Have I mentioned litigation takes a long time? It does, in case you have any doubts. Over two years ago, I wrote about the case filed to determine if the song “Happy Birthday” was in the public domain. Thus, not subject to copyright protection and free for all of us. See more, Happy Day for Good … Continue reading
Southern girls are known for many things. Big hair, impeccable manners, and the ability to pull together a shower, tea, tailgate or dinner party at a moment’s notice, complete with delicious food and sweet tea. We also know the proper times when “Bless your heart” is a genuine statement of concern and when it is … Continue reading
Yard sale groups on Facebook are the new way to sell your gently used clothes, electronics and furniture without the hassle of actually setting up for a yard sale. They are usually setup by your city name, and you can find some pretty good deals. But, with all good deals comes the buyer beware. Discussions within … Continue reading
This past week I had the pleasure of speaking to the American Advertising Federation’s Jackson Chapter about intellectual property law for the creative professional. The audience was made up of advertising agencies, graphic designers and public relations individuals. As you can imagine, the group had a lot of really great questions. I enjoyed their group … Continue reading
Much like the Dolby Surround Sound demonstration before a movie in a theater, when you practice in the field of copyright and trademark law, you soon realize copyright law and trademark law is “all around.” The Hubs and I decided to visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum while in Washington, D.C. My biggest takeaway was … Continue reading
Can you believe the year is half way over? It seems like one day I was bundling up wondering if the winter would ever end, and today I’m getting ready to celebrate the Fourth of July. The post this week is a look back over the hot topics and posts you, my readers, have found … Continue reading
Taylor Swift once again made headlines this week related to music royalties. Earlier this week, Taylor penned a letter to Apple explaining why offering their new music service free for 3 months hurts musicians. She encouraged Apple to rethink this policy. Surprisingly, they did. Shortly after Swift’s blog post, read HERE, Apple responded saying that … Continue reading
All endings are bitter sweet, but this one was especially more sweet than bitter because my classmates selected me to give the remarks on behalf of our class during our graduation ceremony. What an honor! Continue reading
We all learned in elementary school stealing is wrong. If it is not yours, then you cannot use it without asking permission. You cannot take someone’s crayons. You cannot go home with someone else’s baby doll. You cannot ride and take someone else’s bicycle. A simple concept even kindergartners can grasp. However, for some reason, … Continue reading
It is obvious intellectual property issues weave their way into creative businesses, such as music, writing and film. What I think is most interesting is how intellectual property issues are finding their way into nonobvious businesses. Outside of simply trademarking the name of the business, because of social media, all businesses are now creators of … Continue reading
The news outlets, marketing trade magazines and Twitter came alive this week when Colonel Sanders galloped back onto the scene to once again promote his Kentucky Fried Chicken. Numerous articles talked about his return, the advertising reasons behind bringing him, and the hope to de-throne Chick-fil-A. The campaign even evoked a little star power by … Continue reading
I have been on a “vision quest” the past three months. A quest for knowledge. A quest for lessening the tension created in my mind over three things I love dearly – the Copyright Act, broadcasting and music. This past GRAMMY® awards in 2015 saw The Recording Academy ban together with other interested parties to … Continue reading
Statute of RyAnne 