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Joshua Michael Masur's Answers

Joshua Michael Masur
Mountain View Intellectual Property Law Attorney.
Contributor Level 5

3

Attorney answers:

  1. Pamela Koslyn
  2. Joshua Michael Masur
  3. Daniel Nathan Ballard

Is my logo design intellectual property?

Asked by a user in Sacramento, CA - over 2 years ago.

Your situation sounds very similar to a leading (and probably controlling) case, Effects Associates v. Cohen. You can read it at http://openjurist.org/908/f2d/555/effects-associates-inc-v-cohen -- and I suggest you do, as it's a fairly entertaining opinion. The general rule is that ownership of a copyright can't be transferred by an oral agreement, but the parties' conduct can create a nonexclusive license. Effects Associates holds that an artist who "created a work at defendant's...

1 lawyer agreed with this answer

3

Attorney answers:

  1. Pamela Koslyn
  2. Joshua Michael Masur
  3. Daniel Nathan Ballard

How closely can my novel follow the plot of a copyrighted novel, without infringement?

Asked by a user in Portland, ME - over 2 years ago.

The answer is... it depends. But we can at least pin down the issue by name: This is a question often referred to as "substantial similarity," or "nonliteral copying." The classic case that copyright professors make copyright students read is Nichols v. Universal Pictures. We copyright geeks call it the Abie's Irish Rose case. It was written in 1930 by Learned Hand, who in addition to having a great name, has a well deserved reputation for having written opinions that human beings...

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