Recent content by SandraMSovin

Your question is a good one because improper ownership can put your registration at risk. That is, the registration should be issued (or assigned or liscensed) to the entity or person that is offering the goods/services thereunder, or otherwise stated to the entity that controls the use of the...

The portion used relative to the whole is only one element of fair use. It is a complex determination with consideration given to the purpose of the use, the "importance" of the copied material, etc. You can perhaps get a better idea by heading to the copyright office website at copyright.gov...

Copyright fair use allows for commentary or parody. The Copyright Office website, at www.copyright.gov, as some great informational circulars that offer detailed and understandable answers to many common questions. I would encourage you to visit the Copyright Office website, review the...

It seems that there may be a couple of things in your favor. First, if the "example" marks that you presented are representative of the real marks, descriptiveness may be a relevant consideration. Briefly, (there's more to it) a descriptive mark generally has less breadth of enforceable rights...

There are a couple of different issues in your question. First, the logo design itself should probably be thought of as a piece of artwork, in which case the initial right of interest is the copyright. Unless created as work for hire (and so recognized in writing), or as an employee, the...

The test for trademarks is "likelihood of consumer confusion", which looks to a variety of factors, such as similarity of the marks, similarity of the goods/services, etc. If your logo is very similar (such that a consumer might think it is related to the 3rd party logo), then your application...

Your first question seems to be asking about the proper format for the authorization to use the screenshots (but I'm not 100% if that is your question). There is no "required" format, but you want to be certain that you have a record of clear authorization from someone appropriately authorized...

Adam, Your registration needs to match what you actually use, and the notice should match that of the registration. So, if you use the company name alone, you should register it that way. If you use the company name together with the slogan and that is what you have registered, the notice...

It is possible to use another's trademark without infringing, as "Fair Use". Determination of Fair Use is very fact specific, hinges on such things as the nominative nature of the use, whether the use is in a trademark sense, good faith of the user, etc. Your planned use doesn't sound very...

Could be fair use, depending on several factors. It is fact specific, case-by-case analysis. A good (and free) start is to visit the copyright office website, informational circular on Fair Use. Feel free to call me if you'd like to discuss questions after reading.

For trademarks, you are correct. Because trademark rights can be accrued through use, lack of a registration does not necessarily mean a lack of rights. There may be many reasons why a registration or application is abandoned. A full search is a good idea, because you may be able to determine...

You are correct that copyright is protection of the expression of a creative work. A creative work can involve a trademark, however. For example, the Beatles undoubtedly are authors of many a copyrighted work, AND the name, The Beatles, is also a powerful trademark. Following the same...

At least several alternatives exist. First, depending upon the scope of the patent claims, you may be able to design around. A professional clearance opinion would be beneficial. You could potentially seek license from the patent owner. Or, perhaps the patent owner will not pay the...

Copyright ownership generally remains with the creator The general rule is that copyright ownership remains with the creator, from the moment the work is "fixed in a tangible medium". To transfer rights, you would either have had to have executed an assignment for part or all of the copyright...