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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If someone has a published work but hasn't done anything with it for ten years, can I use the title without risk of trademark? [closed]
There is a comic book, the most recent related item published in May 2014. The author hasn't worked with the item or associated objects since a 2015 intellectual property infringement over the title ...
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What happens when 2 parties enter into a MNDA while having independently developed the same intellectual property and 1 party discloses the IP to 2nd
Party A (A) and Party B (B) sign a MNDA (mutual non-disclosure agreement). A and B MAY have independently developed identical IP. Identical in this case means both instances of IP can be described ...
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It is IP infringement to worship a fictional god?
For instance, if a person were to worship the fictional gods from Dungeons and Dragons (Vecna, Selûne, Tiamat, etc.), would this be an IP infringement, even if the worship sessions are not displayed ...
user56510
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Legality of Naming a Fragrance After a Biological Compound
Assuming the name is not already registered and trademarked by another beauty and cosmetics company, is it legal to name a fragrance after a biological compound like a human sex pheromone (e.g: ...
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Where can I find Massachusetts Law on employee IP Assignment Agreements?
I'm trying to find any relevant Massachusetts law covering IP Assignment Agreements in employee contracts. I've been doing some googling but can only find relevant language for California.
For example ...
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Legal to use free google drive account for commercial use? [closed]
I am not sure, does the new terms of service allow the usage of a free google drive account for say, a small business. If so, are there any restrictions to this? Btw: here is a link to the updated ...
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Is the use of a copyrighted sound file for voice cloning excluded from infringement?
If a copyrighted sound file is uploaded to a voice cloning service, is this excluded from infringement, because voice cloning doesn't use the sound file directly (instead it collects mathematical ...
user56510
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Legal status of copyright licenses
From what I understand, a copyright is granted by a governing body - thus the copyright owner presumably must choose from a set of offered copyright filings. Alternatively, they are assigned one based ...
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Clarification on Copyright and Usage Rights for Logo Created with Purchased Font [duplicate]
I am planning to purchase a font from a website that also provides logo creation services using the font. The license agreement for the font allows for "Logos & Branding for commercial use.&...
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How do inter-country differences in IP law interact with global companies and internet services? [duplicate]
Intellectual property laws vary by country, but are enforceable to some extent internationally. When we are talking about potentially tortuous actions taken by companies that can operate anywhere in ...
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Are AI-based reproductions of fictional character subject to the copyright?
Services like Character.ai allows users to create custom characters using language model fine-tuning, based on instructions provided by its users. Are the fictional characters created by the users of ...
user56510
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IP rights when a contracted PhD or research fellow makes accidental/incidental discovery
This question arises from a matter raised on SE Academia.
It clearly has strictly legal as well as academic aspects. So I will raise it here.
Basically a PhD or research fellow has a university ...
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Is it legal to take a copyrighted test, modify it, then distribute it for free? [duplicate]
There is a psychological test called the YSQ. It is copyrighted, and one needs a license to use it.
In 2021, a revised version called YSQ-R was created by a different person. In the YSQ-R, some ...
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Does posting a picture of a book on social media for only personal use infringe intellectual property law?
Does posting a cover of a book or page of a book on social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) infringe copyright or intellectual property law if the inside cover mentioned about copyrights (I'...
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Is the writer or artist liable for a copyright violation?
Suppose a writer hires an artist to paint some illustrations for a children's book. The writer then self-publishes the book. Later, it is revealed that the artist stole all of the illustrations and ...
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Can coined terms be copyrighted? [duplicate]
J. R. R. Tolkien coined a term eucatastrophe which is a hopeful and sudden turn of events - he coined it in opposition to catastrophe, which has negative connotations.
Now, we know the Tolkien Estate ...
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Can I play a voice message to a 3rd party?
Suppose someone left me a voice message on my mobile phone, and I then played their message to a 3rd party.
Was it illegal to play the message I received from them to a 3rd party in the U.K.? Who owns ...
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Would it be legal to credit an original song to “traditional”?
Suppose I write a song which, as far as I know, is original and not derived from any other work. I record it and credit the composition to “traditional” rather than myself.
Assume I never claim ...
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Should I pay copyright for referencing/citing published work in a paid service? [closed]
I am not familiar with copyright law.
We want to make a paid service (i.e. a mobile app) that publishes manuals for procedures and other medical information thats written entirely by our staff.
We ...
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How come a SAD Scheme is not litigation misconduct in the first place?
I recently found out about a "Schedule A Defendent" Scheme, where an IP Rightholder files a lawsuit, puts hundreds of defendants in a sealed Schedule A form, and then does not service the ...
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restoration of motion pictures [closed]
A motion picture as The Alamo 70mm this was only produced on a old Laser disc many years ago and no longer sold as a new item : the quality as only that of old crt tv sets not Digital
WE have restored ...
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What is considered 'Property' in the constitutional Right to Property in India?
When talking about the Constitutional Right to Property(Art. 300A), what counts as 'Property'?
I have been reading about how Right to Property was removed as a Fundamental Right(Art. 19(f) & 31) ...
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Does secretly storing copies of video games until they enter public domain violate IP or contracts?
If I were to store copies of video games that would be kept secret until the video games entered the public domain (that would happen after 95 years after release under most cases), would this violate ...
user56510
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When producing a product by reverse engineering do you risk lawsuit from only the manufacturer of the product you're reverse engineering?
China makes a tool that I need that was potentially the result of corporate espionage against an OEM (original equipment manufacturer), or similar reverse engineering the OEM tools, or reverse ...
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Are hash values of a copyrighted or trademarked content still subject to the copyright/trademark of the original content?
If I were to reproduce a large amount of text (e.g. from a book), generate a hash value of it, and then use the hash value in e.g. the source code of a software (as an integer, that has to be ...
user56510
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Commercial redistribution of Ubuntu
The company I work for is in the process of porting their software to run on Linux. I am one of the software developers working on this and a big part of my job is building the Linux image that the ...
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Are user interface elements subject to trademark?
If yes what ones are? (Color schemes, layouts, etc..)? And it is still infringement when the UI doesn't appear on the advertising?
user56510
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Legal restrictions on shortcuts, hotkeys, or keybindings
vim keybindings are very popular among programmers, and used across many tools. Vim happens to be open source, so anyone can use the keybindings. However, for a new tool, would it be possible to ...
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Do I need to pay Performance Royalties at a wedding?
As mentioned in this question, one must obtain a statutory or compulsory license to perform music in a public setting.
By extension, this should mean that one must obtain a license to sing at a ...
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Can photos of misspelled public business signs (or links to Google Street View) be used to advertise a spelling consultancy?
If a business has a sign above their door or elsewhere displayed along a public road such that it is prominently displayed to passing car and pedestrian traffic, what would the main legal issues be if ...
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Can a website that hosts Public Domain images forbid commercial use of such images
I notice that Wikimedia Commons hosts many images clearly in the public domain (published before 1929 in the US) that have been uploaded from Worthpoint.com. WorthPoint's Terms of Use forbid ...
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Does a WIPO patent supersede a US patent?
If a United States utility patent has expired but a virtually identical World Intellectual Property Organization patent is still in effect, would the WIPO patent prevent any US manufacturers from ...
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Protecting AI related IP by assigning all current and future IP to an LLC
Consider a fairly typical IP assignment clause, such as
I understand that the provisions of this Agreement requiring assignment of Inventions to the Company do not apply to any Invention that I have ...
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Is an "Untitled" copyright registration protected the same as a titled one?
I understand that putting "Untitled"* in the Title field means people would not be able to search your copyrighted material by name.
And I understand why it is not recommended.
But does it ...
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What legal protection is there for movie screenplays/treatments?
Bob writes a movie screenplay (or a "treatment", meaning a detailed plot/screenplay approximation) and sends it to Rob at a movie studio which in turn makes a movie based on the screenplay ...
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"Secure browsing" and the law
With all the tools legally available to “secure” one’s connection to the internet nowadays, why aren’t government organizations like the FBI taking any legal action against the companies and people ...
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Can I legally change my name to "Darth Misogynus", or would I get sued by Disney?
Obviously, Darth comes from Star Wars, which is currently owned by Disney. Misogynus is an expression of my ideological beliefs. If I legally change my name to "Darth Misogynus", will I get ...
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Can I be held liable for a client's private file upload? [Bad Question]
I posted a question on Code Review (link below) on whether a webpage that takes a client's file and then displays (mirrors) it back to them (only stored as a temporary file, and only returned to the ...
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Publish a vocabulary list from a Korean Comic
I'm learning Korean through comics. So everytime I read a chapter, I always make an extensive vocabulary list containing an English translation for each Korean word in that chapter.
My question is: ...
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Can a big company push out a smaller companies trademarked name?
From what I understand about trademarks, the mark that has seniority (was used first in commerce) to identify a good, is the mark that has the legal trademark rights to use that mark. There is also ...
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How did a patent claim priority from an earlier patent?
I was looking up the notorious Baer patent on video games and noticed this text:
1969-03-18 Priority claimed from FR6907714A
1971-03-22 Application filed by Sanders Associates Inc
...
On the face of ...
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Work-for-hire unpaid: who owns the IP?
Suppose X is a software developer, the only employee of sole proprietor Y.
The contract is oral, "build an app like (famous app), earn $wage per week". Laws breached by this are outside the ...
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Which type of attorney should I consult for a complex case involving employment, contract, and IP law?
This question concerns another Stack Exchange question: https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/195267/agreement-made-at-hire-is-unenforceable-due-to-a-technicality-employer-refuses
What type of ...
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Is it possible to have a CC-SA turn into a CC-ND
I'm trying to license images in a way that allows the original image to be modified, but then not being able to make second derivative based off the original derivative
(CC Clauses that aren't shown ...
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Who would own the copyright to the original character in a freelance commissioned art piece?
I was debating some friends who were very into Dungeons and Dragons (DnD). They created these original characters. One friend commissioned a piece of art for their original character. It was a simple ...
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Is making a copycat proprietary software against the law?
Suppose I build and sell closed-source and proprietary software that exactly looks like Microsoft Visual Studio 2022, both in appearance and functionality, but uses a different source code, name, and ...
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Examples of misquotes resulting in costly lawsuits?
I'm looking for examples of misquotes resulting in expensive lawsuits or at least embarrassing retractions or otherwise costly or cumbersome consequences.
This includes misquotes that resulted in a ...
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Are art styles subject to IP protection?
Is the art style of a comic, film, video game, etc. protectable by IP (copyright, trade dress, trademark, etc.)?
user53146
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Does a Creative Commons license permit tracing of a licensed artwork if derivatives are permitted?
Background
If an artist releases their artwork under a Creative Commons license, they have the option to permit a user of the work to create derivatives of said work. Assuming the artist uses the ...
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Can I use stack overflow for fixing problems [closed]
As I developer Can I use or (refer) stack overflow for fixing my problem . If I use stack overflow for getting solution is there any issue on copyright
Also learn solution from stack overflow is legal....
