As far as using Will Smith or other celebs, you could be violating their right of privacy and publicity, which are state governed laws that vary....

Disparaging a competitor

As noted, comparative advertising is ok, but you need to make sure that you are not saying anything that can be construed as defamatory or...

Trademark

You will file a new application letting the examiner know that you are the owner of the previous one. Before you invest in any trademark make...

You could be violating their right of privacy and publicity, which are state governed laws that vary. These kick in when one uses the name, image...

You are conflating a couple issues here that need to be parsed out. Regards to the IP, if you were not a bona fide W2 employee and were independent...

Can I make a watercolor/painted version of a landscape or background from an animation/book or live film with "fair use" ?

It's not entirely clear how this would fall under the fair use realm. Maybe. Or perhaps your work is transformative so to obviate any infringement....

Downloading content that does not belong to you and posting elsewhere is a copyright infringement. it might be rather low risk, but technically...

What is the procedural amendments purpose in the case of trademarking a logo?

As noted, we can't be sure what you mean without context. Many times an examiner may just ask if you are ok with making a subtle change. For...

If you do it without proper advice you take on more risk. It really depends on how comfortable you are with that. In some cases, you will save some...

You should of course have proper terms drafted that can mitigate your liability. The DMCA will also protect you from infringement claims where user...