Is it illegal to obliquely recreate the sounds of a song lyric in the text of my novel without actually quoting the lyric?

If the amount taken would be infringing if it were in the language as originally written, then translating it would also be infringing.

Sooo, nobody can trademark illustrations that are part of a book, right?

You seem to be missing the point. If you adopt an illustration as your trademark -- it appears on the labels of product you sell, like the Morton...

Does a trademark have to be backed by an llc? Or should it be? What could be the benefit of that?

Don't confuse your identity, as conveyed to consumers and on which they make purchasing decisions, with the form of legal entity you choose. LLCs...

Will I get in legal trouble if I start a business with the same name as an existing one if in completely different markets?

As pointed out above, it depends. The biggest factors will be the marks themselves. A mark that is descriptive, geographical or a surname is...

How to get a subpoena (for records request) without filing lawsuit ?

You pretty much can't get a subpoena without a lawsuit. I think only Illinois has a procedure, but you still need to file a lawsuit, it's just...

Development department set up a meeting to "pick my brain" on some of my programs. How do I protect my work?

If you're a W-2 employee, then things you write during the scope of employment have work made for hire status to the extent they are copyrightable....

How?

No one is going to contact you. If you want a lawyer, use Avvo's find a lawyer feature. If you want to contact the hat company find them online...

They're right. If it were a 1922 poster you'd be in the clear, but certainly anything vintage 1992 is under copyright. The question is whether...

Employer is threatening suit for IP?

There are too many variables to answer on a public board like Avvo. You say "employer" but sometimes people who are, and companies that hire,...

My friends and I want to start selling skateboard wheels, can we buy wheels and put our graphics on them and then sell them?

If they're blank, you're probably OK. You can't conceal the real manufacturer (not should you want to -- if a wheel fails, the user wants to know...