EOC: Forced Choice

In this blog entry we are FORCED to list our classmates final projects from best to worst.  BUT before I do I must say I am very surprised on how many people did not do it!  Anyways this is how I figure it....

 

 

1.Kylie Cameron; The blog was complete.  She finished all entries and wrote well. 

2.Amer Khwaja; Blog was complete.  Finished all posts and correctly completed all parts of the final.

 

3.Me; Although I am missing a few quotes from the book, my entire blog is complete and I took the time to answer all final project posts thoroughly.

 

4.Chris Sua-  Well spoken, everything is complete and correct.  My only knock I can think of is that you can't tell his quotes from his blog.

 

5. Alicia Booth- Although she was not able to find a lawyer she still knocked the final project out of the park.  Her questions were great and her evaulation made complete sense.

 

6.Brianna Ramirez-  Her blog looked complete, but it was a little hard to read to be honest; but she completed everything on time it looks like.

 

7..Lisa J- Although she is missing some posts she completed the assignment and it read well.

8.Andrea Carrillo- Everything looks great, I just wish she elaborated more on her final project blog entries; she was verys straight forward and to the point.

 

9.John Allen, Rom Alon, Erika Mc Bee-Marquez, Brian Ramirez...ummmm....no content on the final project, which is very surprising, so I can't even give an opinion besides; WOW. 

Your Own Arguments and Opinions

I will admit that I was some what nervous while calling up a childhood friend turned lawyer to pester with questions about intellectual property.  I usually carry myself confidently, but bad old memories and years of not speaking turned the tide for me.  Getting over that fear was the hardest for me, but once I did it was a piece of cake.  Everyday (maybe even every hour or minute) intellectual property is being stolen and used without the original owners consent.  This is just a part of life and something we will all have to live with.

The best thing to do in situations like this is to eduacate yourself on how to prevent such things.  It is true, like most crimes, that the criminals are ahead of the law and its an on going game of "catch-up" for graphic artist, painters, the fashion industry, and photographers.  What these "thieves" are forgetting  or not realizing is the harm and damage that they do for something that seems so innocent or not harmaful.  They don't know or don't care that as artists, our intellectual property is what puts food on our table, clothes on our childrens back, and pays the mortgage.  As well as that there stealing of intellectual property may only take seconds, while it took the artist maybe months to even conceive and who knows how long it took for the artists' to create.  As artists', we naturally put our blood, sweat, and tears into creating a finished product. 

I am happy to have discovered that as artists' there are many things we can do to help protect what we create.  Whether it being trademarking a photographer's logo, an inventor filing for a patent from the USPTO, "United States Patent and Trademark Office  is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification." Patents, Copyrights, & Trademarks, page 39 , or a graphic designer copyrighting their web design pages.  As artists we need to come to the realization that sooner or later in our careers we will be face with such issues as intellectual property theft. "Intellectual Property Theft occurs when ones intellectual property is stolen.  It is the fastest growing theft in the world."  Patents, Copyrights, & Trademarks, page 79  To steal an old sports sports saying "the best offense is a good defense".  So in conclusion we as artists need to think before we post or give away our art and stay defensive with our creations.

Rule of Law

Never did I imagine the crazy spider web style world that makes up copyrights, patents, and trademarks.  My lawyer whom I interviewed did an awesome job of keeping her answers simple to understand and her examples were very helpful in understanding the subject itself.  The bottom line to me is that as I go through my career as a photographer it is best for me to protect myself as I go along, instead of being almost completely reactioinary after an event occurs.  After speaking with my lawyer extensively I now know that it would be best to get my logo watermarked and trademarked as soon as possible, as well as copyrighted my photographs. "Any public work of authorship that is not protected under the copyright law is said to fall under public domain." Patents, Copyrights, & Trademarks, page 319 Stemming from my question about inventing or developing a new product for cameras or lighting equipment; the best thing for me to do would to seek a patent immediatley after conception.  "Conception is forming something that is conceived; notion, idea, design or plan." Patents, Copyrights, & Trademarks, page 36  Ayonna Eagan, my lawyer, also informed me that if I felt as if my intellectual property was being infringed "infringemnt is a breach or infration as of a lwas, right, or obligation; violation; transgression."  Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks, page 117 upon the web that there is a Digital Millenium Copyright Act for works that are strictly on the web.  "This federal statue addresses a number of copyright issues created by use of the Internet.  Among other things outlaws attempts to get around processes, methods, or devices that limit copying of copyrighted works." Patents, Copyrights, & Trademarks, page 251  For me the bottom line is to stay preventive rather than reactionary.

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Reasoning of Law

Rule of Law

It was awesome getting back in touch with my childhood friend Ayonna Eagen. The interview went quick and smoothly. The following is a quick summary of the questions I asked (in bold) and how she answered them:

"How do I prove that someone has stolen a copyrighted image of mine?" "If you have your copyright registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress, you can pretty much show that you own the copyright and no one else has rights to it."

"What is the best way to protect myself from having my images stolen?" "This is trickier than you think, because most people are always coming up with new ways to take things from their true owners. A patent would likely be best because it excludes others from using a product. Trademarks and copyrights don't neccasarily prevent use of a product, but they can liit how the product are used. The best and most pratical way is to always keep record of how your product is being used and who is using the product. If you notice it being used without your authorization, you may want to consult a IP lawyer."

"How do obtain permission to use a trademark logo for a photoshoot?" The general answer is to find what that company's polcies and legal rights are to that trademark and logo and then follow with that. Do not assume every company operates the same way when it comes to trademarks."

"If I were to pass away who would own the rights to my photographs?" "Photos, like any other tangible items, are personal property, and are the possesion of the owner. An owner can dispose of their property anyway they see fit. Photos can be dispersed through a will if the owner intends the photos to go to an individual or an entitiy. If the owner dies "interstate" , meaning without a will, the personal belongings belong to the estate and are divided by the interstate laws of state of residence"

"If I were to invent/develop a new type of lighting equipment or camera attachment; what are the proper steps to protect my invention?" "The best thing to do in these types of situation is to go get a patent. Patent law is complicated and lawyers have to pass a specialized bar exam for patent related work.

. "Would it be better to copyright or trademark my logo? Or should I do both and why?" Again, getting a patent is the best thing to do to make sure others cannot gain rights to it without your permission. A trademark does not neccassarily prevent people from using or selling a product and copyrights mainly protect the form of expression.

"What are the proper steps for someone/business to obtain the right to use my photographs?" "That depends if you are an idependent owner or a business/franchise. It the work is soley yours, then someone can just simply ask for permission to use your work directly from you. If a business owner with full control over a product, then it would be your policies and procedures. It is always best to have your work trademarked or copyrighted just in case.

"Can I do a photoshoot if a model is wearing clothing with a trademark logo on it? Why?" "I am not completely sure on this one. I would think that would depend on who owns the logo and the purpose of the shoot. If the shoot was for the company that owns the logo then yes. If not there may be an issue. It comes down to the purpose of the shoot I suppose ; for financial gain probably a problem and if just for fun I don't see a problem unless you used the logo in an compromising way.

"If I were too accidently have a business or advertisement in my background even though it doesn't relate to the concept of the shoot itself; would I need to obtain permission of that business/advertisment to use the photograph? How and why?" "Yes, because again, the purpose of the shoot would be in question. Taking a photo in front of a public building is not an issue, its profiting from that photo that is going to be the problem."

. "Say I did a family portrait shoot and gave the family a copy of my final edited pictures on a disc/flash drive; can that family then go a print images from the device at a photolab, walgreens, cosco, etc.?" "I would think that they could even if you had your "watermark" on the photographs." A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations in the paper." Patents, Copyrights, & Trademarks, page 176.  If you had that mark they would not be able to take it off before printing, so in essense they are just printing out pictures that is clearly trademarked as being your product. This is a very common practice to make sure that ownership rights are not being tampered with. The watermark protects the original owner in the event that a new owner tries to claim and steal credit from the original owner.

The Questions

The Questions

Developing questions to ask a lawyer covering the subject of intellectual property, "Intellectual Property refers to products of human intellect that have commercial value and receive legal protection" Patent, Copyright & Trademark, Attorney Richard Stim, page 4, was simple and a learning experience in itself. I am a photographer, but I rarely sit down and contemplate worst case senarios if someone stole my images or if I can actually use that trademark on a models shirt during a shoot. So I kept it simple and came up with questions in which the answers would help me with where I am today as a photographer. The first question was straight forward and to the point. "How do I prove that someone has stolen a copyrighted image of mine?" The subject of this question is of coprights "It is important understand, however, that copyright law protects only the expression itself- not the underlying facts, ideas, or concepts" Patent, Copyright & Trademark, page 234, this question could help me today if needed I thought. I followed up that question with one on the same topic, but at a more of a preventing tone. "What is the best way to protect myself from having my images stolen?" Its almost the same question, but the first was as if someone had already stolen an image of mine and the second pertained more of preventing anything from happening in the first place. My next question involves something I have to think about as a father and husband; it's almost like life insurance to me. "If I were to pass away who would own the rights to my photographs?" "...works granted such right by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of the author or creator and for a period of 50 years after his/her death." Patent, Copyright, & Trademark, page 67

Its a little depressing to think about, but I think its a question that I need answer just incase something did happen to me. The question after that was more about me inventing and patents. "A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an invento or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for public disclosure of an invention." Patent, Copyright &Trademark, page 27 "If I were to invent/develop a new type of lighting equipment or camera attachment; what are the proper steps to protect my invention?" I think I know the answer to this already, but would love to hear the answer from someone that practices law. My next thought dealt with my curiousity on to which was the best thing me, as a photographer, to do with my logos. "Would it be better to copyright or trademark my logo? Or should I do both and why?" "Copyright is the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc" Patent, Copyright & Trademark, page 107

Recently I had a client ask if he could use my images I shot for his men's tie company called Dapper Industies for a online magazine called "URBFASH.com" who was conducting an interview with him as designer and owner. Heres a link to the article (link). He wanted to use some images from the photoshoot we just did for the magazines spread on him. This question came to mind because of that situation. "What are the proper steps for someone/business to obtain the right to use my photographs?" My next question involves the use of trademarks.
"A trademark is a proprietary term that is usually registered with the Patent and Trademark Office to assure its exclusive use by its owner." Patent, Copyright, & Trademark, page 26"Can I do a photoshoot if a model is wearing clothing with a trademark logo on it? Why?" " Trademarks...any name, symbol, figure, letter, word, or mark adopted and used by a manufactuer or merchant in order to designate his or her goods and to distiguish them from those manufactured or sold by others." Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, pg.22 The follow up question to that relates to the answer of the previous question. I believe both questions needed to be asked. "How do obtain permission to use a trademark logo for a photoshoot" I have realized that most of my questions are based on scenarios that might come up during a shoot and I want to know enough on the subject to protect myself. "If I were too accidently have a business or advertisement in my background even though it doesn't relate to the concept of the shoot itself; would I need to obtain permission of that business/advertisment to use the photograph? How and why?" My final question relates to something that I do all the time, I just want to make sure I am not doing anything wrong with my work flow. "Say I did a family portrait shoot and gave the family a copy of my final edited pictures on a disc/flash drive; can that family then go a print images from the device at a photolab, walgreens, cosco, etc.?

I feel as if all of my questions could help me as a photographer today. That is the concept I had in my head while forming the questions needed to as a lawyer.

Legal Authority

Legal Authority

My first "law" class here at the Art Institute of Las Vegas has been a huge learning experience for me. Now that the class is concluding, I have begun to reflect on exactly how much my eyes have been open to the world of copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Patents could serve as a type of pergatory for some patiently waiting for the light at the end of a dark tunnel, copyrights act as a shield to protect the owner, and trademarks are how people remember your name after you leave this earth. My final project got us off the betent path of spending hours reading pages, trying our best to memorize a dictionary disguised as a college textbook. In class every week we constently through questions at Mr.Pinto and he constantly replied that his only advice for us was to always "get a lawyer". So what do we do for our final project? We had to get a lawyer.

To be honest, I thought this was going to be the easiest final project I have ever had. In my head after hearing the project's specifics, I left class thinking that day "All I have to do is grab a lawyer and ask the dude 10 questions!?". This proved to be a bit tougher than I thought. My first thought was to ask my immediate family for help. My parents were no help at all. My dad freaked out when I asked him if he knew any lawyers replying "What do you need a lawyer for? Are you in some kind of trouble!?". My mother, bless her soul, gave me the number of her best friends daughter who just landed a job after completing law school; we used to play together as a childlen, but we didn't exactly get along to say the least. My saftey net I thought was my older brother. Why? Well first of all my older brother is the most charismatic person I have ever seen in my life and also has a larger then life personality. Unfortunatley, he also has huge mood swings and a matching temper that also comes along with his package. So needless to say this guy knew some lawyers. Keeping that in mind, when I called my older brother he shot me down, giving me any leads.

Hurt and dissatisfied with the help of my family, I reverted back to the list of Intellectual Property Lawyers, "Intellectual property lawyers are professionals who are trained and licensed to practice intellectual property law." Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks, page, 56 in Las Vegas that we had to turn into Mr.Pinto for course credit. One by one I called every number on the page and got many recorded messages, the run-around from secretaries, and one hang up. Knowing I left many messages I decided I'd wait it out, let them come to me. Well, come to find out, that was a poor decision.

Time was now running out for me to complete my final project. The burden of finding a lawyer was now effecting me emotionally as I was doing laundry in a depressed and anxtious mood. I was going through some jeans at the bottom of my laundry basket and found the number of my "childhood friend" Ayonna Eagen. My mother had given me her number the very first day I set out on the quest to find a lawyer. I was desperate and worked up the nerve to finally call the little girl I remember fighting with much of my youth. Its funny to me that I have no problem calling and perstering complete strangers, but it's difficult to pick up the phone and call someone I have known all my life.

To my surprise she was actually very happy to hear from me. We spoke for awhile catching up with eachother's lives for a good twenty minutes and then I finally got into the real reason I called her after all these years. Although she does not practice Intellectual Property Law she was very knowledgable on the subject and gave me some fantastic answers. After hanging up the phone, I thought "Of course the girl that I grew up arguing with, has a career were she gets paid for doing that very thing." Thank you Ayonna M. Eagan, Esq.,  Attorney At Law in Washington State

Week 10 EOC: Lawyer jokes

Q: What's the difference between a female lawyer and a pitbull?
A: Lipstick.

Q: What's the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a lawyer on a motorcycle?
A: The vacuum cleaner has the dirt bag on the inside.

(http://www.iciclesoftware.com/LawJokes/IcicleLawJokes.html)

How can you tell when a lawyer is lying?
His lips are moving

How do you get a group of personal injury lawyers to smile for a picture?
Just say "Fees!"

http://brainden.com/lawyer-jokes.htm

Two small boys, not yet old enough to be in school, were overheard talking at the zoo one day. "My name is Billy. What's yours?" asked the first boy. "Tommy," replied the second. "My Daddy's an accountant. What does your Daddy do for a living?" asked Billy. Tommy replied, "My Daddy's a lawyer." "Honest?" asked Billy. "No, just the regular kind", replied Tommy.

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A truck driver would amuse himself by running over lawyers. Whenever he saw a lawyer walking down the side of the road he would swerve to hit him, enjoy the load, satisfying "THUMP", and then swerve back onto the road.

(at this point some of you are probably wondering how the trucker could distinguish the lawyers from the humans. Obviously he saw the trail of slime they left!)

One day, as the truck driver was driving along he saw a priest hitchhiking. He thought he would do a good turn and pulled the truck over.

He asked the priest, "Where are you going, Father?"

"I'm going to the church 5 miles down the road," replied the priest.

"No problem, Father! I'll give you a lift. Climb in the truck." The happy priest climbed into the passenger seat and the truck driver continued down the road.

Suddenly the truck driver saw a lawyer walking down the road and instinctively he swerved to hit him. But then he remembered there was a priest in the truck with him, so at the last minute he swerved back away, narrowly missing the lawyer. However even though he was certain he missed the lawyer, he still heard a loud "THUD". Not understanding where the noise came from he glanced in his mirrors and when he didn't see anything, he turned to the priest and said, "I'm sorry Father. I almost hit that lawyer."

"That's okay", replied the priest. "I got him with the door!"

 

http://www.101funjokes.com/lawyer_jokes.htm

Week 9 EOC: Permission

   Imagine this; your a graphic designer hired to develop a new website for a clothing company.  They give you their color scheme, verbiage, and style they are want on the site.  They also want images of sexy women and men dressed in vintage clothing with a rock'n'roll feel to it.  The problem is they cannot afford a photographer to conduct a photoshoot for these images.  What should you do?  Should you just troll around the internet copying images to your desktop that fit the description of what they had in mind?  The answer is no.  That would be stealing intellectual property from a photographer who lives off the money that he/she makes from taking such images.  What you should do is send a letter/email to the photographer who shot the orignal images you are interested in using for the site.

   This is the correct way of doing business and it also keeps you safe from getting a lovely cease and desist letter in the mail.  Even if the photographer says "sure go ahead and use whatever images you want"  you should still send a permission form to get a signature for use.  Remember "the weakest ink is stronger than the best memory".  There are many types of forms for these types of situatuations.  Here is a short list: Getting Permission to Use Text ,Getting Permission to Use Photographs, Photo Permission Agreement, Getting Permission to Use Artwork, Agreement to Use Artwork in Motion Picture, Getting Permission to Use Music, Notice of Intention to Obtain Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Sound Recordings, Music Synchronization and Videogram License Agreement, Website Permissions, Academic and Educational Permissions, Getting Permission to Use Trademarks, Art and Merchandise Licenses.

As you can see there is a specific permission form for pretty much any ocassion.  All of which will keep you out of jail and safe from legal consequences.


   

Week 8 EOC: Bratz Brawl

Girl fight!!! But seriously, when I heard about this case the only thought that came to my head was "yawn".  I am not a big toy guy, and being some what of a "man's man" I couldn't care less over two doll companies battling over who did what.  I understand the angle though, and the article on the hearings was a good read.

In a nut shell last thursday, Mattel Inc., made famous for their Barbie doll line, headed back to court to once again try to prove that MGA Entertainment Inc. stole the toy company's intellectual property when they created the Bratz doll line a ten years ago.  Why? Mattel Inc. believes that MGA Entertainment Inc. did some top-secret missions to involving disguises, fake business cards, and dummy voices(Oh I can see the Saturday Night Live skit of that top-secret operation now).  The mission worked SO well they say that the spies were able to gain access to competitors' show rooms at toy fairs, got information on rivals' newest products, price lists and marketing strategies(according to court documents).  Wait, it gets better...Mattel (Barbie) says that MGA stole trade secrets by telling Mattel employees from Mexico, Cananda, and the U.S. to download Mttel documents before coming to work for MGA.  Mattel also states that several Mattel workers were hired in Mexico by MGA stole company documents that helped MGA start up a Mexico division very quickly using Mattel's mexican playbook.

The question I asked myself while reading is why? Why would someone go through this much trouble to get trade secrets and documents for a little girl (or maybe little boy's) toy doll?  Then I read that MGA Entertainment Inc. at its peek made 1 billion dollars in revenue! Everything began to make sense and fall into place.  This isn't a fight over a doll. This is a fight about cash!  Cash revenue that the Bratz doll was taking away from the powerful Barbie doll line in the same market.  At the end of the day something as innocent as a Barbie doll can be ruined in the capitalistic country and fought over as if it was World War 3, equipped with secret agents wearing disguised steal secrets, allegedly.  I understand where Mattel is coming from; they were here first and the Bratz doll is treading on their territory.  At what costs though? 
"It is a colossal waste of money," says Sean McGowan, toy industry analyst at Needham & Co. "I understand they wanted to send a message that they protect their intellectual property....Message delivered." 

Week 8 BOC: Progress in getting a Lawyer

Have I been able to wrangle up a lawyer to interview?  Unfortunatley no,  I have struck out miserably.  My mother asked her former employee who has a brother who is a lawyer, but unfortunatly, the siblings are going through a rough patch right now and are not speaking to eachother.  My father gave me a number to a lawyer buddy of his from college, but the number is no longer in service.  My older brother has not returned any of my phone calls and/or text messages (which means no Zach, stop asking me).  In all, I have exhausted my immediate family and friends resources; amazingly it seems as if lawyers like to be paid to speak!  Who would of thought of that!

There is still hope though, its time to buckle down and go through my list of possible lawyers.  All 35 of them.  Wish me luck!

Week 7 EOC: Plans

My classmates and I have been working diligently this quarter; keeping our eyes on the prize.  From our humble beginnings with little known knowledge of the subject (patents, copyrights, and trademarks), to studying our butts off for our midterm, and now we are seasoned veterans on the subject ready to go into the real world and stretch our brain muscle.  We now have to go on a search for someone who has vast knowledge of the subject of intellectual property, in short, we need to interview a lawyer.  How am I going to wrangle a lawyer to answer my questions of intellectual property within my field of photography?  I have a few ideas...

The first thing you should know about me is that I am a passionate person, have almost no shame, ambitious, and almost ignorantly confident (which gets me into trouble sometimes).  Be that as it may; my plans for finding a lawyer to annoy, I mean interview, with a series of ten questions about intellectual property within my career field are mildly simple.  First I am going to contact my immediate family, namely my older brother, who has needed lawyers to protect himself from his brushes with the law.  My brother is my first choice because although he is a large menacing figure, he is unusually charismatic and is a great judge of personality; keeping a tight circle of trust outside of our immediate family.  Once I exhaust my family's resources I believe I will have to move on to phase 2 in the search for a lawyer, I call it Operation Plan B.

Operation Plan B is just a fancy way of saying I am going to open up my laptop, attach to a Wi-Fi network and Google lawyers in my city of Las Vegas that specialize in intellectual property cases.  Then one-by-one I will go fishing and make phone calls working through the contact information of law practices I uncover, hoping that something bites.  If this also fails, I plan to make follow up calls to law firms who never picked up my phone calls and/or showing up unannounced (I have no shame) showing that I am persistent about my need of a lawyer to interview.

If this fails as well; desperation will set in and I will use social media as my Ali. I will flood the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and use the power of email to get my need out into the unsuspecting public.  Bottom line is that I have never been one to take no for an answer and some how, some way I will achieve my goal of setting up a simple 20 minute interview with a lawyer to answer my questions on intellectual property pertaining to my field of digital photography.

Week 6 EOC: "Illicit"

I have a confession.  My mother, the women who gave me life, is a criminal.  She knowingly breaks the law at an average of once a month, and the worst part about it, she is not alone.  She runs a criminal enterprise with help from her criminal friends.  What is her illegal business?  My mother and her friends conduct "purse parties" about once a month, selling knock off bags for a fraction of the price.  I used to rationalize that she is not hurting anyone, and that her "purse parties" were a fun way to save money to look more like a high status diva.  Everything changed once I saw the move"Illicit: The Dark Trade"

Many people share my original view on the harmless selling of knock-off fashion merchandise.  The movie "Illicit: The Dark Trade" showed that this seemingly innocent fun for retired mothers and housewives is just the tip of the iceberg for the black and grey market.  Think about it; how do we know that these knock-off purses weren't stuffed with kilos of cocaine or heroine upon shipment to small town USA?  Or the same cargo hold that those same persons are used to ship the fashion goods, aren't also used to ship young women for trade as sex slaves?   At the end of the day, it is just another illegal service that is being smuggled into America. 

This movie really amazed me and opened my eyes unto the illegal world that we live among everyday.  The question is how can you stop such a unstoppable market?  The problem also is that WE are the ones largely fueling this type of business; whether it be drugs, prescription medicine, and/or human organs.  I have come to the realization that, along with my mother, I too am a contributor. Bottom line is that as long as there is a need or a strong want for their style of production, there will always be a market for it. 

Week 5 EOC: Patent Trolls

What is a Patent Troll?  Is it a disgustingly green monster covered in warts, that lives under a bridge, and assigns patents on the weekends?  Nope.  The exact definition for a "Patent Troll" is someone who sues for patent infringement, but who does not make or sell any products using the patented technology.  Are you scared yet?  Well you may not be, but "Patent Trolls" are scaring the pants off of many huge corporations.

The most infamous "Patent Troll" to date is a patent lawyer named Raymond E. Stauffer.  Mr. Stauffer became infamous when he was shopping at a New Jersey mall one day, simply shopping for bow ties at Brooks Brothers.  He noticed something interesting about the bow ties on display, they all had old patent numbers on their labels.  I can only imagine how many people looked at those old numbers and never gave it a second thought.  Where the company, employees, and most customers overlooked could eventually make Mr. Stauffer a very wealthy man.  Due to his profession's background he knew that the retailer would have to come out of pocket for violating a law that bands companies from marking products with old and invalided patent numbers.  He would have settled out of court for $25,000, but the retailer went to war with him; now he should be awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars.  This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Since he fruitfull find, more than 300 lawsuits have been put together by similar "Patent Trolls", inspired by Mr. Stauffer." Coporations are spooked and many are being advised not to mark their items with any patent numbers at all to avoid similar law suits about items that "slipped through the crack." I applaud Mr. Stauffer for sticking it to the man.

 I think it is amazing that something so small and insignificant as patent numbers could cause such a scare in the corporate world and could be financially beneficial to a regular everyday consumer.  I am not surprised that the number of "Patent Troll" lawsuits has spiked, it even has me contimplating attempting such a lawsuit.  Why should we feel bad about a corporations losing money, because someone has an unfair advantage.  It happens to us, the consumer everyday.  Especially with the difficulty for a individual to obtain a patent for their amazing invention or work, while huge corporations hand out patents like its never going out of style.   So do your thing "Patent Trolls"; because in the recession our country is currently in, it feels good to know that the "little guy" won a battle or two. 

Week 4 EOC: Death Race Jeapordy

Todays class was very fun and exciting, but I did learn a lot of definitions and patent terms in the process. Why? An amusing, yet cut throat version of Jeapordy was played amongst us students called Death Race Jeapordy. Each student had to create their own Jeapordy game out of power point, and create twenty questions using 5 different categories. I myself kept the categories light and commical (Feelin' Blank, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Show Me the Money, Gimme GimmeGimme), but I left my questions challenging for the class.

The first rounds went well. We didn't know exactly what the prize for succeeding in the game would be, but this helped motivate us like a carrot hung from a string to get a mule motivated to walk forward. As the questions from another students game was being presented I immediatley became astonished on how familiar the patent terms and defintions were to me. After thumbing through 140 pages of defintions in our text books I am surprised that I was able to answer some questions off the top of my head. Now I am not saying Mr. Pinto is a eduacational genius, but the man does know what he is doing.

By the time it came to "Death Race Jeapordy" portion of our program, bonds amongst groups were being formed like a cheap reality show; students were making sure to link up with the best and brightest minds of the class. Ones our 4 groups were created, war began as we battle amongst the 4 groups of students making sure we didn't help another group out by speaking to loud or not covering our terms as we wrote out the answers on the board. Once the dust settled, my group became victorious in our Jeapordy battle, and to the victor comes the spoils. I was awarded 29 extra credit points to be used on my midterm the following week. What does that mean? All I need to get on my midterm is a 71% to receive a 100% on my midterm test, which is awesome. The extra points are amazing, but the fact of the matter is that due to the creation and involvement in the Death Race Jeapordy game that Mr. Pinto created, I might not even need those 29 extra points at all. Goodtimes! 

Week 3 EOC: Stolen Valor

Stolen Valor? No, it is not a brand new action-adventure movie starring Arnold Shwartzeneger and Syllvester Stallone. This is the official summary; Stolen Valor Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code to subject an individual who, with intent to obtain anything of value, knowingly makes a misrepresentiation regarding his or her military service to:(1) a fine, one year's imprisonment, or both if the misrepresentation is that such individual served in a combat zone or in a special operations force or was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor; and (2) a fine, six months' imprisonment, or both, in any other case. Provides that: (1) this Act shall not apply to a misrepresentation that an individual did not serve in the Armed Forces, and (2) it is a defense to prosecution that the thing of value is de minimis.-http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s1728

Confused? The Stolen Valor Act pretty much says that you can not lie about serving in the military and receiving metals due to service in the military. It was signed into law on December 20th of 2006 by President George W. Bush. The interesting thing about it though is at it's core, The Stolen Valor Act is basically about lying. Even more interesting is this; "The Supreme Court struck down the Stolen Valor Act, saying that the First Amendment defends a person's right to lie -- even if that person is lying about awards and medals won through military service."-http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/supreme-court-strikes-stolen-valor-lie-military-service/story?id=16669096 This is raising some eyebrows because the question now is: Should lying okay or illegal? "Moreover, the dissenters suggest that medal lies alone, without more, still do sufficient damage that criminal penalties are merited when such lies are told."-http://verdict.justia.com/2012/07/23/the-supreme-court-strikes-down-the-stolen-valor-act

I don't know about you, but my mother always taught me to always tell the truth and that the truth will set you free. Yes, it is our constitutional right to lie at will, but when is lying gone to far? When a company false advertises about a product? When a husband lies to his wife about working late at the office? When a women lies about her age and weight? When a student lies to his teacher about his/her fictional pet eating their homework? One's moral obligation is usually parellel in these types of discussions, but the point I am trying to make is if lying is socially accepted for what it is, then what is stopping a major multi-billion dollar corporation or a politician from saying what ever the heck they want to sell their product and/or get their message out to the naive public. This is always going to be a fine grey line to walk. People lie every day.  I guess we just need to be prepared and informed enough to call their bluff.

Week 2 EOC: Erin Brokovich

When I hear the name, Erin Brokovich, unfortunatley I automatically think of how hot the academy award winning actress Julia Roberts looked in the movie with that name as the title. What one should know of the name, Erin Brokovich, is how hard she fought for the hundreds of families effected by PG&E water contamination in southern California. Because of her relentless pursuit of justice, the plaintiffs were awarded $333 million to which she received $2 million in bonuses.

Why? PG&E’s Compressor Station is located approximately two miles southeast of the town of Hinkley and a dozen miles west of Barstow in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County. Between 1952 and 1966, PG&E used hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium 6, to fight corrosion in cooling tower water. The wastewater from the cooling towers was discharged to unlined ponds at the site. Some of the wastewater percolated to the groundwater, resulting in hexavalent chromium pollution. The chromium affects an area of groundwater approximately two miles long and nearly a mile wide. - http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/rwqcb6/water_issues/projects/pge/index.shtml Hexavalent chromium pollution is a serious health hazard. It can cause tumors, many types of cancer; damages the nose, throat, and lungs and irritation or damage to the eyes and skin, and cause major damage to vital organs(all of which can be passed along to infants by their mother).

After reviewing the facts of the case and viewing the movie once again to refresh my memory I have become a little more fond of lawyers. I believe lawyers are a necessary evil in the world of today. Although they receive 40% of awarded settlements, they played a vital role in protecting victims, who of which could not fight for themselves otherwise.

EOC:About Me

I bring to the profession of photography my unique view of the world and a burning passion for my craft. I am born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada; which is reflected in my images due to my use of vibrant colors and the locations I use with in city around me. I have been working as a freelance photographer for the past nine years and in my brief career I have created a well rounded portfolio shooting everything from event flyers for nightclubs, websites, weddings, family portraits, NBA Summer League and model portfolios.  My goal is to run my own studio equipped for everything from simple portraits to high fashion, as well as working as a sports photographer for a professional or collegiate team. My passion for photography began when I was a young boy, helping my Father (who is a portrait photographer) with lighting, posing, and composition. Beyond my father's early influence, David La Chapelle has served as my inspiration.  His use eye-catching colors, elaborate scenes, and his success in the industry kept me in awe of his work.  I keep my photo-shoots organized and fun.  My passion for photography has found no limits; I live to shoot and shoot to live.