Questions tagged [intellectual-property]
For questions concerning the ownership of ideas, designs and creative work. Specific IP tags include copyright, trademark, and patents.
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How exactly are video game patents granted?
I've been reading up on this and its all still a bit confusing. I read among us could have gotten there game mode patented but didn't. But on the other hand the Battle Royale genre can not be ...
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Lawyer says bumping software’s minor version would cost $2k to “refile” copyright paperwork. Is this typical?
I work at a small company as a software engineer. I have very little knowledge of copyright law, so forgive me for my naïveté.
Recently, my company started filing paperwork and handing over several ...
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How to become a Consultant for a patent applications?
When certain firms apply for patents, I hear that sometimes they contact experienced engineers who act as consultants. Personally, I am an electrical engineer (Ph.D.) and I was wondering If I can do ...
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What is the difference between the patents register and patents journal in the UK?
Whilst studying for my CIPA foundational exam 'UK Patent Law' I am coming across two terms: 'the patents journal' and 'the patents register'. The patents journal is published by the UK government ...
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Do I have to register my trademark to own it?
Location: United States
Let's say I am the first person to use my company name in a business transaction. However, since I did not register my business name as a trademark, can someone else in the ...
user45829
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Is a Voicemail I used copyright?
I left a angry voicemail to an ex about 3 years ago. They just wrote and published a defaming song about me and a portion of the song had about 5 seconds of the voicemail I left. My voice and ...
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If I wrote code for a personal project, and use some of it in a program at my company, can they now sue me for using the code in my personal project?
Let's say I developed a web app for a personal endeavour of mine. Soon after, I get a job with a tech company, and my first task is to develop a web app for them. Well, it turns out the functionality ...
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Is the superhero American Crusader in the public domain? If so, what aspects of the character can be safely used?
I'm planning on making a comic that has a few public domain superheroes in it, among which is the character of American Crusader. I'm quite interested in knowing how much of the character, if any, I ...
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Is this considered copyright infringement?
Location: United States
Let's imagine...
A created web design.
B is inspired by A's design.
B creates similar design.
Is B's work deemed as copyright infringement?
Person A Design
Person B Design
...
user45829
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Can a character have the same name as another, but have different characteristics?
The video game Defense of the Ancients has a character called Rylai, the Crystal Maiden. ("Crystal Maiden" is the title given to this character, "Rylai" is the name of the ...
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Patent applications prior to assignment from all Inventors (assume all *will* cooperate)
Company X is the sole applicant for a patent application that has now entered National Phase. How problematic might it be that Company X has not yet obtained/recorded Deeds of Assignment from either ...
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Using another company's name on my website?
I'm building a website with some friends that does social media analytics. As part of this website, there's several places on our site where a website user is prompted to enter some text with the ...
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Competition research legality
Is it illegal to do competition research for somebody and thus be paid to do that? What if the competition has in its Terms of Use agreement a directive like: User may not use any information on the ...
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Up to what point can an OS design and theme mimic another operating system?
I am wondering to what point can the desktop theme imitate another, without being sued for copyright violation or plagiarism.
Are there any commonly accepted rules in the jurisprudence of what is and ...
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Commissioned a logo that contains a stock image, can I still trademark it?
I have a question similar to this one here but with circumstances that are a bit different.
I purchased a logo from a seller online through Fiverr a few months ago. Since then I have incorporated this ...
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How legal it is to use a famous movie phrase as the title of my next videogame. Details inside:
I already asked this question several years ago, but it's a little different this time.
Last time, the phrase was:
"The world Is Yours" from Scarface movie and videogame (it's the title).
...
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Mobile Application Trademark Dispute Help
I am owner of "EXAMPLE" word. This Trademark word is registered on November 2021. This trademark is registered in only India.
Now one Android app in Google Play Store is using this trademark ...
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Register trademark for app name when one already exists on the app store
I've spent a lot of time creating an mobile app for iOS and Android. Let's say for arguments sake the app is called "Travelr".
I'm based in the UK and I initially checked the UK trademark ...
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Is there a license for Google's animal sound effects?
If you Google "animal sounds," Google presents an array of such sound effects. Inspecting the element with a broser allows me to download the effect. There is no licensing information ...
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It is required to get authorization to use fictional/invented names as a codename?
For instance, if a company wants to codename a processor microarchitecture after a hero from a MOBA game (eg. League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, Battlerite, Dota 2), will a license be required?
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Rewriting math proof from a paywalled paper then posting it to website for free
If i read a math proof in a paper that requires payment to read, is it legal to rewrite the proof with different word, phrasing, and order, then post the proof publicly in a website (with citation) ? ...
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AGPL-3.0 license
If make a service for a open source software with this license that interact but isn't part of the software itself, only connected to it,
i would need to provide a open source distribution of the ...
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Is it legal to produce GI tagged products without using the tag outside the tagged region
A Geographic Indication (GI) tag gives exclusive rights to use a particular name/tag to certain people/region regarding a product.
Does this mean it is still legal for other people/regions to produce ...
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Reproduction of phrases from characters for reuse
Would be there any legal issues if phrases said by characters in a video game were reproduced for reuse, with or without modifications? Words and (very) short phrases are not subject to copyright so ...
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Does a non-commercial software project constitute an outside activity and does declaring it to my employer risk any transfer of IP?
Background
I am based in the UK, and about to enter into a new full-time job as a software engineer at a UK-based software company. I have been asked to declare my outside activities.
I have several ...
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Parade floats - Copyright Infringement or Fair Use?
In various countries in Europe, we have these parades in which floats drive around in a parade. These floats are sort of forms of art displayed to the public during a parade, thereafter often sold or ...
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It is true that character classes are stock characters?
It is true that character classes from a game are considered "stock characters" and therefore excluded from copyright protection? If they are not considered "stock characters" what ...
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What can be re-used when creating a video game like World of Warcraft?
When creating a such game, what can be reused from WoW? I know that the character classes, resource types, and generic races can be borrowed, but not the characters, lore, specific races and ability ...
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It is considered copyright infringement to get paid apps free?
It is a copyright infringement to use services that offer paid mobile apps for free? Various sources apparently say that is.
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Can I, as a contractor, take IP with me to a new company?
I am currently working part-time as an independent contractor, software developer, in the United States for a startup my friend founded. I saw it mostly as helping a friend, so we never formalized the ...
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Who owns the intellectual property rights relating to a stolen NFT?
Bored Ape non-fungible blockchain tokens (NFTs) change hands for tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. For this money you get two things, A) the technical ability to create transactions involving ...
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Is bypassing Content Security Policy illegal?
In HTTP protocol, there is so called Content Security Policy (CSP) that (among other things) allows the creator of a site to disallow browsers to put the site framed inside another site. All ...
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What intellectual property rights are being surrendered with this contract?
Alice has worked for an quango/academic organisation “The Establishment”, which is part of a larger “Wider Establishment” for some years. She was recently made redundant on pretty good terms and ...
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Would it be legal to use a brand's name (e,g, Samsung, macOS) in my personal email address?
I have my main email as "mer************windows14@gmail.com" (censored for safety)
Now in the email, it has "Windows" and I'm worried that Microsoft will come for me and say"...
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How illegal would it be to use fictional locations, companies, etc. from a video game in a different video game?
Let's say I wanted to create a knock-off GTA-esqe game.
If I wanted to use locations like Los Santos, San Andreas, Blaine County, Paleto Bay, etc. would there be any IP concerns?
If I wanted to use ...
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Providing hyperlinks to another website that is publicly accessible. (UK Law)
I have a question about the ability to link to another website, either through hyperlinks alone, or by also using the thumbnail of the hyperlink. This question is specifically relating to the UK (if ...
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Could attorney 2.0 be a new way to get legal representation?
I'm thinking about getting a patent and was wondering about an alternative to spending $400 per hour on one attorney. What if someone spent $200 and got 2 attorneys/law firms that work together ...
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Legalities of Extensions that modify websites
I am wondering how it can be legal to make or use extensions that modify the functioning of businesses' websites. Specifically, I am looking at Firefox extensions that modify YouTube's functionality. ...
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Credit card charged but domain not booked by a domain registrar where should I go against an International Merchant [closed]
Sav.com had latency in the month of October. Therefore, Domains were not posted in my account, but the amount debited from the credit card. The same is accepted in written correspondence by sav.com ...
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A lawyer with an E&E Engineering Degree with no Background in Intellectual Property
I am a lawyer with an E&E Engineering Degree and want to do Intellectual Property work online (Upwork & Fiverr) however I have no experience in the field. I want to learn as much as possible ...
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US Jurisdiction, can a foreigner register a trademark in the US?
Pretty much self-explanatory.
I am not an American, I live outside the US and, so far, my only relationship with the US is going there for holidays from time to time.
I have a software product with a ...
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How do I know if a game I made is copyrighted?
I am using the unreal engine that supports c++ language. Now I don't know anything about copyright and I don't know how to know anything about it. I live in Egypt. I worked on a game for 8 months. ...
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Does alternate spelling provide sufficient differentiation to avoid trademark infringement?
In Australia, one infringes on another's trademark if:
The sign1 is substantially identical or deceptively similar
or:
The goods or services are closely related or in the same description
or:
The ...
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When is a person a co-author of a joint work? What rights do co-authors have?
This question is partly inspired by this comment on this answer
When does a person become a co-author of a joint work for copyright purposes? What rights does a co-author have? How is being a co-...
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Where are the limits of creative expression in graphical data displays?
In science is is common to show someone else's peer reviewed published graph of data in ones own presentation, in the form "Previously we knew X, see this graph from Y (reference) demonstrating ...
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Intellectual property while employed (UK/USA)
I work for a USA based company but I live and work in the UK.
I'm a software engineer and I was curious about the wording around intellectual property on my contract.
Lets say the company I work for ...
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Is the list of character classes from a video game tied to IP?
For instance, the video game Hearthstone has 9 character classes, as seen on their official site. If I reuse these classes on a name generator, or another video game, without changing the names, or ...
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What are the best legal methods to protect one's jewelry designs? [closed]
As handcrafted jewelry producers, our cooperative has created literally thousands
of original jewelry designs over the past 30 + years. What would be the most effective
and practical ways to protect ...
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Art commission and copyright issues
There are artists who takes commission on internet: they create a work based on my request, and I pay them for the work.
If I make a request which involves other intellectual property, would it be ...
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Bypassing trademarks by changing words if a name is a combination of multiple words
It is possible to avoid trademarks by changing them slightly, such as replacing words if a name is a combination of multiple common language words? I have seen various media (video games, films) re-...
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