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Widerman Malek Law Blog

Language and IP rights

I bet when you are having a conversation with someone, during the conversation someone will use a popular phrase that has been associated with a product. Or it might be a line from a movie. Maybe a line from a book. You know someone came up with these phrases, can you be accused of IP […]

Is Happy Birthday to You copyrighted?

Candles are lit on the cake and your friends and family have gathered around you. So what happens next? They all sing “Happy Birthday to you”, naturally. Then candles are blown out, with or without help from someone and clapping begins. The cake is cut and served with ice cream. This scenario plays out over […]

Music and copyright infringements

I love listening to music. I often come across a song that strikes a chord with me and just gets stuck in my head. You become so familiar with the melody you can pick the song out from just hearing a few notes. It’s just this phenomenon that has gotten some songwriters in a bit […]

Social Media and Breaking the Law

Many businesses these days use social media to help reach customers. They post status updates on Facebook – they tweet sales and thoughts on Twitter.  It’s working too!  Customers love to keep up to date with what’s on sale, what discounts are being offered and special promotions.  Customers especially love the interactive nature and informal […]

True or False: Copyright Law

What is Copyright Law? Before you can take a quiz about copyright law, you must first understand the definition of a copyright. A copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. […]

Copyright laws and digital locks

For many years, when someone purchased a movie or a song from an Internet site, it would download and it would become “owned” by the device owner.  It could be moved to another device or even copied multiple times.  The artist would get his share of the royalties from the original sale and we’d all […]

3 Funny Intellectual Property Lawsuits

In the food industry, intellectual property is extremely important because your brand and its appearance is what sells your product. You never want to “look” like your competition. Trademarks, symbols, mascots, even fonts and colors and packaging materials — all these and more fall under category of law called intellectual property. Here are three interesting and […]

Interesting Famous Intellectual Property Disputes

Intellectual Property… You know that wonderful system that aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish. It’s supposed to be a ‘feel good’ approach to knowing that you’re covered and no one can take advantage of your priceless and genuinely unique inventions.  The laws behind IP are a bit more precise […]

Is Someone Using Your Copyrighted Work?

Determine if your work that has been copied is protected by copyright law.  Copyright law protects the expression of almost every creative expression imaginable, as long as it’s fixed and original. It doesn’t protect ideas, facts and any utilitarian language. Imagine that you spoke to someone about writing a book about an investigator who needs […]

Do I Need to Copyright My Website?

Most websites have a copyright notice in the footer, which is placed there as a normal practice by website designers. It let’s the world know that the owner of the website has done their due diligence in protecting their content. But what exactly does it mean and what protection does it provide? What is a […]

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