Questions tagged [intellectual-property]
For questions concerning the ownership of ideas, designs and creative work. Specific IP tags include copyright, trademark, and patents.
-1
votes
0answers
26 views
How should I Respond to a Copyright Infringement Notice for a picture? [on hold]
An independent contractor in charge of promoting our Facebook page used an image from the web on our page that was copyright material. Our Facebook page has about 600 followers. I received an email ...
-2
votes
1answer
9 views
Legality of the use of commercial fonts available for free from uxfree.com
I am interested in using the Futura PT family of fonts in a web application for the company at which I work. I initially found Futura PT listed on fonts.google.com, but the font wasn't available for ...
2
votes
1answer
91 views
Can an ex-employer sue ex-employees for using work experience gained for future endeavours?
In this bloomberg article, 5 ex-employees of a hedge fund were sued by their ex-employer for starting a trading outfit.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-11-19/the-triple-jeopardy-of-ke-xu-...
0
votes
1answer
19 views
Does creating an unpaid event poster for a commercial event constitute commercial use?
Licenses of artworks or stock photos often state that they are free for non-commercial use.
Assume I create a poster for an event. I do not sell the poster, but the event is commercial (has an entry ...
1
vote
1answer
36 views
Who owns the logo of a company after the company declares bankruptcy?
Who owns the logo of a company after the company declares bankruptcy? For example who owns the logo for toys R'us after they declare bankrupt?
1
vote
0answers
30 views
In principle, what actions might be open to Lego in this situation?
It's my understanding that Lego System A/S, doing business as The Lego Group, no longer holds a registered design protection or design patents on the Lego interlocking block system itself, hence the ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
Is it legal to copy designs from movies ? What is legal process? [closed]
I see Big hero 6 movies and there is a robot named Baymax. it,s design is highly developed by movie makers.
There are many movies(Science fiction) in which such highly developed designs are used.
Can ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
Copying programming problems (with proper citation) in order to write explanations on how to solve them in a blog/website.
I will be doing two things:
Make a blog/website and copy and paste algorithmic questions and other programming problems word by word (could be from books or other websites) and properly cite them. ...
1
vote
1answer
23 views
Partial usage of third-party content in a mobile application
I notice few applications in App Store use articles from news web-sites such a New York Time, The Guardian etc.
But, they do not use photos or graphics (actually they use their own photos and ...
1
vote
2answers
118 views
Commercial usage of photos of extreme close-up of popular electronics
Let's say I make a photo of iPhone screen through the microscope, so field of view of the photo is just several pixels and individual RGB components of the screen are visible - so it's not possible ...
2
votes
2answers
69 views
Is Unsplash a liability trap?
They claim to provide photos for universal use under a perpetual no-royalty no-attribution license.
From https://unsplash.com/license
All photos published on Unsplash can be used for free. You ...
0
votes
2answers
52 views
Can I write about a *copy* of a dead celebrity?
I'm writing a science fiction novel and I want to use Jim Morrison (lead singer for The Doors who died 47 years ago) as a minor character. Actually, it is a copy of Jim Morrison uploaded after his ...
0
votes
1answer
106 views
Revoking my right to defend my Intellectual Property by using Let's Encrypt
Agreement: https://letsencrypt.org/documents/LE-SA-v1.1.1-August-1-2016.pdf
Section of interest:
BY WAY OF FURTHER EXPLANATION REGARDING THE SCOPE OF THE DISCLAIMER,
AND WITHOUT WAIVING OR ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Derivative softwares copyrigths from a more generic software
Imagine consultancy C has a generic software for analyzing data S.
Now C has a client C1 and from the software S it derives a software S1 to analyzed some specific data for C1. The overall dependency ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Copyright on code from public source
Let's imagine consultancy A develops a code for client B that use some free available code from a website so it's a derivative work from the free code (MIT license). Can consultancy A re-use the same ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
software copyright : implementing the same class structure but for different specific clients and purpose
Let's assume the same consultancy implements for client A a software to analyze text data from internal communication of the company. The client B asked the same software to analyze text data from ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
How to manage intellectual property right for different clients from a consultancy
let's say company A is a consultancy in field XX and develops software solutions for client B. Client B clearly retains the IP of the work done. Then company A will have 2 more clients C and D. Now, ...
3
votes
2answers
667 views
If I don't patent my invention, how closely can a competitor copy my product?
Introduction:
I had an idea for how to make a certain product much better. I'm currently in the prototyping stage for a product based on that idea. That idea (the solution to the problem of improving ...
1
vote
1answer
63 views
Do I face liability for publishing a ranked list of companies?
I want to create a website in which I will list various of companies in a niche area. I will write pros/cons and publish a ranking list based on my opinion. So my questions are:
Can I create such a ...
0
votes
2answers
65 views
Company stole my IP. Are there costless remedies?
If a well-funded company steals an individual's intellectual property, are there any means to sue or otherwise enforce the IP rights without costing the victim anything? (I.e., if the victim does not ...
0
votes
2answers
27 views
Re-use images uploaded by users on Google Maps for the website
Can I use images uploaded by users on Google Maps to display on my website ?
If yes, do I need to reference images back to the Google Maps and how ?
0
votes
0answers
22 views
Is a trademark valid if the company hasn't filed a Statement of Use?
As the title says, is a trademark valid / enforceable if the company hasn't filed a Statement of Use? Interested in particular about this in the United States, but would be interesting to hear ...
-1
votes
0answers
22 views
How to secure right to publish independent research while working at a technology company?
I have a job offer which states that:
"all original works of authorship which are made by the
employee within the scope of and during the period of my employment with
the Company and ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Contact Microsoft legal department, or other ways to facilitate reinstatement of a Google Play app
I used an icon of Microsoft Notepad (taken from Wikipedia) as the icon for a free Notepad application Fast Notepad in Google Play. It probably was beneficial for the community, as it had no ads, and ...
-1
votes
0answers
43 views
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'...
-1
votes
0answers
24 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
42 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
30 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
74 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 ...
1
vote
0answers
45 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 ...
0
votes
3answers
68 views
Why intellectual property and not just trade secrets?
Why are intellectual property rights necessary when nothing prevents a company from having trade secrets?
1
vote
1answer
46 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?
0
votes
1answer
54 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
109 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
72 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
88 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 ...
1
vote
0answers
32 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
58 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, ...
0
votes
1answer
52 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
132 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
63 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 ...
1
vote
0answers
116 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
votes
1answer
59 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,...
1
vote
4answers
88 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-...
1
vote
1answer
73 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
46 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
34 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 ...
1
vote
2answers
118 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
74 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
76 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 (...
