Reasoning of the Law

For part three of our final project, we were asked to describe the reasoning of the law, as described by the lawyer that we interviewed.

When I sat down and called Keith on Friday, I went over some audio production questions that would be possibly relevant in my future. Here I will state some of my questions and then follow them with the answer that I had received.

Q:        Lets say I Trademark my Producing / DJ name. After it has been accepted through USPTO, and I find someone else or some other company that has been using my logo and name to steal my fans and make a profit for something that they did, how can I go about policing a trademark infringement? “Trademark law confers the most protection to distinctive names, logos, and other marketing devices.”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 380)

A:         If you can afford it, employ a professional "watch" organization to review trademarks being published for opposition in the Trademark Office and notify you of similar trademarks. These organizations spend the entire day scouting both online and in-store markets to make certain that your trademark is protected

Q:        After I police this trademark infringement, how are the damages calculated.

“Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trade mark or service mark on competing or related goods and services”(Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. Page 446)

A:         Actual damages are equal to the amount of financial damage done by the infringing company or competitor. You may also be able to recover the defendant’s profits and attorney’s fees. If you are awarded statutory damages, the court will award you a judgment and order the defendant to pay it.

Q:        When I start up my own studio one day, what documents should I sign, and have my employee’s sign, prior to work.

A:         After presenting this question to Keith, there was not a whole lot of information he could give me on the topic, since it was quite far from his field. However, he said I would most definitely need to hire a specific intellectual property lawyer that deals with either the production industry or the entertainment industry to put together the proper zoning and licensing agreements.