Copyright and Trademark Lawyers: Spoon Feeding Artists Their Rights

Imagine you’ve just written the final scene of your magnificent screenplay about a high school music teacher who uses music to reach the emotional core of his students, teaching them in class, though all the while, they’re teaching him in a way.  You also decide to give the teacher a deaf son, so as to up the dramatic ante.  You’re thinking about titling it Music Teacher McGee.  But in actuality, none of this matters because the movie I described was in fact Mr. Holland’s Opus starring Richard Dreyfuss.  What’s a writer to do?  Contact a copyright attorney and know your intellectual property rights!


What is it?

Copyright and trademark lawyers specialize in a form of litigation known as intellectual property law.  Basically, attorneys specializing in intellectual property law can help clarify legal issues surrounding the rights of ownership, as well as the application or registration of trademarks and copyrights.  They can also be brought in to help with the licensing and transferring of rights and to further clarify what constitutes as illegal use of intellectual property.

While there are lawyers that specialize in the umbrella term of “intellectual property law”, there are also attorneys that specialize in specific factions under intellectual property law.  In other words, if you are solely dealing with a trademark issue, you should hire a trademark attorney, considering that he or she only deals in trademark issues and should therefore, be more knowledgeable on the subject.

There are actually three components that fall under the category of intellectual property law- trademark, copyright, and patent.  A trademark refers to a logo, name or symbol that represents a specific product or service belonging to a commercial entity.  An example would be the apple found on Macintosh computers (which leads one to wonder what the trademark is for an actual apple).  Copyright protection grants authors of literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works (as well as computer software) protection of their ideas.  So if you start a band and want to name it Jethro Tull, the real Jethro Tull will probably sue you under copyright infringement.  Lastly, patents grant the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing an invention or discovery.  And getting a patent on an invention is worthwhile because if you are an inventor, you probably don’t have a job.

Who needs it?

Those with a proclivity towards the artistic will most likely be the ones who benefit most from copyright and trademark attorneys.  That is to say, most intellectual property law (or any practice of law for that matter) can be rather dense and confusing, especially to creative types, what with their goatees and berets and ponytails.  Intellectual property law can be especially difficult, considering that it is constantly changing as it tries to adapt to the internet age.  Therefore, in order to keep your best ideas protected, it’s probably in your best interest to sit down with a copyright or trademark lawyer if you have any serious questions pertaining to the legal protection of your work.

It should also be noted that your work does not have to be published in order to be copyrighted.  It costs a small fee, but it will probably be worth it, especially if you have an idea that you’re worried someone else will cash in on.  However, because the costs of attorneys can be high-end, you’ll probably only need to deal with one if your work is being published.

Benefits

You will definitely benefit from having a specialized copyright or trademark attorney at your side if you ever need to trademark or copyright something.  The truth is almost any lawyer can register trademarks or copyrights, but most lawyers also lack familiarity with the fundamentals of intellectual property law.  If you need a lawyer for this particular field, you might as well seek a specialist.

Also, the benefits of copyright protection are pretty great, as copyrights last for the life of the author, as well as 50 years after their death.  Unfortunately, trademark protection is less convenient, as it lasts only ten years after registration before it needs to be renewed again.  However, it can be harder to prove copyright infringement on someone else’s behalf because it will only be considered in violation if the defendant consciously duplicated the material in question.  Therefore, it is considerably easier to call someone out for trademark infringement than it is copyright infringement.

THE BOTTOM LINE
If copyright and trademark issues ever arise in your career, you’d be foolish not to confer with a copyright or trademark lawyer.  It’s their job to know how to handle these situations, just like it’s your job to have a wild imagination.  Even if you were a writer for Murphy Brown and consider yourself to be quite smart, don’t take chances with your copyrighted or trademarked work.