Erin R. Ogden's Answers

I want to use a trademarked restaurant name of a stand-alone restaurant in New York for my new restaurant in Wisconsin.

It can also matter if the NYC restaurant has thriving sales through the internet. They may not be reaching Wisconsin as a restaurant, but they may be in other ways. Without knowing the listing of goods and/or services for the mark, that may matter a lot or a little. Also, it depends on how famous that restuarant is. If everyone already knows it even if they haven't visited NYC, you may still face confusion. One thing to keep in mind when looking at trademarks, do you want to set yourself...

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I did software dev. work for a co. that now refuses to pay because we didn't have a contract/explicit cost. What's my recourse?

(1) Quantum meruit may apply here. Quantum meruit is when a person employs another to do work for him, without any agreement as to his compensation, the law implies a promise from, the employer to the workman that he will pay him for his services, as much as be may deserve or merit. (2) In general, copyright is owned by the author of the material. Depending on the situation, you may own the copyright to the code, layout, any text you wrote, etc. Both of these are situation dependant...

Question about Copyright law on the Internet. I get sued for images I used.

Getty Images is provider of digital media worldwide and a reputable source of stock photography. Depending on how the photographs are shown in the movie, there may be a problem, especially if the photos are a focus and not just in the background. Also, you will want to look at Swishzone.com's policies for anything about the inclusion of potentially copyrighted materials in the movies. Look at both user and provider policies. One thing is certain: Ignoring this is a bad idea. You should...

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I need help about getting a fashion idea off the ground. Do I need to get a patent for a fashion idea?

Please be aware that disclosure to people can trigger a deadline for filing a patent. The United States has a one year bar: You only have one year from disclosing it to the public to file for a patent. It certainly sounds like you may have disclosed it. Foreign counties may not even have that leniency. Please check with a patent attorney to find out the status so that you do not accidentally blow past the deadline. If you choose not to patent or it is not patentable, then you have no...

Copyright infringement on crafts

Copyright is often described as having wide but shallow protection. It protects against derivatives of a work, but it does not protect against independent creation. Also, it only protects an expression of an idea, not an idea itself. So lots of stuff may be covered, but not if it is independantly created. Consider the following: Is he seeking to protect an idea or an expression? Is this person the creator of the die? Have you seen his creation before? Did it influence how you did...