Daniel Nathan Ballard

I am an Amazon seller and had a patent infringement complaint. Daniel was very helpful and cognizant in his advices. He helped me to understand the situation and make my decision on how to move further. Amazon is a fairly new playground for lawyers and it is hard to find the professional who can give a good advice with the understanding of the specific environment. Daniel is a go-to guy for any amazon seller.

Dan answered very quickly, got more information from me, and gave me a detailed answer to my specific question. I would recommend him to anyone who needs representation for intellectual property, copyrights, and any other areas related to protecting one's creative property.

I was about to hire a lawyer searched on Avvo but wasn't very comfortable with the contract he drafted. I approached Mr. Ballard to review the contract drafted by the other guy and was willing to pay from the very beginning for his consultation. He however offered to review the contract free of cost and even suggested I should not continue with the earlier guy as his verbal promises and contract had different tones. In other words the other guy was trying to bind me in a contract which would have costed me a lot of money and time. Not only this he was patient enough to go through the case and suggested I shouldn't pursue it and take it with a pinch of salt as justice at times could be very expensive and non rewarding.

Daniel opened my eyes to a legal status of copyright not known to me, even after I read through the posting of copyright law on the government web site, copyright.gov. Implied copyright is something I was not aware of before the initial consult with Daniel, and had I gone into court without knowing this, I could have wasted my dollars and time.

It's understandable that lawyers need to make a living just anybody else. Their livelihood is based on their services which includes giving advice. To come on here with questions and get free advice from the many attorneys on this site is God given and much appreciated. But with Mr. Ballard it just goes a step further. I asked a few very complex questions regarding derivative works and copyright and such. Mr. Ballard answered them in detail and bluntly, exactly what anyone should want to have from an attorney. He even researched and posted the cases that pertained to my questions. In a litigious country like the States, an attorney such as Mr Ballard would not only be very knowledgeable, but I sense he'd also fight for your case ferociously and smartly by digging deep in his analyses of cases. So far, a 5 star rating from me.

Over time I have asked several questions. Each time Mr. Ballard has been the first to respond. I totally agree with the reviews of Amanda, James, Chris, Kevin, and John. He has also been very clear and forthright in his answers. On one occasion he even re-posted additional unsolicited clarification. Should I proceed with any of these projects I would not hesitate to retain him. He has convinced me he cares to be of service!

I had a three part question and Mr. Ballard covered all the points to my satisfaction. Although one of the answers wasn't what I wanted to hear, it was what I expected. All the answers were short, concise and clear. I received other responses which were also good, but the one I received from Mr. Ballard was the most comprehensive of the lot. I will use the information he provided to help the group I'm working with, make an intelligent decision on what avenue to follow. I think it is nice that AVVO offers this service and that there are lawyers willing to offer free advice. I know you only get what you pay for, but this worked out well. I simply wanted to get an opinion on something without going into a lot of detail. This is what I got and now I can decide how to proceed. I'm on the opposite side of the country from Mr. Ballard, but if I were to hire a lawyer for this question, he'd be the one I'd want. Thank you sir!

I had a question about photography, Facebook, and copyright. Mr. Ballard gave me an in depth answer that was very clear and easy for me to understand. If Mr. Ballard gave me this free advice just on a question I asked in the AVVO website, I can only imagine the service he would provide to his paying clients. I only wish that Mr. Ballard would be closer to my location so I could retain his services. I am definitely inquiring on 'over the net' services. Thanks Mr. Ballard!!

Daniel is an aces-quality lawyer who gave as thorough a few paragraph synopsis for me as could be done without more info. If I had money for a trademark lawyer I would call him up.

Consulted Daniel regarding IP advice on a contract associated with a social networking startup. I was thoroughly impressed with how quickly he was able to resolve the legalese and explain in layman's terms exactly what the clauses meant. Very straighforward and tells it like it is, not just what we want to hear but what we have to hear.

Gave me a simple yet informative feedback on wether hyperlinks are copyright infringement or not, said it's "contributory infringement"

This lawyer took time out of his busy day to explain to me the implications of publishing a TV stations logo within a still frame of a newspaper ad I had run, and how to respond and interpret the nasty-gram I got from the TV stations lawyers. An obvious brain. Thanks Dan.

Mr. Ballard provided all the information and advice I needed in a straight forward and understandable way.

Clearly explained the legalese on a portion of an employment agreement dealing with intellectual property. Mr. Ballard explained his take on it in easy to understand terms and recommended I discuss the matter with my local attorney for futher clarification of the law in my state. I expect nothing less than this type of information and guidance from a professional in any field and I would definitely recommend Mr. Ballard to anyone in his area that is in need of an attorney.

I asked a simple question regarding mechanical licensing. In my original question, I informed everyone reading that I had previously released an album of music with one song composed by another artist and had paid for the rights to use it. I stated that when I paid for those right, it was based on number of CD's produced, and number of downloads I planned to sell. I recently gave a performance of all jazz standards and it was recorded. I was considering sharing it with my fans as a free download. Since I was not producing any CDs and was not SELLING any downloads (the 2 stipulations that my only other experience regarding mechanical licenses said mattered), I came to this site to ask for legal advice as to whether or not I was allowed to share the recording with my fans without paying for the rights to the songs). A handful of lawyers responded all more-or-less saying no. All of the lawyers were professional, factual, and helpful....except Daniel. Right out of the gate, he began by telling me that I "already know the answer - you [I] just don't want to hear it." The rest of his message was very brief. And while it did answer the question, it was clear he was equally as concerned with telling me what's obvious and what I should already know as he was with answering the question. I responded and informed him that I did not already know the answer, and let him know that his condescension was not appreciated. I tried to explain to him that not everyone else went to law school and that what seems obvious to him is not necessarily known by everyone else. I explained that if EVERYONE knew the law, there would be no need for lawyers. He has his job and people come to him and other lawyers to seek legal guidance BECAUSE we don't know the law. He responded back with a short and insulting message letting me know that I lacked common sense. I see that Daniel has received mostly 5 star ratings here, so he must be good at what he does. But I also see that I am not alone in giving him 1 star. And frankly, if I could give him zero stars, or even negative, I would. He was presumptuous, condescending, judgmental, and mean...for no reason. I see that Daniel has responded to all the other 1-star reviews with explanations and justifications. I imagine that he will respond to this one as well. Perhaps he will belittle me and put me down. Perhaps he'll craft some story about how he was in the right, and I'm just some dumb artist. Perhaps he'll apologize and say he was just having a bad day. I don't know. All I know is that I was civil and respectful from the beginning, and of the five lawyers that have responded to me so far...Daniel is the only one who felt that my question could not be answered objectively and factually, and instead required unnecessary judgment, condescension, and assumptions.