Questions tagged [intellectual-property]
For questions concerning the ownership of ideas, designs and creative work. Specific IP tags include copyright, trademark, and patents.
712
questions
-4
votes
1answer
109 views
I might get sued for web scraping
So I recently made a video on Youtube. This video would help people create a bot that will purchase a product on a famous website called Newegg. The bot will automatically refresh the website every 45 ...
4
votes
3answers
617 views
Copyright Enforcement of Specification Sheets
For the sake of keeping this question focused, I am limiting the subject matter to technical data sheets. More so, to electronic component data sheets. I.e. for such components as resistors, ...
0
votes
2answers
46 views
Legal status of js code on web-site
Normally, every code, distributed to be run on user machines, come with a license. If you do not agree with a license, you can't run a code. Moreover, license clearly states responsibility of the ...
0
votes
0answers
28 views
What are the intellectual property rights around an idea for film?
Consider this hypothetical scenario. Person W (for Writer) wrote document X summarizing other documents publicly available; document X is copyrighted and available to the public in exchange for an ...
2
votes
1answer
97 views
If Google wins Google v. Oracle America then would creating API compatible software clones be legal?
As of this writing, the Google v. Oracle America case over some of the Java APIs is set for argument on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 in the US Supreme court. If Google wins the case will that mean that ...
-3
votes
1answer
39 views
Social media posts ownership: US Copyright Office
The US Copyright Office recently introduced in August 2020 the option of copyrighting "short online literary works such as blog entries, social media posts, and short online articles" https:/...
3
votes
2answers
113 views
What is the point of the disclaimer in Narcos?
Each episode of Narcos opens with a disclaimer that "Any similarity to name, character, history of any person is entirely coincidental and unintentional". Why do they have this disclaimer, ...
1
vote
1answer
95 views
Legality of second-hand selling and swapping [closed]
I was wondering if there are any restrictions in some parts of the world to sell second-hand/share items such as books/CDs due to copyright/intellectual properties?
I'm asking because I know that in ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
Has there been a SCOTUS case which clarified the meaning of the phrase “to promote the progress of science and useful arts”?
The US constitution article 1 section 8 gives the Congress an enumerated power "to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
Accidental infringement of 3rd party IPR
Need some help with a peculiar problem Google is unable to help me with.
I’m about to enter into a contract as a Software Consultant with a product company to help them with their product development. ...
0
votes
0answers
89 views
Extracting an item from a real game inside a comic
Suppose I make a webcomic, where at some point one of the characters wields a portal gun, similar to the one in Valve's "Portal"; in fact, the point is that this gun, in the comic universe, ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
“Personal ideas” website: using contributions from readers freely
Let's say I'm thinking about an unsolved mathematical problem for a hobby and I draw some conclusions of my own. I'd like to make these ideas public, allow anyone to use them absolutely freely (even ...
0
votes
2answers
72 views
Section 2870 of the California Labor Code - Can former employer claim ownership of former employee's project?
Silicon Valley tech companies in California require employees to sign a contract that assigns all inventions to the employer. The only protection employees have are in the form of Section 2870 of the ...
-1
votes
3answers
190 views
How can one open a profitable MMORPG private server (server emulator) legally?
Background
The MMORPG in question has a Korean developer and a German publisher. It is pretty old, but is still live and running by the publisher. The game appears to be dying and has a very low ...
0
votes
0answers
12 views
Examples of listing common software IP assignment agreements exhibits
I'm wondering if there are any examples of listing common forms of software assets for Exhibit A's in assignment agreements (like when purchasing or selling assets). For example, GitHub repositories, ...
0
votes
0answers
12 views
Consequences of failure to exclude something in the “limitation of claim” field on US copyright application
I'm filling out a US copyright application, and wondering what the potential consequences would be if I fail to exclude something in the "limitation of claim" field.
The work I'm registering ...
0
votes
1answer
47 views
At what point does a dead person's image enter the public domain?
Apparently the Ronald Reagan Institute claims to own Ronald Reagan's image and claims the ability to prevent the use of his image for commercial gain.
I am pretty sure I am allowed to sell pictures of ...
0
votes
0answers
22 views
Is there anything in IP Law (software related) that can prevent an independent contractor from taking on multiple clients in the same industry?
Say I am an independent contractor, and I plan on taking on a new client (client A). They are a healthcare company, in the healthcare industry. I finish building them a custom software solution. Say ...
1
vote
3answers
132 views
Derivatives of Unauthorized Derivatives & Copyright
Imagine 3 parties: A, B & C.
Party A owns all rights to image X. Image X is not in the public domain, and no explicit licenses for use to the other parties have been granted.
Party B adds some ...
0
votes
1answer
61 views
Can information posted without a license and meant to be spread be assumed to allow commercial use?
Our organization has a cyber threat intelligence server, which we use commercially. There are a number of feeds posted by various organizations or individuals which contain things like malicious IPs, ...
1
vote
0answers
40 views
Legal definition of exempt employee's “own time” regarding creation of copyrightable content
I live in California, where CA Labor Code § 2870 states (emphasis added):
(a) Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an
employee shall assign, or offer to assign, any of his or ...
1
vote
1answer
31 views
Assigning intellectual property rights like a provisional patent to oneself while employed
A hypothetical: let's say I am employed in the U.S., and in a field where I am compensated for the results of my ideas or intellectual work, i.e. engineering.
Let's say I have a roughly standard ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Adaptations of partially expired copyright in some countries
Let's say that there are 2 (hypothetical) countries with different copyright durations:
Country A has a copyright duration of Life + 70 years.
Country B has a copyright duration of Life + 50 years.
...
2
votes
1answer
30 views
How can I use a trademark name in my app title?
I am a student software developer in NY, USA. As a learning project, I created a mobile application for calculating scores of my favorite crossword board game and posted it on the famous online ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
Can I use the name Friedrich Nietzsche as commercial application title?
Can I use the name Friedrich Nietzsche as commercial application title that will be available globally?
I know that his books are in the public domain and I can use fragments in my app but I don't ...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
Someone else's Python code to create poetry
I have a legal and ethical question. I am in the process of trying to create text processing programming code to generate text that will be used for poetry that I plan to write using Python, while ...
1
vote
1answer
80 views
How can i compete legally with the large firms in the below mentioned scenario?
I am from India and when i did some research i found out that there are some big and well established companies in the field of windmill installation for electricity generation like Vestas India, GE ...
-2
votes
1answer
99 views
Where is the section of the law for USA that talks about ROMs?
Where can I find what the law says about obtaining video game ROMs (as in downloading them from online sources)? When I tried googling all I found were people telling what the law says but the answers ...
3
votes
1answer
71 views
How is the liability part in a software license meaningful for open licenses?
The core text of the WTFPL (Do What The Fuck You Want to Public License) is short:
0. You just DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO.
This is in sharp contrast with another open license such as MIT (and then ...
1
vote
0answers
168 views
Can I display my photo of a subject protected by intellectual property laws?
EDIT: the suggested duplicate: a) Refers to the UK. b) Only addresses one issue I mentioned. c) Perhaps wrong/misleading (at least in the US) - From the USPTO site: "To support a trademark ...
9
votes
5answers
2k views
Are Word-Frequency lists copyrightable?
If someone generates word frequency lists somehow. For example by analysing a web corpus or data from keyboards. Is this form of list of words and their frequencies copyrightable? For example if ...
0
votes
1answer
25 views
Canada's Trademark Act
I am considering applying for a trademark. The trademark I would like to register is the product name of a product that I am importing and selling. The name is an invented word (e.g. something to the ...
0
votes
2answers
46 views
Usage rights for a composition that later turned out to be plagiarism
If an artist makes a composition and later turns out to be a plagiarism from another, who bought the rights, or perhaps used it because it was released under creative commons, will it have ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
When is a certain combination of software, a trade-secret?
Lets say, a contractor did some work for a client in a specific industry (lets say hospitality) using a stack of very common software development tools and technologies. For example SalesForce in the ...
2
votes
1answer
98 views
Can musicians effectively sue politicans that use their songs without permission?
Just about every presidential election cycle I can recall has multiple stories of candidates using songs at their rallies which they have failed to secure permission for. Afterwards, there will a ...
-1
votes
1answer
37 views
Is web-site cloning considered as IP theft?
If any company in any country launches a website combining the functionality of say, Facebook, and Google and YouTube, would it be considered as an IP theft?
I am only talking about 'functionalities'. ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
Registering a trademark in the UK - Lowercase, title case or uppercase characters?
I'm in the process of applying for a UK trademark through the UK government IPO service.
I've used the Right Start Examination Service and my application has been approved for the next stage.
Before I ...
0
votes
2answers
81 views
Do these terms contradict each other for who owns work created by contractor?
These two sentences are literally side by side and seem to be saying opposite things.
All deliverables and associated documents...developed by Contractor
during the term of this Agreement shall ...
6
votes
2answers
853 views
Can someone's name be removed from software they created if they transferred ownership of the software?
Let's say that John is on Blue Team. Blue Team is a private, non-profit entity in the US that receives some funding from the federal government.
John wrote some software while on Blue Team that was ...
1
vote
0answers
50 views
Can a game publisher restrict distributing homebrew cards?
Looney Labs' website contains the following (excerpted here; much longer there):
Q: Can I make copies of my home-brewed Fluxx (or Chrono, or Nano, etc.) deck to give free to my friends?
A: ...
1
vote
0answers
43 views
What are the legal protections for someone that downloaded a leaked database in the domain of the USA?
My question is what are the legal protections for downloading a leaked database under the premise of not knowing the database in question is actually a "leaked database" as in you think the database ...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
Is it generally legal to develop and provide of API-compatible software services
Is there a legal issue when providing API-compatible services? By API-compatible services, I mean developing systems and providing solutions to customers that mimic other existing cloud computing ...
1
vote
1answer
26 views
Is it possible to require removal of attribution under BY-SA for distributions not yet created?
CC BY-SA 4.0 §3(a)(3) requires that attribution of licensed material be removed if the licensor requests it.
As the licensor, is it possible to make this request in advance of the redistribution of ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
“Flash of Genius” - Intermittent Windshield Wipers
In the movie "Flash of Genius," which covered the law suit involving intermittent automobile windshield wipers, it seemed that the individual parts (wipers, control box, electrical components) were ...
2
votes
1answer
44 views
Is usage of a still frame from a video considered a derivative work/adaptation?
Let's say that Alice makes a video and releases it under the CC-BY-ND license. Bob now wants to use a still frame from the video in his work (maybe to showcase or aggregate thumbnails of Creative ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
Do historical software revisions impact the licensing terms of the latest version of the software?
Hypothetical situation: Our organization developed closed-source commercial software that used open-source libraries whose terms only apply on redistribution. At some point, we decide to open-source ...
1
vote
1answer
49 views
What effect does a project's software license have on its cultural works?
0BSD and ISC are software licenses. They grant permissions for software. I guess these granted permissions legally only apply to what fits the legal definition of software. What if a project combines ...
1
vote
1answer
113 views
Can I use droid as a character class in my game?
We all know Droid is trademarked by Lucasfilms but I wanted to use it as a character class for my game.
The droid class in my game is also a robot, but it looks nothing like the droids on Lucasfilms....
1
vote
1answer
16 views
If one modifies and distributes intellectual property based on a Creative Commons licensed work, do they have any claim to their modification?
Suppose someone named Alice makes a free-to-play game called "Tubbytown" and releases it under the creative commons license "Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike," which from the Creative Commons ...
1
vote
0answers
26 views
What can happen if I don't register a trademark for my business?
If I register my business name and start operating my business using that business name and a logo that I made which contains the words of the business name, what can happen if I don't register the ...
