Intellectual Property

you could go to jail or worse.

Another View: Trademark and copyright infringement are, for the most part, violations of civil statutes. Generally only monetary fines can be imposed NOT jail or prison time.

HOWEVER - if the violations of the trademark law cross the line into a criminal conspiracy (e.g.: manufacturing and/or distributing falsely labeled products) then THAT becomes a criminal matter and the violators MAY be tried under criminal statutes.

There are generally three ways:

• the material is not copyrightable under the statutes,
• the owner failed to properly claim or renew the copyright, or
• the copyright claim has expired.

In recent years, however, some authors or copyright owners have deemed their works "public domain" simply by permanently disclaiming any right to enforce the copyright. Since the legal copyright is still in force until it expires, this is not "the same" as public domain.

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A Non Disclosure Agreement is an agreement under which a party (the "Recipient") agrees not to disclose proprietary and confidential information ("Confidential Information") that it receives from another party (the "Owner"). This type of agreement may be useful in a variety of circumstances. For example, a company might choose to share information with a web marketing consultant for the purpose improving its on-line sales through its web site. In such a situation, the company would probably be sharing product and customer information with the marketing consultant and would want to protect this information from disclosure by the consultant to third parties.

Some typical provisions that are included for the protection of the Owner include the following:

• No Warranty. There is a possibility that the Confidential Information could contain mistakes or errors, or be based on assumptions that later prove to be incorrect. Therefore, it is common for Owners to include a "no warranty" provision that specifies that the Owner will not be responsible for any damages that the Recipient might incur from using the Confidential Information.
• Risk of Disclosure. In addition to the "No Warranty" provision, the Owner may also want to provide that any disclosure made by the Recipient of any information is at the Recipient's risk. Because the Owner has already stated that it will not warrant the accuracy of the information, the Owner can further provide that the Recipient will bear the risk of using the information in violation of the agreement. For example, if the Recipient acts on some of the information and the information was inaccurate, the Recipient cannot hold the Owner responsible for the harm caused by the inaccurate information.
• Limited License. Generally, the Owner and the Recipient intend that the Confidential Information will only be used by the Recipient for the limited purpose of reviewing the information and becoming familiar with the Owner's business to determine whether the parties might have interest in future transactions (based on some additional agreement). A "limited license" provision makes it clear that the Recipient is not acquiring the right to use the Confidential Information on a general basis.
• General Provisions. A Non Disclosure Agreement should include provisions that (i) require amendments (changes) to the agreement to be in writing and signed by both parties, (ii) specify the state whose laws will govern and interpret disputes between the parties regarding the matters covered by the agreement, and (iii) prohibit the parties from assigning their obligations under the agreement to third parties. Generally, the state whose laws should govern the agreement should be the state of the Owner or the Recipient.

There are hundreds of country and western songs from 1922 and earlier. A few examples would be

• Down By the Old Mill Stream (1910)
• Erie Canal (1913)
• Tuck Me to Sleep (1922)
• Til the Clouds Roll By (1917)
• Buffalo Gals (1844)
• Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie (pre-1912)
• My Darling Clementine (1884)
• Git Along Little Dogie (pre-1917)
• Home on the Range (1873)
• Red River Valley (pre-1876)
• Streets of Laredo (variant of early 19c ballad)
• Sweet Betsy from Pike (1858)
• Yellow Rose of Texas (c 1836)
• Turkey in the Straw (1834)
• Ol' Dan Tucker (1843)
• Arkansas Traveler (1922)
• Sally Gooden (1922)
• Worried Man (19c)

Looking for lists of "folk," "roots," or "southern gospel" music will expand this list significantly.

Note, for further information, SEE:
Andre Cassagnes dies at 86; Etch A Sketch inventor: A French electrician, Cassagnes invented the drawing toy in Paris in the late 1950s. When an Ohio firm introduced it in 1960, it became a hit, ranked one of the top 100 toys of the century.Published February 02, 2013byValerie J. Nelson, writer for the Los Angeles Times.

Andre Cassagnes died died Jan. 16, 2013 "in a Paris suburb, the Toy Industry Assn. announced." "Since he couldn't afford to pay for a patent, he borrowed money from an investor who sent his treasurer, Arthur Granjean, to complete the paperwork. But Granjean's name ended up on the patent, helping to obscure Cassagnes' role. When the New York-based National Toy Hall of Fame inducted Etch A Sketch in 1998, it wrongly listed Granjean as the toy's creator.

An official history on Ohio Art's website gives Cassagnes credit for the invention."

SEE also this text which quotes two source documents from the Ohio Art Company (see bottom half of the page):

"During 1957-58 time frame, after deciding upon a satisfactory design, Cassagnes sought advice on potential manufacturers of his concept. He initially presented his proposal to Nion Company, a plastic injection molder, located in his hometown of Vitry. Philippe Mayer, who later became involved in distributing the Telecran Drawing Toy and, who introduced Bill and Susan Killgallon to André Cassagnes in June, 2006, coincidently worked for Nion Company.Nion Company management had no interest in producing the drawing toy concept for Cassagnes, but did refer him to Paul Chaze, owner of another smaller plastic injection molding company named MAI. This company produced automatic cigarette rolling devices and was also conveniently located. MAI produced the initial tracing device samples.Paul Chaze agreed to invest in and produce the initial tooling as well as agreeing to loan Cassagnes the funds to officially register his patent. Not being familiar with legal matters, Cassagnes permitted Chaze to prepare and send the paperwork on 5/28/59 to the French Ministre De L’Industrie. Unbeknown to Cassagnes at the time, Chaze instructed his accountant, Arthur Grandjean, to file and pay for the “tracing device” patent, which is why Grandjean’s name appears on the French #1,242,370 and U.S. #3,055,113 “Letters Patent” certificates.Grandjean soon thereafter assigned the French patent rights to Paul Chaze, who proceeded to arrange for the manufacture, marketing and licensing of the drawing toy."

In the US, copyright is a federal law, so anyone from the local police to the FBI can become involved. Customs and Border Protection is concerned with intellectual property issues involved in imports, such as pirated DVDs or fake designer handbags.

However, rightsholders often take it upon themselves to address infringement, because it's faster, easier, and often less expensive than involving law enforcement. If I know you've published my photos in your magazine without my permission, I would send a cease-and-desist or even just an invoice for a fair price long before I considered going to the police--and because it's much easier than being taken to court, you'd probably just pay me what I asked for.