Rule of Law

For part four of our final project, we were asked to present the “rule of law” that coincides directly to the questions that we asked our lawyer and the answers that were given by them.

When I asked Keith how I would go about policing a trademark infringement. He said that it would be in my best interest to employ a professional "watch" organization to review trademarks being published for opposition in the Trademark Office and notify you of similar trademarks. This answer brought great insight to me, because I had no idea there were services like this. Hiring such agencies to help protect your trademark is crucial to your protection. “As a general rule, and infringement will be deemed deliberate if it begins after the mark in question has been federally registered, because the infringer is deemed to have notice of the existing mark”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 412)

When I asked Keith how trademark damages are calculated. He said that it depends on the amount of financial damage done by the infringing company or competitor, and yet again he was completely correct. “Profits reaped by an infringer as a result of a copyright infringement are one possible element of monetary damages a court may require the infringer to pay the copyright owner. Defendants profits will only be awarded where these profits exceed the amount of profits lost by the copyright owner as a result of the infringement”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 318)

Then when I asked him, upon owning my own studio, what documents should I have my employees and myself sign prior to work. Keith’s reply was that I should most definitely hire a attorney that specializes in drafting up licensing and zoning documents, and make it a priority of doing so. “You will complete this process by paying the fees, authorizing your electronic signature, and validating all applications and documents.”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 507)