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 to retain ownership of software created outside of work?
This question is very similar to Do software developers typically retain ownership of work done OUTSIDE of work?, but I'd like to add the following clarification:
The last few employment agreements I'...
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21 views
Is it legal to copy the structure of a program
If there is a software suit or library API, and I would like to build my own with similar capabilities, is it legal to copy the structure of the former, but using my own code.
For example, say a ...
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1answer
36 views
Is it IP infringement if I fabricate an object from a publicly available research paper?
I have tried searching for succinct answers to the following but that which I have found is ambiguous and murky. I am after black and white answers as many of us have probably come across this tricky ...
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1answer
26 views
What effect does it have when something contains the phrase “copyright 2018 MrAuthor”
I'm curious why some documents (both written on paper and source code) sometimes literally say something like "Copyright 2018 Bill Gates" for example.
This question occured to me because I just came ...
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1answer
71 views
Is a developer liable for illicit use of an app? [duplicate]
A software developer receives a Content Infringement complaint against his app, which facilitates video downloads from YouTube. The software developer believes he is not responsible for the act of ...
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0answers
33 views
Commercial use of a machine learning trained model whose use is allowed, but use of data is not allowed?
I've found several questions similar to this, but none of them had the same details of my case: There is a publicly available trained model released under public domain by its creator. But creators of ...
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0answers
18 views
Is it possible to get a local patent for an invention that is improved but matches some of the claims of a valid patent existing abroad? [migrated]
I'm not American, so the US patent law is not relevant to me.
The thing I'm stuck with is the patentability of my inventionـwhether my invention can apply for a patent or not.
Basically what I did ...
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3answers
56 views
Why intellectual property and not just trade secrets?
Why are intellectual property rights necessary when nothing prevents a company from having trade secrets?
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1answer
34 views
Which Supreme Court justices have been the most anti-intellectual property? [closed]
Which Supreme Court justices, present or historical, have ruled the most against intellectual property rights?
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1answer
47 views
Legal ramifications for having video game source code available for download?
I'm currently developing a game for which I want to document my experience with online through my website. On the site, one of things I want to offer anyone who subscribes to my mailing list is access ...
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2answers
90 views
Is it safe to use public domain images of Wikipedia for commercial purposes (like printing on a product)?
I searched for public domain images on Wikipedia for my t-shirts.
Here is an example public domain image.
The permission section for the image says:
This image consists only of simple geometric ...
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1answer
60 views
Can I make YouTube videos where I read parts of a book aloud
I'm learning languages and in my opinion, one way to improve my skills is to read books aloud. Making it a habit would help me with my vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, etc.
I also think there ...
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1answer
76 views
Why does the US patent law have a section about inventions in outer space?
I came upon a curiously exorbitant statute, Inventions in outer space (35 USC 105). To summarize my question, what was the story and the rationale behind this law?
The section reads, in part:
Any ...
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0answers
29 views
Is work done on paid time off “work for hire” in California?
I am curious about this, because my understanding was that unless my employment contract stated to the contrary, work done in my spare time without using company resources is not “work for hire” in ...
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1answer
57 views
Can someone invalidate my patent because others manufactured my product too?
If I designed a new product and began selling it without a patent in the United States, then other suppliers copied the design and began producing the design commercially before I filed for a patent, ...
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1answer
48 views
Software Startup Legal Consulting [closed]
I was curious how important it is for a software startup to seek legal council during the fundraising/growth stages. Basically, I don't want to be up a creek if we have some data breach or hack. How ...
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1answer
77 views
Is it allowed to sell 3D models of existing brands?
Case: I make 3D models for architecture. Now I made a bundle of IKEA furniture to use in my interior scenes. I do this for clients to give them a visual representation of what a room can be.
Because ...
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2answers
62 views
Is it legal for a website to require registration in order to submit a DMCA?
This is about one of the big file sharing websites that currently has 30+ links to my original content. I sent them an official DMCA, they replied to make a registration on their website and use their ...
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0answers
103 views
Yacht Rock and the Intellectual Property Rights of Work Trademarked by a Second Party
So I'm curious about the legal standing of an IP trademark owned by a party that did not originate the concept, but which is using it, potentially to the detriment of the original work, to suppress ...
2
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1answer
56 views
Afraid of Patent Troll for first app
I am writing my first mobile-app that teaches a foreign language in a "chat-like" manner. Means, the user enters a chat and you learn the language by having a bot sending you individual messages.
You,...
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2answers
70 views
Is it legal to open a museum of certain a brand?
My wife is a big fan of a certain toy company and has a huge collection. She is toying* with the idea of opening a small museum showcasing her collection.
Is it legal to name the museum "The [Toy-...
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1answer
70 views
Fictional Character Copyright?
Person 1 creates a fictional character and said character fits guidelines to pass both the Well-Delineated test and the Sam Spade test. The character has a well-detailed description, personality and ...
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0answers
43 views
Is it legal to use my TM trademark (registered in my country) on my .com website?
I have applied for a trademark recently. It is still not registered. But I know that I can use it anywhere with TM written with it.
But since the trademark is registered only in my country(it is not ...
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1answer
29 views
Should I trademark brand and product names separately?
My LLC is developing a new line of products and we're looking at getting trademarks. We have a brand name, and the product name is distinctive when used with the brand name, but it's a pretty generic ...
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2answers
107 views
Is it plagiarism to make a parody?
I created a comics/cartoons Facebook page a few time ago, and I also published my work on reddit. And I made a humoristic comic featuring Spider-Man and Deadpool (two characters owned by Marvel Comics ...
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1answer
71 views
Is a press release a privileged and/or copyrighted document with ownership rights?
I recently left the firm I was working with for a few years. I have my own advisory firm now. I took part in several deals that closed. I was an active participant and got paid on those deals. I am ...
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2answers
52 views
Is it legal to mention famous singer and song title in autobiography?
I've been writing an autobiography about sexual abuse that happened to me throughout my childhood. The abuser was the dad of a famous singer. Once I was old enough (18) to leave home and file charges (...
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2answers
53 views
What's considered fair-use when using somebody else's code as reference when coding your own product?
We have a product that uses a third-party chrome extension. Our clients would like extra features on the extension so we reached out to the developer for a collaboration, to which he politely turned ...
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1answer
49 views
How do you draft an NDA for sharing a startup idea and do you need a lawyer to legitimize it?
I am at the stage where I want to expand my software startup, however, I do not know the proper procedure to do so. I was wondering how to create a non disclosure agreement and more importantly if you ...
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1answer
34 views
Could a third party revive a dead trademark if another company has unlawfully been using it?
Suppose Company "A" registered the trademark "John Doe" with the EUIPO.
Company "A" has declared bankruptcy and been liquefied, but the trademark was retained by Company "A"'s founder.
During this ...
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1answer
40 views
A network of anonymous content sharing
Am building an anonymous private network, meaning anyone can put whatever they want, As the network Admin, I won't sue or grudge anyone for whatever they host in the network.
Now let's say within ...
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2answers
41 views
Copyright Law and Terms and Services
Terms and Conditions for websites often include provisions pertaining to Copyright Law. To what extent can those Terms and Conditions, as a contract, alter standard copyright law and Fair Use? Can ...
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0answers
54 views
Is it ok to create a Parody (fake) app?
Recently I had made an android app which imitates the WhatsApp messenger. My app has the provision wherein users can create fake conversation by setting both incoming and outgoing messages. Set the ...
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4answers
92 views
Is a software license still valid, if it claims copyright for previous years?
I had a FOSS project with a license which first mentioned "Copyright 2016". Then year 2017 came, and I replaced it with "Copyright 2017". After a while, I realized my mistake and replaced it with "...
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0answers
31 views
Inventions Assignment Agreement in California
As I was being hired today, I was asked to sign a "Confidentiality and Inventions Assignment Agreement" which partly reads:
"I agree that all right (...) to any copyrightable material (...)
...
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1answer
26 views
Is there a “standard template” NDA contract that covers a majority of businesses requiring protection of proprietary information?
The following paragraph stood out as unusual for an NDA that a friend was asked to sign:
“Terms and Termination.
This Agreement shall terminate two (2) year(s) after the Effective Date. The ...
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1answer
9 views
What trademark “goods/services” category is a medical device design and manufacturing company?
If my company offers an array of medical devices (and related software), do I trademark it as an 010 (based on it's flagship product) or do I trademark as an 044 (a medical service -- producing and ...
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1answer
80 views
Can I use Avenir Next (a font built-in to iOS) on an iOS app?
Avenir Next comes installed on every iPhone running iOS 9 and newer. Assuming my app only supports iOS 9 and up, is it permissible to style text with Avenir Next in my app?
The font isn’t embedded ...
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1answer
60 views
Trademark was banned on eBay
Some time ago I registered a trademark for making some business throught the internet. I registered my trademark throught the Federal Institute of Industrial Property in Moscow, Russia because I'am ...
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1answer
26 views
Using a franchise images in my own website
A friend and I want to develop a website related to IT, where we could get hired, however we both like Digimon and we got the idea of using some of the characters images in our website such as the ...
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1answer
37 views
Safeguarding Suggestions?
Background:
I have an idea how to improve a service offered by multiple companies but was wondering what’s to stop a company from turning me down and taking my idea for themselves. I would like to ...
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1answer
25 views
Could one legally duplicate a commercial product's design for their own personal use?
John Doe lives in the United States and wants to create a machine that sorts fruit. Rather than design and build it himself, he finds a patented commercial product that sorts fruit, but he discovers ...
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2answers
61 views
Can someone claim copyright infringement after-the-fact?
I made a mod for this free online indie web-browser game. A snapshot of the website 2 weeks ago on waybackmachine.com shows no copyright logo or Terms of Service anywhere on the page saying it's ...
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1answer
42 views
What does “reasonable” mean?
I have seen the phrase 'reasonable conditions' used quite often in legal texts, and I always get nervous, as I don't know how to interpret it.
Imagine a Confidentiality and Assignment Agreement with ...
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0answers
36 views
Does the UK have a legal precedent for “inherence” with refunding digital goods (& associated contracts)?
For example, if one were to purchase a digitally distributed video game, then a year or two later purchase DLC (or other content reliant on the game to be used), if a refund was obtained on the ...
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1answer
38 views
Can I trademark a logo that contains a font licensed under SIL OFL?
I am trying to determine whether I am able to use an OFL font in my UK trademark.
From the research I have performed myself, I have determined that OFL fonts can be used in logos, as shown here: http:...
3
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1answer
80 views
Do I own copyright in a recording I just made?
I am a freelance recording engineer in Australia.
I was engaged to make a recording in the expectation I would be paid for my services. After the job, the producer indicated that the job was pro-bono ...
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0answers
21 views
“Commercial use” clarification
This is something I've run into several times now. A lot of biological samples are shared for research with a caveat in the MTA that they are "not for commercial use". What exactly does this cover? ...
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1answer
63 views
Is it legal to sell Pokémon?
In the games, given enough effort and time, a player can get Pokémon with better stats and alternate color palettes, and are highly valued by players. Additionally, there is a built-in function that ...
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2answers
53 views
What bodies of laws protect against the disclosure of private encryption keys?
I am interested in US law as well as European law, and curious about international/other countries law, if applicable.
It is generally accepted that if you somehow find a private key (let's assume by ...
