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.