infringement then my band can go after the site to collect royalties.
Question 3. If a company has a logo that looks similar to my bands and they use it in a derogatory way, can my band sue the company for trademark infringement?
Todd ruled this as a possibility depending on a couple factors that the courts will look at. He talked about trademark dilution of famous marks which are "widely recognized marks by the general consuming public as a designation of the source of the goods or services of the mark's owner." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 430) If my band builds up a fan base and someone decides to tarnish our logo, my band would be able to go after them for trademark infringement.
Question 4. Is the only way to use a sample of another artist's song is to ask for permission from them?
Todd ruled this as the only way to be able to use another artist's song is to get permission or else that is copyright infringement and that artist can bring an infringement action which is "a lawsuit brought against someone who uses a copyrighted expression without permission." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 280)
Question 5. If a band wants to cover one of my bands songs and put it on their album, would we be able to collect a certain amount for royalties for every album they sell with the cover they did our song?
Todd ruled this as my band is the music publishers/songwriter which are people "who own song copyrights and collect revenue" (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 294) we have the right to collect a small percentage of every sale of the album that has the cover of our song.
Question 2. If an internet radio streams one of my bands songs without our permission, could we collect royalties for how many times the song has played?
Mr. Uglow ruled this in two ways. The first one being if I know of the site streaming our song, then we have a statute of limitations which is "the legal time limit by which a person bringing an infringement lawsuit must file suit."(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 331) But if my band is unaware of the actions of the radio site, then if I am unaware of the infringement then my band can go after the site to collect royalties.
Question 3. If a company has a logo that looks similar to my bands and they use it in a derogatory way, can my band sue the company for trademark infringement?
Todd ruled this as a possibility depending on a couple factors that the courts will look at. He talked about trademark dilution of famous marks which are "widely recognized marks by the general consuming public as a designation of the source of the goods or services of the mark's owner." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 430) If my band builds up a fan base and someone decides to tarnish our logo, my band would be able to go after them for trademark infringement.
Question 4. Is the only way to use a sample of another artist's song is to ask for permission from them?
Todd ruled this as the only way to be able to use another artist's song is to get permission or else that is copyright infringement and that artist can bring an infringement action which is "a lawsuit brought against someone who uses a copyrighted expression without permission." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 280)
Question 5. If a band wants to cover one of my bands songs and put it on their album, would we be able to collect a certain amount for royalties for every album they sell with the cover they did our song?
Todd ruled this as my band is the music publishers/songwriter which are people "who own song copyrights and collect revenue" (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 294) we have the right to collect a small percentage of every sale of the album that has the cover of our song.
Final Project: Reasoning of the Law
When I was asking Todd Uglow my questions, he was answered without hesitation. Todd did not go into a lot of detail when answering my questions, but he gave me enough information to make sure I had a clear answer to my questions. His thought process was very stream like in a way going from one explanation to the other. In no time, I had the answers to my questions.
Question 1. If I own a recording studio and I hire a sound engineer and he decides to record his band as a side project at my studio, do I have rights to the songs they just recorded?
Answer - Todd said, that the sound engineers band would pay to rent the equipment at a certain and they will retain the copyrights for everything they create. Unless I, as the owner specify that they can use the equipment for free for a cut in the copyright ownership.
Question 2. If an internet radio streams one of my bands songs without our permission, could we collect royalties for how many times the song has played?
Answer - Mr. Uglow said I possibly could go after the site. If I am aware about what is going on then yes I could go after them and collect royalties. Then on the other hand if I am aware, I only have a limited amount of time to go after them. Then he said, both internet radio and radio stations need licensing to play artists' songs. This would be licensing of copyrights which is "a method by which the owner of a copyright gives permission for another to use or copy an original work of authorship." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 289) My band being the owner of the copyrights to the song being streamed, have the chance to collect.
Question 3. If a company has a logo that looks similar to my bands and they use it in a derogatory way, can my band sue the company for trademark infringement? "Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark (or a substantially similar mark) on competing or related goods and services." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 446)
Answer - Todd replied that again I possibly could and that the law isn't as black and white as some may think. He said that the courts would look at a number of things, if the companies are in the same industry and how similar the marks look. Uglow then mentioned something about "trademark dilution" which is a principle where "owners of a famous trademark may prevent it from being used by others on unrelated goods" (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 386) If the trademark falls under dilution then we can go after them for trademark infringement.
Question 4. Is the only way to use a sample of another artist's song is to ask for permission from them?
Answer - This was a pretty simple question for Todd to answer. The only way to sample an artist's song is to ask for permission. If you don't that is copyright infringement which is "any unauthorized use of a copyrighted work that violates the copyright owner's exclusive rights in the work constitutes an infringement." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 237)
Question 5. If a band wants to cover one of my bands songs and put it on their album, would we be able to collect a certain amount for royalties for every album they sell with the cover they did our song?
Answer - Todd said, yes, the band would get a percentage of each album sold with that bands cover of our song. It is usually a 10th of a percentage for each sale. Depending on how big the song is, determines how much we could get back in royalties. My band would be granting that an exclusive license which is "a contract in writing which a copyright owner authorizes another person or entity to exclusively exercise one or more of the rights that belong to the copyright owner under the copyright." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 261) We would still collect royalties from being the songwriters.
Question 1. If I own a recording studio and I hire a sound engineer and he decides to record his band as a side project at my studio, do I have rights to the songs they just recorded?
Answer - Todd said, that the sound engineers band would pay to rent the equipment at a certain and they will retain the copyrights for everything they create. Unless I, as the owner specify that they can use the equipment for free for a cut in the copyright ownership.
Question 2. If an internet radio streams one of my bands songs without our permission, could we collect royalties for how many times the song has played?
Answer - Mr. Uglow said I possibly could go after the site. If I am aware about what is going on then yes I could go after them and collect royalties. Then on the other hand if I am aware, I only have a limited amount of time to go after them. Then he said, both internet radio and radio stations need licensing to play artists' songs. This would be licensing of copyrights which is "a method by which the owner of a copyright gives permission for another to use or copy an original work of authorship." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 289) My band being the owner of the copyrights to the song being streamed, have the chance to collect.
Question 3. If a company has a logo that looks similar to my bands and they use it in a derogatory way, can my band sue the company for trademark infringement? "Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark (or a substantially similar mark) on competing or related goods and services." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 446)
Answer - Todd replied that again I possibly could and that the law isn't as black and white as some may think. He said that the courts would look at a number of things, if the companies are in the same industry and how similar the marks look. Uglow then mentioned something about "trademark dilution" which is a principle where "owners of a famous trademark may prevent it from being used by others on unrelated goods" (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 386) If the trademark falls under dilution then we can go after them for trademark infringement.
Question 4. Is the only way to use a sample of another artist's song is to ask for permission from them?
Answer - This was a pretty simple question for Todd to answer. The only way to sample an artist's song is to ask for permission. If you don't that is copyright infringement which is "any unauthorized use of a copyrighted work that violates the copyright owner's exclusive rights in the work constitutes an infringement." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 237)
Question 5. If a band wants to cover one of my bands songs and put it on their album, would we be able to collect a certain amount for royalties for every album they sell with the cover they did our song?
Answer - Todd said, yes, the band would get a percentage of each album sold with that bands cover of our song. It is usually a 10th of a percentage for each sale. Depending on how big the song is, determines how much we could get back in royalties. My band would be granting that an exclusive license which is "a contract in writing which a copyright owner authorizes another person or entity to exclusively exercise one or more of the rights that belong to the copyright owner under the copyright." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 261) We would still collect royalties from being the songwriters.
Final Project: The Questions
Question 1. If I own a recording studio and I hire a sound engineer and he decides to record his band as a side project at my studio, do I have rights to the songs they just recorded?
This interests me because one day in the future I would like to own my recording studio. The legal issues here would be whether or not my sound engineer employee is a work made for hire "which is a work created by an employee within the scope of employment or certain works specified in the Copyright Act created by an independent author under a written contract specifying that the project is a work made for hire." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 340) Depending if I put him under certain stipulations while he works here, will determine if I have rights to their songs.
Question 2. If an internet radio streams one of my bands songs without our permission, could we collect royalties for how many times the song has played?
This question interests me because I am in a band, if we make it big and have hit songs, more than likely one of our songs will be streaming on one of those internet radio sites. These are labeled as webcasting sites which is "the digital transmission of music over the Internet. " (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 339) The legal issue here is if I can collect royalties for radio stations playing my band's song without our permission. I'm not sure how often this happens, but you can never be too sure.
Question 3. If a company has a logo that looks similar to my bands and they use it in a derogatory way, can my band sue the company for trademark infringement?
I like this question because logos/trademarks are everywhere. These are the symbol that represent a company and that everyone recognizes. The legal issue here would be if the company is infringing upon my bands logo because it would be well known and it they would be causing trademark dilution which "impairs or tarnish its reputation for quality" (Patent, Copyright and Trademar, Richard Stim, Pg. 387) I wouldn't want some company tarnishing my bands reputation so they can make a few quick bucks. That is just wrong.
Question 4. Is the only way to use a sample of another artist's song is to ask for permission from them?
I am a huge lover of music and would like to take a step into the electronic music world. A lot of DJ's/Hip Hop Artists use sampling. Sampling is "the digital recording process of using a portion of a sound recording which can be manipulated to replay once or twice or repeat as a loop throughout a new recording." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 327) The legal issue here is that before I make a sample of another artist's song, I don't want to get smacked with a lawsuit for copyright infringement.
Question 5. If a band wants to cover one of my bands songs and put it on their album, would we be able to collect a certain amount for royalties for every album they sell with the cover they did our song?
Covers are all around in the music world. Somewhere in the world, someone is learning an artist's song and will probably perform it live at some point in time. This interests me because at one time or another, if my band makes it big, someone out there will probably try to learn one of our songs and perform it at another time. My band as being the music publisher, who "own song copyrights and collect revenue, handle business formalities, sue infringers, and look for new ways to exploit songs." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 294) This would be another way for my band to make a little money on the side.
Covers are all around in the music world. Somewhere in the world, someone is learning an artist's song and will probably perform it live at some point in time. This interests me because at one time or another, if my band makes it big, someone out there will probably try to learn one of our songs and perform it at another time. My band as being the music publisher, who "own song copyrights and collect revenue, handle business formalities, sue infringers, and look for new ways to exploit songs." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 294) This would be another way for my band to make a little money on the side.
Final Project: Legal Authority
After having a run of bad luck with finding an Intellectual Property Lawyer, I decided to ask Todd Uglow who happens to be a professor here at The Art Institute of Las Vegas and an Intellectual Property Lawyer. I had Mr. Uglow as a professor for the class Communications 101 in my first mid quarter here. He told us that he was an Intellectual Property Lawyer and that he has represented many celebrities from sport athletes to professional singers. It was silly of me to not ask him right off the bat, but he really was the perfect choice since he deals with these kinds of cases each and every day.
Week 10 EOC: 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 vacuum cleaner and a lawyer on a motorcycle?
A: The vacuum cleaner has the dirt bag on the inside.
http://www.iciclesoftware.com/LawJokes/IcicleLawJokes.html#QandA
What's the difference between a porcupine and an ambulance chasing BMW carrying three lawyers?
-- A porcupine has the pricks on the outside.
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/fun15.htm
Q: What's black and tan and looks good on a lawyer?
A: A Doberman.
http://www.jmpressley.net/humor/lawyers1.html
Answer: His lips begin to move.
http://www.stromer.com/jokes/185jokes.html
Q: What's the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a lawyer on a motorcycle?
A: The vacuum cleaner has the dirt bag on the inside.
http://www.iciclesoftware.com/LawJokes/IcicleLawJokes.html#QandA
What's the difference between a porcupine and an ambulance chasing BMW carrying three lawyers?
-- A porcupine has the pricks on the outside.
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/fun15.htm
Q: What's black and tan and looks good on a lawyer?
A: A Doberman.
http://www.jmpressley.net/humor/lawyers1.html
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Week 9 EOC: Letters of Permission
The websites I got my letters of permission from are
1.Permission to Audio Tape https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:frEtVthW9L0J:www.stmarys-ca.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/files/Sample%2520Letter%2520of%2520Permission%2520for%2520Audio%2520Taping.docx+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjkcbBns-lYMQ7uq3eg2iqjyRI1bg7PVWFpeSgzmUJSR0U2Gpz_L_3cgAC9wnFF3lrNmLPLPWGRI2ASaF8aKSEdNL1p2-EAriTYzuhP3HQQjZ2P2O1_Wnk2WDuy4Zkk5j7fEx23&sig=AHIEtbQVx36tBS9ghsqy66ZCA3F6uUdmRw
2. Permission to use copyrighted work.https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:NZgPBaNK-4sJ:www.mbc.edu/grafton/rpc/docs/step4/permission_to_use.doc+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESizOzWIX9FVRVB9aHnjBdIxT_N0r07jtHsQSa-5e1IYH_41om3tEU4za8WhFzt2mVvFP6G0FrShJU5DGOUI36R1AIpfLmcZhSyP-aZCovEXwJAYDi7TpROuOq6wQZ7JXApyifJ7&sig=AHIEtbQP2Li2pVqCqFZIc2-xwn4OZoQ5bA
3. Permission to use photographs http://guides.nccjapan.org/content.php?pid=195789&sid=1648257
4. Permission to stream video on Internet https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:o2akW3yM340J:copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/files/2010/12/model-letter-streaming-video-on-internet-121010.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiQnrF8UVfYZ5rNRnyZ69oc3ljylwyAmiYEWPKse7WxzDSXcCRLdFR8oeZeCMThryxjVy7xLdbed-4qK2aKDH8AzpjF8l0wFK7Voyc3EKtqrR8sqFkTzAKT9Gpg0z7aY6M5n7Sd&sig=AHIEtbTP_SS7d1MmgoPWXi_yVPdlH3zk5w
1.Permission to Audio Tape https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:frEtVthW9L0J:www.stmarys-ca.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/files/Sample%2520Letter%2520of%2520Permission%2520for%2520Audio%2520Taping.docx+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjkcbBns-lYMQ7uq3eg2iqjyRI1bg7PVWFpeSgzmUJSR0U2Gpz_L_3cgAC9wnFF3lrNmLPLPWGRI2ASaF8aKSEdNL1p2-EAriTYzuhP3HQQjZ2P2O1_Wnk2WDuy4Zkk5j7fEx23&sig=AHIEtbQVx36tBS9ghsqy66ZCA3F6uUdmRw
2. Permission to use copyrighted work.https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:NZgPBaNK-4sJ:www.mbc.edu/grafton/rpc/docs/step4/permission_to_use.doc+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESizOzWIX9FVRVB9aHnjBdIxT_N0r07jtHsQSa-5e1IYH_41om3tEU4za8WhFzt2mVvFP6G0FrShJU5DGOUI36R1AIpfLmcZhSyP-aZCovEXwJAYDi7TpROuOq6wQZ7JXApyifJ7&sig=AHIEtbQP2Li2pVqCqFZIc2-xwn4OZoQ5bA
3. Permission to use photographs http://guides.nccjapan.org/content.php?pid=195789&sid=1648257
4. Permission to stream video on Internet https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:o2akW3yM340J:copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/files/2010/12/model-letter-streaming-video-on-internet-121010.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiQnrF8UVfYZ5rNRnyZ69oc3ljylwyAmiYEWPKse7WxzDSXcCRLdFR8oeZeCMThryxjVy7xLdbed-4qK2aKDH8AzpjF8l0wFK7Voyc3EKtqrR8sqFkTzAKT9Gpg0z7aY6M5n7Sd&sig=AHIEtbTP_SS7d1MmgoPWXi_yVPdlH3zk5w
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