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Notes on the Workas It Changes
Trademark, copyright, chain of title, clearance, NIL, and the questions artificial intelligence is putting to all of them. Written for the people who have to make decisions, not for other lawyers.
IP and Entertainment Law Glossary
Plain-English definitions of 63 copyright, trademark, music and platform terms, from office action to sync license, each tied to its official source.
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What Can't Be Copyrighted?
Names, titles, slogans, ideas, facts, typefaces and government works can't be copyrighted. See what the law leaves out and what may protect them instead.
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Is Removing a Watermark or Credit Illegal?
Removing a watermark, credit or copyright notice can violate 17 U.S.C. 1202. Learn what counts as CMI, the two knowledge rules, and the damages.
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Do You Own a Song Made on a Leased Beat?
A leased beat usually stays the producer's. Learn what you own in a song made on a leased or purchased beat, what the license controls, and how to register.
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How a Sync License Works and Who Signs It
How sync and master use licenses work for film, TV, ads, games and online video: who must sign, what terms cover, and why no compulsory license applies.
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Join a PRO and Register With The MLC?
Why songwriters need both a PRO such as ASCAP or BMI and The MLC: performance vs digital mechanical royalties, publisher shares, splits and SoundExchange.
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Copyright Notice: Do You Need the Symbol?
Do you need the copyright symbol? What a proper notice says, where to put it, the P symbol for recordings, what notice does in court, and the pre-1989 rules.
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Trademark Infringement Damages and Remedies
What you can recover for trademark infringement: injunctions, profits, damages, costs, fees, counterfeit statutory damages, and what Romag and Dewberry changed.
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What Your TSDR Trademark Status Means
What each trademark application status in TSDR means, from new application to registered or abandoned, with the next step, the deadline and how often to check.
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Real USPTO Notice or Trademark Scam?
How to tell a real USPTO trademark notice from a scam: check TSDR, look for @uspto.gov, spot fake renewal invoices and spoofed calls, and report fraud.
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Trademark Letter of Protest: How It Works
A letter of protest sends the USPTO evidence against a pending trademark application for $150. What it can do, the deadlines, evidence rules and when to oppose.
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How to Cancel a Trademark Registration
How to cancel someone else's trademark registration: who can petition, grounds before and after five years, expungement and reexamination, TTAB cost and timing.
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Merely Descriptive Trademark Refusal: Options
After a merely descriptive refusal you can argue suggestiveness, disclaim words, prove acquired distinctiveness, use the Supplemental Register, or rebrand.
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Trademarking Your Own Name or Stage Name
When the USPTO registers a personal name or stage name: written consent for living people, surname refusals, and the series rule for performers and authors.
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Can You Trademark a Slogan or Hashtag?
Why the USPTO refuses many slogans, catchphrases and hashtags as messages or decoration, when they can register as brands, and why copyright does not apply.
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How Long Does Trademark Registration Take?
USPTO wait times in 2026: about 4.3 months to a first action and 10.4 months overall, and how office actions, oppositions and intent to use add time.
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In Use or Intent to Use: Which Basis to File
When to file a trademark as in use or intent to use: what counts as use in commerce, bona fide intent, priority, extra filings and fees, and switching bases.
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How Many Trademark Classes Do You Need?
How to choose trademark classes: what the class and identification do, $350 per class fees, creator combinations, and fixes for listing too much or too little.
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How Long Do You Have to Sue for Copyright?
How long do you have to sue for copyright infringement? The three-year rule, separate accrual, the discovery rule after Nealy, registration timing and the CCB.
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How to Check If a Trademark Is Available
How to search a trademark before filing: knockout and clearance searches, related goods, logo design codes, state records, and unregistered users to find.
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Does Your LLC Name Protect Your Brand?
Forming an LLC records your company name with the state, but it does not create trademark rights. Learn how trade names, DBAs and trademarks differ.
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Logo: Trademark, Copyright, or Both?
Should a logo be protected by trademark, copyright, or both? What each covers, why simple logos cannot be copyrighted, and who owns a freelancer's design.
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Filing Service or Trademark Attorney?
Can you file a trademark yourself or through an online service? See what USPTO rules let non-attorneys do, who can sign and represent you, and warning signs.
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TM Symbol vs the Registered Symbol
TM and SM need no filing, but the registered symbol is only for USPTO-registered marks and listed goods. See what misuse can cost and why notice matters.
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False DMCA Takedown: What You Can Do
A false DMCA takedown removed your content? See how counter-notices, retraction requests and 512(f) claims work, and what a counter-notice reveals about you.
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Content ID Claim vs. Copyright Strike
A YouTube Content ID claim and a copyright strike work differently. See how disputes, appeals, counter-notices, Copyright School and three strikes work.
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Got a Trademark Cease and Desist Letter?
Received a trademark cease and desist letter? Learn how to read it, check the sender's registration and priority, weigh your options, and plan your reply.
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Is a Reaction Video Fair Use?
When is a reaction or commentary video fair use? How courts weigh the four factors, why monetizing is not decisive after Warhol, and how platform claims differ.
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Can an Out-of-State Lawyer File a Trademark?
USPTO rules let an attorney in good standing in any U.S. state file your federal trademark. See how copyright, court admission and state-law matters differ.
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Federal Trademark Cost Over 10 Years
See the USPTO fees for a federal trademark from filing to its 10-year renewal, including surcharges, extensions, grace periods and one- and two-class budgets.
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FTC Influencer Disclosure Rules
What influencers must disclose in sponsored posts under the FTC Endorsement Guides: material connections, wording that works, and where to place it.
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Buying Reviews or Followers: The FTC Rule
The FTC rule on fake reviews and fake followers, views and likes: what it bans, what is still allowed, and civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation.
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Georgia Right of Publicity, Even After Death
Georgia treats unauthorized commercial use of a name and likeness as a tort, and the right survives death. How claims work, estates, and 2026 bill status.
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AI Voice and Likeness Clones: Your Rights
What protects you when someone makes an AI copy of your voice or face: publicity rights, false endorsement, copyright, and the Copyright Office's 2024 report.
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Removing a Deepfake Intimate Image
How to use the TAKE IT DOWN Act to get a deepfake intimate image removed within 48 hours, what a valid request needs, and other legal routes.
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Who Owns a Photo of You?
Who owns a photo of you under copyright: usually the photographer. When work made for hire or a signed transfer changes that, and how likeness rights differ.
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Book Copyright Registration and Deposit
Registration is optional but needed to sue, and mandatory deposit is due within three months of publication. How print, e-book and audiobook rules differ.
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Getting Book Rights Back From a Publisher
Out-of-print and reversion clauses come first. If they fail, federal termination opens 35 years after publication or 40 after signing, whichever is first.
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Who Owns a Ghostwritten Book
A ghostwriter owns the book unless a signed contract says otherwise. When work made for hire applies, why an assignment is usual, and how credit is handled.
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Who Owns a Co-Authored Book
Co-authors of a joint work co-own the whole copyright. What one author can license alone, what needs every signature, and what a collaboration agreement covers.
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Who Owns the Translation of Your Book
Translation rights belong to the book's owner, but the translator owns the new text unless it is made for hire or assigned in writing. How to set up the deal.
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Quoting Song Lyrics and Other Books in a Book
Titles are free, but lyrics are protected and often need permission. How fair use, the Warhol ruling and a written permission apply to quotes in your book.
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Work Made for Hire in Film and TV
How a production company comes to own what writers, directors, composers, actors and crew create, and what deal memos must say so it holds up later.
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Protecting a Film or TV Show Idea
Copyright protects your treatment or script, not the bare idea. How registration before pitching, confidentiality agreements and timing protect a pitch.
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Registering a Film or Screenplay Copyright
How to register a screenplay, finished film or trailer with the U.S. Copyright Office: who files, which form and fee, and what deposit to send.
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Copyright Preregistration for Films
How copyright preregistration works for a film still shooting: who qualifies, the $200 fee, what to describe, and the deadlines to fully register after release.
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Documentary Fair Use for Clips and Photos
When a documentary can use clips, photos and archival footage without a license: the four fair use factors, the Warhol decision, and a clip-by-clip process.
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Public Domain Film Footage: How to Check
How to tell if old film footage is in the U.S. public domain: the 1931 cutoff, renewal searches for 1931 to 1963 films, music, restored foreign works and more.
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Brands, Logos and Artwork on Screen
When brands, logos, artwork and buildings can appear in a film or show without permission, what Jack Daniel's changed, and how on-screen clearance works.
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DMCA Takedown Notice Requirements
The six elements a DMCA takedown notice needs under 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3), where to send it, what platforms do with it, and the risks of a bad notice.
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What Happens After a DMCA Counter-Notice
After a DMCA counter-notice, the platform restores the material in 10 to 14 business days unless you sue for a court order. How to count the days and decide.
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Do Platforms Have to Ban Repeat Infringers?
What the DMCA requires of platforms facing repeat uploaders, what courts and the Copyright Office say, and how to log your notices and escalate.
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Identifying an Anonymous Infringer
How a DMCA 512(h) subpoena works, what the clerk and the platform must do, where courts have limited it, and the John Doe lawsuit alternative.
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Stopping Counterfeit Sellers on Marketplaces
How to stop fake merchandise online: marketplace reports, INFORM Act seller data, Customs recordation, seizure orders and counterfeit statutory damages.
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Recover a Domain Name Registered in Bad Faith
Two routes to recover a look-alike domain: an ICANN UDRP complaint for transfer in about two months, or a federal cybersquatting suit with statutory damages.
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Business Impersonation Online
Fake accounts and cloned stores: how Lanham Act false association claims, the FTC Impersonation Rule, copyright notices and domain disputes fit together.
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IP Licenses When a Partner Goes Bankrupt
What happens to a copyright, patent or trademark license in bankruptcy: section 365(n), the Mission Product decision, royalties, and drafting that holds up.
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Licensing Your Work for AI Training
How AI training uses copyrighted work, what the Copyright Office concluded about fair use in 2025, training license terms, and options to stop unlicensed use.
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Does a U.S. License Cover Other Countries?
How copyright licenses work across borders: Berne national treatment, territory and language clauses, foreign recording windows, and trademark filings abroad.
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Recording a Trademark Assignment
Why to record a trademark assignment with the USPTO: the three-month rule, the $40 and $25 fees, goodwill language, and what recording does and does not do.
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Selling a Trademark Application Before Use
Why an intent-to-use application cannot be sold before use is alleged, the successor exception, the void-filing risk, and how to structure a pre-launch deal.
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Trademark License Quality Control
Why licensee use counts as yours only with quality control, how the USPTO treats related companies, the abandonment risk, and what a working license includes.
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Trademark Coexistence and Consent Deals
How the USPTO weighs a consent agreement against a likelihood-of-confusion refusal: the five factors, naked versus clothed consents, and a drafting checklist.
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Trademark Classes for Merchandise
Which trademark classes merchandise needs, the $350 per class fee and surcharges, ornamental refusals for T-shirt logos, and licensing merch with control.
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Licensing a Pending Trademark
How to license a trademark before registration: controlled first use counts for the applicant, statement of use timing, and what to do if it never registers.
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Must a Copyright License Be in Writing?
When a copyright assignment or exclusive license needs a signed writing, why nonexclusive licenses differ, and what a short grant should say to hold up.
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Getting Copyright Back After 35 Years
How authors and heirs terminate copyright grants under section 203: the five-year window, the 2 to 10 year notice, recording with the Copyright Office.
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Can a Copyright Licensee Sue Infringers?
Why an exclusive licensee can sue for its right and a nonexclusive licensee cannot, why registration is the bottleneck, and what an enforcement clause covers.
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Recording Copyright Assignments and Licenses
Why to record a copyright transfer: the one-month priority window, constructive notice, the $95 electronic fee, redacting prices and what can be recorded.
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Selling a Music Catalog: What You Give Up
What moves when you sell songs or masters: mechanical, performance and sync income, the artist's statutory 45 percent, carve-outs and termination rights.
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Work Made for Hire or Assignment?
When a contractor's work can be a work made for hire, the nine categories, why logos and photos need an assignment, and what termination and term change.
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Missed a USPTO Office Action Deadline?
Missed a trademark office action deadline? How a petition to revive works, the two-month limit, what to file, the $250 fee, and when a new filing is simpler.
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Copyright Infringement Damages and Remedies
What a copyright owner can recover in court: actual damages and profits, statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 per work, fees, injunctions and the time limit.
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Copyright Registration Cost and Timing
Copyright Office filing fees from $45 to $125, group options, $800 special handling, average processing times, and why registration timing affects damages.
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Is the Copyright Claims Board Worth It?
How the Copyright Claims Board works: the $40 and $60 filing fees, the $30,000 cap, per-work limits, the 60-day opt-out and how it compares with federal court.
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Got a Copyright Infringement Demand Letter?
What to do after a copyright demand letter: check registration dates, statutory damages exposure, the innocent infringer rule, the time limit and your options.
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Copyright and Trademark Lawsuits in Atlanta
How a copyright or trademark case runs in the Atlanta Division of the Northern District of Georgia: venue, local rules, four-month discovery and appeals.
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Why AM/FM Radio Doesn't Pay Recording Artists
Why AM and FM stations pay songwriters but not recording artists: the digital-only performance right for recordings, the broadcast exemption, and streaming.
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The MLC and Unclaimed Mechanical Royalties
How the Mechanical Licensing Collective pays songwriters for streams and downloads, how long it holds unmatched royalties, and who gets unclaimed money.
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Pre-1972 Recordings Under Federal Law
How 17 U.S.C. 1401 protects recordings fixed before February 15, 1972: end dates by release year, the 2067 cutoff, radio royalties and noncommercial use.
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How Courts Decide Song Copying Cases
What a song owner must prove in a copying case: access, similarity, the parts of a song copyright does not protect, and what Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin held.
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How PROs Work and the ASCAP and BMI Decrees
What performing rights organizations license, how songwriters and publishers are paid, and why ASCAP and BMI have operated under antitrust decrees since 1941.
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How Long a Song's Copyright Lasts
U.S. song copyright terms: life plus 70 years, 95 or 120 years for work for hire, renewal rules for older songs, and why 1930 songs entered the public domain.
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Collecting Recording Royalties From Abroad
Can U.S. artists collect performance royalties for recordings abroad? Rome Convention and WPPT status, the U.S. reservation, Berne and practical steps.
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Who Owns a Music Video?
Who owns a music video by default, how work made for hire and assignment agreements change that, and the separate licenses the song and master recording need.
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Do You Need Permission for a Cover Song?
When the compulsory license lets you record and release a cover song, how streaming and physical releases are licensed, and why a video needs a sync license.
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Who Sets Music Royalty Rates, and How
Who the Copyright Royalty Judges are, which music royalty rates they set, how a rate proceeding runs from notice to appeal, and how to follow or take part.
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Someone Filed a Trademark on Your Brand
Found your brand name in someone else's USPTO filing? How letters of protest, oppositions and cancellation work, with the 2026 deadlines and fees for each.
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What Happens in a TTAB Trademark Opposition
How a TTAB trademark opposition works: the answer deadline, the 180-day discovery period, testimony periods, briefs, settlement and appeal, under USPTO rules.
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Likelihood of Confusion Refusals Explained
Got a Section 2(d) likelihood-of-confusion refusal from the USPTO? What the examiner compares, the response deadlines, consent agreements, narrowing and appeal.
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Trademark Renewal and Maintenance Deadlines
Section 8, Section 9 and Section 15 trademark filings: when each one is due, the grace periods, current USPTO fees per class, and what happens if you miss them.
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Georgia, Federal or Common Law Trademark?
Comparing common law rights, a $15 Georgia Secretary of State trademark registration and a federal USPTO registration, for Atlanta businesses and creators.
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Trademarking Song, Book and Film Titles
Why the USPTO will not register the title of a single book, song or film, when a series or show name can be registered, and what can protect a title instead.
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Foreign Trademark Filers Need U.S. Counsel
The USPTO rule that foreign-domiciled trademark owners must use a U.S.-licensed attorney: who it covers, Madrid filings and the routes open to foreign brands.
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Can You Lose a Trademark by Not Using It?
When nonuse becomes trademark abandonment, the three-year presumption, cancellation, expungement and reexamination, and how to protect a paused brand.
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What If the USPTO Refuses Your Specimen?
Why the USPTO refuses trademark specimens, what counts as proof of use for goods and for services, and the ways to respond before the deadline runs out.
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Protecting Your Trademark in Other Countries
Direct foreign filings or the Madrid Protocol: who can file from the U.S., the October 2026 move to WIPO Madrid e-Filing, fees and the five-year dependency.
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Registering a Song: Composition or Recording?
The two copyrights in a recorded song, when one application covers both, the album and unreleased-song group options, Copyright Office fees and timing.
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Mechanical Royalty Rates for 2026
The 2026 U.S. mechanical royalty rates: 13.1 cents per song for physical copies and downloads, the 15.3% streaming headline rate, and how the formula works.
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Digital Performance Royalties for Artists
How recording artists get paid when their music streams on internet radio: the digital performance right, SoundExchange and the statutory 50/45/2.5/2.5 split.
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How Producers Get Paid Digital Royalties
How producers, mixers and engineers get paid from digital performance royalties: letters of direction, the 2% rule for pre-1995 recordings, and producer deals.
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Can You Trademark Your Band Name?
When the USPTO will register a band or artist name: the series rule for recordings, live performance service marks, the evidence needed, and who owns the name.
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You Built the Audience. Now Protect the Brand Behind It!
Why creators and influencers should treat their name, handle and likeness as IP, and how trademark registration supports merch, licensing and brand deals.
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5 Chain of Title Problems That Kill Distribution Deals (And How to Avoid Every One)
Five chain of title mistakes that derail film distribution deals: underlying rights, collaborator agreements, work for hire terms, music and E&O review.
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Film Chain of Title: How To Get That Clean Chain Of Title
What chain of title means for a film or TV project, and how underlying rights, work for hire terms, music clearance and E&O insurance all fit into it.
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Music Copyright Ownership Disputes: When Conversations Happen Too Late!
Why co-writer disputes happen and how written splits, publishing approval, credit terms and the Copyright Act's joint authorship rules can help prevent them.
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10 Essential Influencer Contract Tips for 2026: Smart Advice for Influencers & Professional Creators
Ten points creators can negotiate in brand deals, from exclusivity and a detailed scope of work to payment terms, IP usage rights and termination conditions.
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The Trademark Application Process Explained: A Guide to USPTO Office Actions
What a USPTO office action is, why examiners issue one, the response deadline and extension, and how applicants respond to keep a trademark application alive.
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Intellectual Property Licensing for Creators & Brands
How creators and brands license artwork, music, video, courses and brand names, and why written license agreements protect value better than oral deals.
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Creating With AI: Where Copyright Protection Stops or Thins
How the human authorship rule applies to AI-assisted work, what the Copyright Office has said, how to disclose AI material, and where protection thins out.
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Creative Smarts: 12 Smart Copyright Strategies (& Tips) to Protect Your Art! (Part I)
The first six of twelve copyright strategies for artists: dating your work, sorting out joint authorship, fair use, watermarks, Creative Commons and notices.
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First Things First: Let’s Learn What A Copyright Is!
A plain introduction to copyright: what it is, the exclusive rights it gives, what can be copyrighted, how registration works and how long protection lasts.
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Making Your IP Work For You: A Guide to Intellectual Property & Copyright Licensing
How licensing works for copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets, with examples, and how to find the owner, set the scope and negotiate fair terms.
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Debunking Copyright’s Most Common Myths, Part I
Five common copyright myths, from using small portions or citing the source to changing a work by 10 percent or using free content commercially.
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Avoiding Expensive Mistakes: Understanding (Personal) Services Contracts, Part II
Five costly gaps in personal services contracts: no cancellation policy, ambiguous terms, schedule changes, missing breach terms and liquidated damages clauses.
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Trademark Registration FAQ: Answers to Your Most Common Questions
Answers to common trademark questions, from availability, cost and timing to office actions, intent to use filings and protecting a registered mark.
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How to Legally Clear a Music Sample: A Step-by-Step Guide
The steps to clear a music sample: identify both rights, find the owners, request permission, negotiate fees, put the license in writing and keep good records.
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Avoiding Expensive Mistakes in Your Personal Service (Performance) Contracts: Part I
The basics of personal service and performance contracts: the legal elements of a contract, material and minor breaches, and substantial performance.
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Understanding IP Types: Copyright, Trademarks, Patents, & Trade Secrets Simplified!
A plain guide to the four main types of intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets, and what each one protects for a business.
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How to Register a Trademark: What to Expect From Start to Finish in 8 Steps!
The eight steps of federal trademark registration, from the clearance search and filing to examination, publication, registration, maintenance and enforcement.
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Top Ten Mistakes That Artists and Film Productions Make When Licensing Music (What You Need to Know to Save Money)
Ten common music licensing mistakes artists and productions make, from skipping sample clearance or one of the two copyrights to unwritten deals and budgets.
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The Music Copyrights Puzzle: A Simple Guide for Confused Artists
A plain guide to the two copyrights in recorded music, the composition and the sound recording, who usually owns each one, and what tends to confuse artists.
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Creative Smarts: 12 Smart Copyright Strategies (& Tips) to Protect Your Art! (Part 2)
The last six copyright strategies for artists: advertising licenses, registering copyrights, learning IP basics, a copyright policy, backups and advocacy.
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Unleashing Your Creative Freedom: 5 Ways to Legally Use Copyrighted Works Without Breaking the Rules!
Five lawful ways to use someone else's copyrighted work: a license, the public domain, Creative Commons, fair use and work for hire, and what to weigh.
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The First Line of (Legal) Defense: Cease & Desist Letters
What a cease and desist letter does, what it should cover, how to set its tone, what to do if it does not work, and why it often comes from an attorney.
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Someone’s Stealing From Me! Copyright and Trademark Infringement
What counts as copyright and trademark infringement, and what an owner must prove for each, including substantial similarity, likelihood of confusion and use.
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Posts are general information, not legal advice, and reading one does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every matter turns on its own facts.
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