Oscar Michelen's Answers

Cease and desist letter received from Getty Images for possible copyright infringement

The "Getty Barrage" of letters has been going on for some time now. They employed a firm to do a web scouring for their images and have sent letters out to all commmercial sites that have any Getty images on them. This is very likely just an attempt to show an effort at enforcing and declaring their copyright for images for which they may not have filed copyright protection. So, the main issue has been whether Getty has a filed copyright for the images they are talking about in their letter....

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NYC Public Urination Penalty

It is a violation of the adminisitrative code and not a crime so it does not go on your record. Normally when you appear you pay a fine (from $25 to $100)and go home. Just don't ignore it so that a warrant doesn't issue due to your non-apperance.

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Cease and desist letter received from Getty Images for possible copyright infringement

Please see our site that relates directly to this issue for further information. This barrage is continuing and we are repesenting a number of companies that are taken a united stance against Getty. I have attached a link to site

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Do I need to pay licensing to use an original design inspired by a copyrighted one? (i.e. "star wars")

Not a good idea. "inspiration" and "infringement" are near each other in the dictionary and the law. LucasFilm is also a very aggressive trademark and copyright litigator. Your own question tells you why you will likely have problems if you do this and they find out about it. You want buyers to associate your product with their films, that's the whole basis of your design and business model. Trademark law (and copyright law) is meant to prevent this kind of "trading" on the intellectual...

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NY criminal code, punishment and sentence for 2nd degree criminal trespass

Its always complicated to answer what seems like a simple question - "what can I get for ..." because criminal law is not as clear cut as folks might think. Crim trespass 2nd Degree is a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, $1,000 fine, 3 years probation.. But if it is your first arrest, it is highly unusual to receive jail time for a misdemeanor trespass which are usually plea bargained down to a lower offense, like simple trespass. SImple trespass is a violation and not...

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What type of quotes fall under fair use?

Generally speaking there is no copyright infringement in using a short quote. You have to be careful about using quotes that may have become someone's trademark, but that does not seem to be an issue with the work you are contemplating. If a quote makes someone look poorly or is disparaging, you may want to err on the safe side and not use it or cite to its source and make sure you are quoting accurately.

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What is the new York state equivalent of a federal 5k1?

NY does not have a 5K1 statute or anything like it. Each case has to be worked on separately with a cooperation agreement. Your defense lawyer must contact the DA to see if they are interested.

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Is this copyright infringement?

This is not going to fall into one of the fair use exceptions, unless you are going to be critiquing or commenting on the content and then you would not be able to take the entire piece to copy it. Creating a transcript is making a derivatvie work of the piece and the copyright to those words belongs to someone else. They can also demand that you not embed it onto your website.

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Can I face copyright infringement if I use other people's recipes for a holiday cookbook shared with neighbors

Just to supplement the earlier response, here is the langauge from the US Copyright Office's website that deals specifically with recipes: Mere listings of ingredients as in recipes, formulas, compounds, or prescriptions are not subject to copyright protection. However, when a recipe or formula is accompanied by substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions, or when there is a combination of recipes, as in a cookbook, there may be a basis for copyright...

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My daughter is an18 yr.old fashion model/musician/artist.We took some artistic home photographs of her,and in a couple of

OK, I will just comment on the legal issues presented but I must ask why she cannot start finding out what she likes to drink at 21? Why the need for a jump start? But anyway, anyone can "steal" or use without permission another person's photographs and you can bring copyright infringement claims when you catch them doing so, provided you own the copyright to the image. Most of the time the person TAKING the photo not the person IN the photo owns the copyright in the image. So the first step...

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