Erin Ogden The right to create derivative works is one of the exclusive rights of the owner of a copyright. A “derivative work,” according to 17 U.S.C. §101, “is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any … Read more
Given this two different sets of laws we talked about last week, we have two separate court systems: The federal system and the state system. The federal courts interpret federal law; the state courts interpret their state’s laws. State courts are not allowed to interpret federal law except as to how it impacts state law. … Read more
We are revisiting your civics courses in elementary and high school in the next few weeks in order to set up a discussion about copyright law. It is a bit of a meandering walk to get to a point, but I think the views along the way are important and will help make the final … Read more
Trademarks can be anything that tells me as a customer that this product or services that I am trying to buy today came from the same source as the last time I bought it. Or put another way, when my nephew has something on his wish list, what can I use to make sure that … Read more
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Fan fiction is material created by fans of a piece of work rather than the owners or creators. Movies, television shows and books all have fans that have spun off their own stories, drawings, movies and more. The fans take characters created by another on new adventures, some within canonical fictional universe, some decidedly not. … Read more
A buy/sell agreement is an agreement that discusses how a member of an LLC or shareholder of a corporation can sell his or her ownership in the company. Often, it is its own separate agreement, but it doesn’t have to be. Just as often, it is a provision in another company document like an LLC’s … Read more
Indemnification is not only a big word, it is a concept a lot of people don’t understand. It isn’t their fault. Whenever someone encounters the word “indemnification,” it is usually in a contract provision that says something like: You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Company and its respective directors, officers, employees, service providers … Read more
We have a fabulous guest post from Jason Guttenberg of Ace Insurance Group. He helps explain how a company can use insurance to decrease risk related to death of a shareholder or LLC member. Don’t know much about buy/sell agreements or provisions? Don’t worry, I’ll explain them more in a soon to be coming post, … Read more
Contracts provide a lot of information: How payments are made, when deliveries are expected, and where lawsuits regarding the contract will be filed. But one of the most important things a contract can do is allocate risk and costs associated with those risks. Two provisions that help with that are limitation of liability and indemnification … Read more