Questions tagged [intellectual-property]
For questions concerning the ownership of ideas, designs and creative work. Specific IP tags include copyright, trademark, and patents.
701
questions
-2
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0answers
20 views
User Generated Content [closed]
I am an Indie App developer so I created an app where the users share their video(music songs or anything related fun) or pics with others within the app its a user-generated content what kind of ...
0
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0answers
7 views
question about choseing the right open source license [migrated]
My goals for the open-source license is credit for contributions like I get credit for the code I write and I would like if a person shows me a concept of how to do something and I implement it I want ...
0
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0answers
10 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
10 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
45 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
21 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
115 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
33 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
38 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
30 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
46 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.
...
1
vote
1answer
22 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
64 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
40 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
98 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
69 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
134 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
45 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
48 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
93 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
42 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
77 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
849 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
41 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
31 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
24 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
39 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
39 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
49 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
91 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
25 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
56 views
Is it illegal to advertise another entity's product?
I'm a retailer of products. One product in particular needs more attention, but the manufacturing company doesn't advertise their products in the media which my customers reside (mainly YouTube). I ...
0
votes
1answer
34 views
Which legal specialty covers the sale of potentially profitable information?
In There Will Be Blood (2007), there is a scene where Paul Sunday sells information about there being oil where he grew up.
This struck me as something very difficult to negotiate, because, while ...
0
votes
1answer
18 views
Does a SaaS needs to offer a license grant?
I run a SaaS service (https://pdfshift.io) and I've recently received an email from a potential user that is worried about any IP infringement between them and their client when using our service.
...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
How would you choose a creative commons/open source license for a work of fiction in which the code itself comprises all/part of the story being told?
In cases where there exists a clear delineation between the engine being used to tell the story and the assets being used to tell the story - e.g. your average open source video game - it seems like a ...
0
votes
0answers
17 views
Is offering a proxy web service illegal in India?
Can I offer a service that fetches the page input by user and return the data as it is in response as a web page under my domain?
I will simply send a request from my server to the provided
1
vote
2answers
43 views
What would happen if someone wanted to sell something affected by a confidentiality agreement?
For example Bob makes an invention. Joe comes along and argues that Bob's invention infringes on some of his intellectual property. They agree to a settlement where confidentiality is required. What ...
0
votes
2answers
114 views
Does YouTube legally need proactive takedown?
YouTube needs to figure out what to do about people posting copyright material. The actual solution they arrived at, after some negotiation with the media companies, includes programs that scan ...
-1
votes
1answer
29 views
Registering a copyright for a web-app: what type?
I'm registering a copyright for a draft of a web-application I'm developing. I shared it with a potential defactor too soon and I want to at least put something down. In the "type of work" section, ...
8
votes
2answers
298 views
Can universities require computer science students to develop software for free?
At my university (it is a public Florida university), one of the core computer science courses required for the degree involves a group project, and the class is divided up into a dozen or so teams, ...
0
votes
2answers
55 views
Should I register a copyright for my android app?
I am about to release an app to the store and I have a feeling that before I publish it I have to do some legal stuff.
For the lack of my knowledge in this field, I want to ask you:
1) Should I ...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
Writing a mobile app, to sell, for a physical bluetooth device I did not invent?
I am writing a mobile app for a bluetooth device which I did not create / invent. To do this, I received specs from someone else on how the device communicates over Bluetooth; it's a non-standard, not ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
Fairness to the consumer regarding geolocked digital products
First, a little disclaimer. I won't be mentioning company names as this inquiry is solely about the responsibility of the parties involved, and not specifically about the entities themselves.
I ...
