What is Intellectual Property Law?
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, and/or names and images used in commerce. Bernicky Law Firm is well versed in making sure your rights in your intellectual property are properly protected.
Trademarks
A Trademark is a brand name; a mark that identifies company or product. It could be the name of your company or a logo or other symbol that distinguishes your company or its products in the marketplace.
Without Trademark protection, other people may be able to use your mark to advertise their products, effectively riding the coattails of the hard work you put in to advertise your product. Registering your trademark provides you with rights against potential infringers you might not otherwise have.
Upon retaining Bernicky Law Firm and providing us with some basic information and documentation, we can begin to search for any similar or identical marks throughout the United States. If your mark is not already being used in commerce, we can file the trademark application with the U.S. Trademark Office and make sure you and your brand are fully protected.
Copyrights
A Copyright is a property right giving you control over your creation. A copyright gives the copyright holder the exclusive right to: reproduce the work, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform the work, and to display the work publicly. The holder of a copyright alone can license or choose not to license his or her work, and no one, without permission can reproduce, distribute, display, or perform the copyrighted work.
Stairway Copyright Controversy
Mackay in the Morning and Danielle Tufano interviewed James Bernicky on 95.9 The River about Led Zeppelin and a copyright controversy with “Stairway to Heaven” on May 25, 2014. The band Spirit sued over claims that Led Zeppelin copied part of one of their songs. Led Zeppelin ended up declaring victory in 2020 after the U.S. Supreme Court denied the request to hear the case, effectively ending the appeals process.
Check out the discussion here. And HERE.
Copyrightable works include, but are not limited to:
- literary works (any form of original writing, poems, stories, screenplays, computer programs, etc)
- audio/sound recordings
- musical compositions (including any accompanying words)
- motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works (photographs, paintings, drawings, maps, etc.)
- dramatic works (including any accompanying music)
- pantomimes & choreographic works (including dances)
- architectural works
Registering your copyright will create a public record of the copyright which is necessary before an infringement suit can be filed in court. Furthermore, registration entitles the copyright owner to statutory damages and attorney’s fees (a non-registered work can only be awarded actual damages and profits, which are usually limited and difficult to prove). Additionally, a US copyright is recognized and honored in a great number of industrialized nations that have copyright relations with the US so any non-US infringers could also face repercussions.
Bernicky Law Firm can prepare and file a federal copyright application with the US Copyright office and assist you in protecting the rights in your work.
Entertainment Contracts & Counseling
Whether you are in need of the generation or review of a contract, Bernicky Law Firm can help.
James once had a client who was considering entering a songwriting contest. A quick review of the contract revealed that any song(s) he entered would become property of the company putting on the contest! The client did not want to commit to that at all; to this day he is extremely grateful that he had an experianced attorny review the contract prior to signing it!