Q: I have written a multi-award-winning screenplay and feel, after many rewrites, it’s getting close to being pretty good. My question is about ownership: The screenplay was based on my novel, partly coauthored by a friend, who did about 10% of the work and storyline creation. How would my friend be compensated, and would I…
Entertainment Lawyer Dina Appleton’s guest post today in THR, Esq. Blog is an excellent discussion of how win-win deals can still be made for high-level talent, in today’s risk-averse climate. Ms. Appleton’s premise is that folks who’ve previously gotten rich front- and back-end deals may have to give ground on some points, but if willing…
Q: I have a letter from the Copyright office that a book, written in 1880, was in public domain. I wrote an adaptation of that book into a screenplay. I then found that someone had taken the authors works (28 books) and trademarked them on the Internet. I talked to an attorney who said that…
To Listen: View the full post! Download Episode (right click) Approximate Running Time: 01:06 Episode #8 of my Entertainment Law Update Podcast is now available. For more information, see the show notes at http://entertainmentlawupdate.com Topics: Nexus 1 mobile phone raises ire from author’s estate Naked High School Musical Stars Ringback music tones Fox’s unlicensed use…
Q: As most writer’s work is filed with either the WGA or copyrighted through the USPTO, how does one protect their work from an overseas company asking to see your screenplay? As the United States’ market seems to be tightening, it seems like producers and prodcos from other countries are much more receptive and open…
CORRECTION: the link to the event has been revised. Thursday, January 14, 2010, from 7- 10pm, I’ll be speaking at the Institute for International Film Financing. I’ll be giving an abbreviated version of my presentation entitled “6 Ways to Finance A Feature Film”, and joining a panel of other film financing experts to take questions…
Q: If 1977 is the dividing line for copyright laws, is it possible to, say, erase all challenging doubts by merging two pre-1977 stories and create an entirely new work? Such as, say, LITTLE WOMEN (1800s) meets the rogue PAL JOEY (1940). Or must one check to see if Louisa Mae Olcott’s estate still has…
I’m frequently asked by clients to help them “fix” defective applications for trademark registration, after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s examiners have rejected them. As often as not, the rejections are the result of simple mistakes, but once they’re made, the damage can be difficult (and costly) to repair.
Anthony Verna is an Intellectual Property lawyer in New Jersey, and he’s written a blog post outlining four of the most common mistakes made in trademark registrations. Here’s the link to his article.
I’ll bottom line it for you with this list of caveats:
* Be sure what you’re registering is actually your trademark. A trademark is a symbol, word or phrase that is affixed to goods or services to identify their source or origin. A business name is not (necessarily) a trademark.
* Be sure the applicant for the registration is actually the owner of the trademark. Is the company the owner of the mark, or is the individual person the owner?
* Be sure the date(s) of first use are accurate. Do the specimens you’re filing support the date you’re claiming? If not, your application may be rejected. Also, be sure the specimens are appropriate for the goods/services covered by the registration.
* Be sure the description of the goods/services is accurate and complete, covering all of the goods/services sold under the mark, but not overbroad. Recent rulings by the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board have made it clear that an overbroad or inaccurate description may be considered fraudulent, and can result in cancellation of the registration.
Registering a trademark is an important part of protecting your business’ intellectual property assets. Doing it wrong can be costly, and may result in loss of the asset altogether. The help of an experienced attorney can streamline the process and greatly increases the chances of success.
Q: Is it possible through an entertainment attorney, for the screenwriter to have control of rewriting, changing, adding or eliminating scenes, etc.?
Yes, it is possible, in a collaboration agreement, to separate rights in certain components of the work, so that a composer retains all rights in the songs, while the parties share equally (or according to some other formula) in the other components. Unfortunately, each situation is different, so there’s no set ‘form’ or ‘standard’ way to handle this wording.