Barbara I Berschler's Answers

I want to use,as an example, a research study from a copywrited book, in a book I am writing.

It really depends on what you mean by "want to use". Are you simply referring to it? that would probably be OK. Or will you be quoting the whole research study? Less like acceptable. Are you critiquing the study? That may fit within the defense of "fair use." You really should consult with copyright counsel. Any publisher of the resulting book is going to want you to represent, warrant and indemnify them that you have the rights to use all of the material appearing in your book.

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How do I protect my intellectual property when withdrawing from an LLC?

As noted above, your operating agreement, if you have one, should guide you on how you could withdraw as a member from the LLC. However, you might want to consider buying the other two out. If the LLC has not earned any income and keeping it in good standing will cost money, the other members might be willing to sell their interests to you. If you are able to get that kind of agreement, you should also have everyone sign mutual releases of all claims that may have accrued against each...

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What specific things need to be done for a Sub s Corp to maintain the protection of the Corp veil?

The prior answer offers good advice. Here are a few additional thoughts. When operating in the corporate arena, it is important to know what "hat" you are wearing at any one time. Are you making a decision as an owner or as a corporate officer carrying out tasks? Keep in mind that a corporation or LLC can only operate through their agents. So it is good to keep records or minutes that reflect what decisions were made and what authority a corporate officer was granted. If you are...

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How do you dissolve a verbal agreement?

The advise above is good. However, whether you can force them to remove your company's name from existing projects may be more difficult. If the film has already been distributed with your company name included on the work, the film group may not be able to get those copies back or remove the name easily. An oral agreement can be enforceable. If you ask for too much in the form of relief, you may find yourself on the wrong side of a lawsuit. I suggest you speak with counsel before you send...

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Is compensation mandatory to assign IP rights?

I have a slightly different take on how to answer your question. If the IP in question is the copyright in the software, then the actual transfer of the rights must be in the form of a written assignment of such rights. However, one can "gift" ownership rights. Once the transfer has occurred, the donor is not able to take the gift back. So whether you are able to identify some consideration that will support the transfer or simply want to make a gift of the rights, to make it clear and...

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Tenant is reluctant to sign a new commercial lease-- because he may or may not leave in about four months to purchase a building

If it is important to you to have the premises leased, maybe it would be a good idea to sweeten the deal to keep that tenant. You could also take the opportunity to improve upon or correct weaknesses in the language of the old lease. Given the hard times, you may have to be more flexible to keep a tenant.

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What happens if a trademark according to the uspto website is cancelled and it was similar to your name you want to trademark?

In addition to the information offered in the prior responses, you may want to look into whether the goods or services you will be offering are similar to those that were listed with the abandoned mark. It could be that if what you are offering is different and falls into another international class, you may not have a problem. In any case, you should be consulting with trademark counsel. Good luck.

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Can I paint a picture based upon someone else's photo without their permission?

The short answer to your question is "No." What you will be doing is creating a derivative work based on the original photograph for which the photographer owns the copyright. How the photographer staged and lit the picture is enough originality to qualify for copyright protection. You will need to get the permission of the photographer or go into nature and take your own photograph to copy a painting from. If you have other questions, then contact an IP attorney to help you.

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Buying un-branded jewellery from a chain store, modifying it and reselling it...is this legal?

If as you describe the chains are basic bangles and it is you that is adding the embellishment, then it does appear you would be able to sell your merchandise under your own brand. Because it may be hard to have copyright protection merely from the embellishments, the brand side of your business model is most important. Therefore, it would be wise to register your trademark(s) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. I notice you are in Maryland and I am licensed in Maryland. If...

Trademark authorization and how can i keep my trademark

Is the large company operating pizza restaurants in your area? You should check the USPTO application which you can do on-line, to see when they claim to have started to use their mark. It is possible that they have bought out someone who does have an older use of the mark, i.e., before 1992. If the larger company does not have usage before the date you started to use the mark, then you would retain your common law rights. However, if you only operated in a small area of the state, you...