Merrimac Entertainment Lawyer.
Without having all of the facts it’s hard to give a clear answer on a particular situation. Generally, when a writer posts a jingle and states that it can be commercially distributed on a royalty free basis they mean that people can use the jingle in their project and do not need to pay the writer royalties for the use. Often there’s a requirement for giving credit back to the writer so they benefit from getting their jingles out there under their name. It really comes down to what terms they...
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You mentioned some of the factors that lean toward something being considered a trademark parody - that the parody is truly targeting (making fun of) the trademark, that people do not believe that trademark owner is the source of the parody goods, and that you are not in direct competition with the trademark owner. You may benefit from running your designs by an attorney with trademark litigation experience to see if they can provide any insight into the likelihood of your particular designs...
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The big issue is whether people will be confused about who the name represents. Will someone load their family into the car, head out to the field expecting to see one team and a completely different team by the same name plays. The best names for trademark purposes are typically ones that are completely made up (Kleenex for facial tissue) or the pairing of unrelated words (Arctic Monkeys for a band). The more unique and random, the less likely there is another team out there using the...
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It’s an interesting inquiry. For most of your scenarios, technically what you are doing does not cause any problems under copyright law if it’s for personal use. If you learn the song by looking at the sheet music and it’s in your head and you learn to play it - no problem. If you transcribe the song for yourself from your head - no problem. If you arrange the transcription for yourself - no problem. It’s really what your next step might be that could bring you into conflict with...
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It sounds like you have a signed contract with the entertainer to perform for you. Usually, if the contract was drafted properly, in addition to a clause about force majeure (acts of God) there should be a section that addresses what happens if the entertainer does not perform as agreed due to their own issues (illness, missed flight, etc.). If you have asked the performer for a refund of the fee and they have refused, you may want to contact a local attorney to look over your agreement...
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Like the other attorneys, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "dissolve a publishing company you created through ASCAP." You didn't really create a company through ASCAP. You created a publishing company (by giving it a name) and then had it join ASCAP as a publisher so that it could file songs and collect royalties. You've received advice on how to end a business so I'm adding another guess in on the ASCAP membership. If you want to end your publishing membership with ASCAP, you can...
Attorney Mauro's response is great. I would add that it would be helpful if the law school you attended had some focus on entertainment law (some do). You want to become familiar with the legal issues involved in this field to make you more attractive to a potential employer (or to open your own practice) so if there's a local chapter of the Volunteer Lawyer's for the Arts, seek an internship. Try to choose a law school with a clinic where you could get some hands on experience working with...