Intellectual Property Law

Copyright Event this Week

Posted on September 15, 2009
The FCC and the Copyright Alliance (a non-profit group aimed at helping to protect artists' rights under copyright law) are combining for a workshop in person and online. On Thursday, September 17th, 2009, The Role of Content in the Broadband Ecosystem will take place...

How to set up your IP

Posted on September 11, 2009
In the past couple episodes of ABC's "Shark Tank" (which itself is one version of a show called "Dragon's Den" in most countries), intellectual property has played a part. (Once again, the premise of the reality show is that businesspeople show their wares to self-made entrepreneurs who decide if they want to invest in the small business...

Cather in the Rye Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

Posted on August 17, 2009
Most of us have read J.D. Salinger's classic novel The Catcher in the Rye. Not many of us ever tried to write a sequel to it. (As a side note: In high school, I had an English class in which our assignment was to write a continuation of To Kill a Mockingbird, and I am sure that Harper Lee would never have approved of my sense of humor in that assignment...

Housekeeping!

Posted on August 02, 2009
I have some housekeeping to take care of and will write something of substance later on this week.I have joined the law firm of Weiss Imbesi PLLC. You can view their website at http://weissimbesi.com for more information. For those of you who are clients of mine, this changes nothing...

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Royalties and trusts

Posted on July 02, 2009
Did you know that you can find me on Facebook? Just go to http://facebook.com/vernalaw - become a fan! There is more content there and more thoughts. Did you know you can follow me on Twitter? Just go to http://twitter.com/avernalaw - I post a couple (obviously short) thoughts a day there...

Video! Announcing a new video feature

Posted on June 24, 2009
Announcing a new video feature of this blog:Ask the trademark and copyright lawyer! (Yes, entertainment law questions are welcome, too.)Post a quick question on YouTube that I can answer. Comment here on the website (http://tmcentlawforum.com) or send an e-mail to law@nyctrademarks...

Why Register?

Posted on June 09, 2009
The web seminars that I have been doing have been nothing less than fantastic.One question that someone always asks is, "Why should I register my trademarks or copyrights?"There are a few reasons for registering. Public notice. In both a trademark and a copyright registration certificate, the owner of the intellectual property is listed...

When Areas of Law Cross

Posted on June 02, 2009
There is an interesting lawsuit recently filed by Ozzy Osbourne against former fellow band member Tony Iommi over the Black Sabbath band name.BLACK SABBATH is a registered trademark number 2399391. Iommi registered it back in 2000. There are a couple issues in this situation that do not seem to be covered in any article...

Coldplay and Fans on Youtube

Posted on June 01, 2009
As some of you may have heard, there is a copyright lawsuit between Joe Satriani and Coldplay about Coldplay's song "Viva la Vida." Basically, Satriani is claiming that Coldplay infringed Satriani's copyright on his song "If I Could Fly."Of course, Coldplay is denying any copying...

Webinar on TM and C law - May 29th

Posted on May 27, 2009
Join us for a Webinar on May 29 This will be a webinar on copyright and trademark law for small businesses.Title: Copyright and Trademark Law for Small Businesses Date: Friday, May 29, 2009 Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDTAfter registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar...

Cartier goes extreme! Then it drops extremism.

Posted on May 27, 2009
In today's world, sometimes the hammer is not good to use, because all it brings is weird and strange publicity.I think that Cartier leapt before it looked when it filed suit against Apple for apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app were a fake watch and a fake gold watch, both with the distinct Cartier mark and look...

Another web seminar

Posted on May 20, 2009
Due to the success of this week's web seminar, and because I received some requests from people to do it again on a different day, I will be doing one on Friday, May 22 at noon (EDT).1. Point your web browser here:https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/6477249712...

New Webinar Scheduled

Posted on May 17, 2009
A new webinar on trademark and copyright law has been scheduled. I will keep it an hour long and explain basics about trademark and copyright law for small business. You can do it on the web or on the phone!11 AM (EDT), Tuesday May 19th.Web directions:1...

Names Will Never Hurt Me

Posted on April 30, 2009
Good afternoon!It's a wonderful spring day here in New York City. That means that there is a lot of strange intellectual property and entertainment law issues popping up. Let's take a look at a few of them.If your business in the United Arab Emirates, "Dubai" can no longer be a part of the trademark...

Seminar via Skype

Posted on April 22, 2009
Tomorrow, Thursday April 23rd, 2009 at 4 PM EDT, I will be doing a trademark and copyright law seminar for small businesses and artists via Skype. It will be in the form of a conference call. My Skype name is avernalaw, so add me to your list now and be online before 4 PM EDT tomorrow...

We've been busy

Posted on March 12, 2009
There is a lot happening in the intellecutal property world.First off, I have been making lots of appearances elsewhere. View an interview I did with New York Business TV on dead trademarks (bring them back to life). Just click on my picture on the right menu...

The Ford Futura. Wait, What?

Posted on December 14, 2008
The Lincoln Futura: Car enthusiasts will remember this concept car from the 1950s.  Television enthusiasts will remember that it was the basis for the Batmobile from the Adam West "Batman" series.  In 2005, Ford (owner of Lincoln) wanted to name a new car line the Futura...

Pardon the Interruption

Posted on November 07, 2008
I just wanted to let everyone know that I did an interview with New York Business TV which can be found at http://newyorkbtv.com/ (it will be the main interview that loads with the site until November 10, 2008). It is a short interview about the basics of trademark law and why businesses need to be wary of protecting their intellectual property...

Re-use Art. Create something new.

Posted on November 04, 2008
The blog has tackled the copyright law concept of Fair Use before.  It's a fun concept, with no helpful guidelines, that allows the use of copyrighted works in new works; meaning that there is no copyright infringement. The main reason for this exception is to allow comment or criticism of copyrighted works...

Another video about the websites

Posted on October 16, 2008
Here is a video about the copyright website of the Law Firm of Anthony Verna - nyccopyrights.com:(For those of you unable to view embedded objects, the website for the video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwfuFNWSF5E)The Trademark, Copyright, and Entertainment Law Forum is written by Anthony Verna...

A video about my website.

Posted on October 01, 2008
Here is a video about the website for the Law Firm of Anthony Verna.  I hope that if you have any questions on how to use my website, this video will help you greatly:The Trademark, Copyright, and Entertainment Law Forum is written by Anthony Verna. Please note that it is for the discussion of recent developments in these areas of law...

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Posted on July 26, 2008
The NBA's Seattle Supersonics have moved to Oklahoma City and will play there from now on. The team's new name is not yet known. However, the NBA filed the applications for six different trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Those names include Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshalls, Thunder and Wind...

Thumbs Down

Posted on July 22, 2008
Does it seems as if fewer movies have received a the approval of two movie critics as "Two thumbs up"? That is because the phrase has not been in use since late 2007.As many people know by now, At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper will be ending its television run, which started with the now-famous pairing of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert in 1975...

Housework. And sex keeps selling (but you knew that).

Posted on June 02, 2008
I did receive a few e-mails about the last entry, so a mailbag will be the next entry to everyone on the mailing list.In the meanwhile, the blog (oh, how I hate that word) did receive a few accolades and I would like to acknowledge them now.LexisNexis recognized this blog in its Trademark and Copyright Law Centers...

Wow. That's a world of infringement. Or is it?

Posted on March 31, 2008
Blizzard Entertainment (a video game company that has made games such as "Starcraft," "Warcraft" and the hugely popular "World of Warcraft") is suing a person in Arizona for making software that allows the game to be played . . . automatically, so that no person has to be around for a player's character to be in the game, interact with the game, and play...

Broken Dreams

Posted on March 18, 2008
Imagine that you are a big fan of a presidential candidate and that you wanted to show your support for this presidential candidate. What would you do to show that you are a big supporter? Wear buttons? T-shirts? Show up at rallies? How about print t-shirts with the candidate's name on them in the fonts of various baseball teams...

Wintry Mix

Posted on February 25, 2008
Good afternoon, everyone. I am recovering from Toy Fair last week and another winter illness that hit me this weekend. I hope everyone is in good health!The College Board is suing a company called Karen Dillard's College Prep that has its own review courses for the SAT and PSAT, claiming that some of the questions in the review course are active questions on the SAT and PSAT...

International Quick Hits

Posted on January 31, 2008
Yes, if you are on the RSS feed, you are getting this. A new goal for 2008: to post more. Readers of the website and on the RSS feed will receive this. Those getting the e-mail will not.RapidShareSimilar to the infamous Napster cases in the United States (from the earlier part of this decade), and using something similar to a new provision (well, it's new in copyright terms) in the U...

Red Hot Trademark Infringement. . . or Not

Posted on January 29, 2008
This is the first post of 2008. I wish everyone is having a happy and healthy 2008.Several months ago, the Red Hot Chili Peppers sued Showtime Networks and others in relation to the television show, "Californication." Click here for a copy of the complaint...

Copyright Clarification

Posted on November 19, 2007
A few weeks ago, I flippantly said that, "One musician's copyright violation is another musician's viral marketing campaign."Several readers were confused. I will begin with a basic description of copyright law. Copyright law only covers these eight types of works:(1) literary works;(2) musical works, including any accompanying words;(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;(7) sound recordings; and(8) architectural works...

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