by Kathleen Lynch | May 14, 2025 | Copying, Copyright, Uncategorized
Join Pick’em Pros LIVE on Saturday, April 26th for an exclusive VIP event at KINGS Raleigh! This event WILL SELL OUT, so grab your tickets NOW!
🔥 What’s Happening:
🏀 NBA Playoffs Breakdown – Who’s making a championship run?
🏈 NFL Draft Reactions – Which teams are crushing it? Who’s making the worst picks?
🥊 LIVE Interview: Power Slap Athlete Devin Jenkins – Get inside the world of power slap!
🏈 Rising football star Jaylen – Ravenscroft High school freshman making a name for himself!
📜 LIVE Letter of Intent Signing! – A top local athlete will sign their official commitment on the show!
🎶 DJ EJ Da Wizz spinning all night—before, during & after the show!
🎳 BOWLING ALL NIGHT (6:30-10 PM) – Included with your ticket!
🎁 Massive Prize Giveaway from our sponsors at the end of the night!
🍽️ FOOD & DRINKS:
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- Menu includes pizza, sliders, shrimp, and more!
- Drink tickets are available for pre-purchase only! 🍹 (Max 2 per person, $5 each – drinks average $12 onsite.)
- No drink tickets will be sold at the event, so plan ahead!
📅 Date: Saturday, April 26th
⏰ Time: Doors open at 6:30 PM | Showtime: 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM | DJ & Bowling Until 10 PM
📍 Location: KINGS Raleigh – Royal Room VIP
💵 Tickets: $25 Adults | $20 Kids (Advance Drink tickets: $5 each, max 2 per person)
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by Kathleen Lynch | May 20, 2015 | Copyright
The internet today makes finding interesting content and artistic images easy. For anyone who has a presentation or a paper to write, finding the right information and/or images can mean the difference between success and failure. But before you hit the “download” button, consider the intellectual property implications.
Electronically available content, whether it is written or an image, is initially owned by its creator. The creator, such as an employee, may be under an obligation to assign rights in the creation to their employer. Anyone who uses content without authorization may be guilty of copyright infringement.
There are software programs available to track the use of electronic content. If the content is used without authorization by the owner, the user may be notified of their unauthorized use and asked to pay a fine and to stop any further use.
This happened to a client of mine. They used a photo their website developer “found” on the internet and posted it onto their business website. They did not seek authorization to use it and the owner of the photo sought damages, which they had to pay.
So, the next time you want to cut and paste, remember that someone else may be the creator of some of your content. Don’t download what you don’t own until you have permission. If you don’t obtain permission, respect the copyright.
Identifying, protecting and leveraging intellectual property is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at [email protected].
by Kathleen Lynch | Mar 3, 2015 | Copyright
How far will you go to ensure good online reviews? One New York dentist went too far. Stacy Makhnevich, a New York dentist, is on the losing end of a class action law suit filed on behalf of her patients. The judge found that she had misused copyright law in an attempt to prevent the posting of any negative reviews on Yelp.
In her practice, Ms. Makhnevich forced patients to sign a contract in which she owned the copyright in any reviews they may write about her practice. She would subsequently threaten to sue any patient who may post a review online.
The judge found that the contracts were essentially a misuse of copyright law. The judge stated that “the agreement’s assignments of copyrights, and the assertion of copyright claims by the dentist for the express purpose of preventing the dissemination of [the patient’s] commentary, …constitute copyright misuse.” The court ruled in the patients’ favor. The full case is Lee v. Makhnevich et al., case no. 1:11-cv-08665, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
What’s the take away here? Don’t try to control things you cannot. If your business receives a negative review, deal with it specifically and try to ensure that it won’t be repeated. Trying to exploit the copyright laws won’t help your case.
Understanding the scope and limitations of intellectual property law is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at [email protected].
by Kathleen Lynch | Feb 25, 2015 | Copying, Copyright, Infringement, Intellectual Property
If anyone caught the halftime show at the Super Bowl this year, you may remember the dancing sharks that were a part of Katy Perry’s halftime show. The sharks were an instant sensation, particularly the left shark who was seen dancing awkwardly behind Ms. Perry. Now one businessman has tried to capitalize on that.
Fernando Sosa is in the 3D printing business. Mr. Sosa makes and sells 3D printed sculptures typically of political figures. After the Super Bowl, Mr. Sosa developed and offered for sale a replica “Left Shark” figure. Attorneys for Katy Perry quickly fired off a cease and desist letter to Mr. Sosa claiming that the figure infringed Katy Perry’s intellectual property. In particular, the letter alleged that Mr. Sosa’s selling of the shark figurine violated Ms. Perry’s copyrights in the shark. Mr. Sosa has agreed to stop selling the shark.
According to CNN, Mr. Sosa remarked “ it looks like dictators and world leaders like Putin and Kim Jong Un or Chris Christie are much easier to deal with,” and “all this lawyer crap is stressful.”
Take away: before considering copying something in a public domain, think about whether any third party may have rights to the subject matter. This applies to sharks as well as digital images and content on the internet. Even though a digitized item can be downloaded, doesn’t mean it should be. One way to err on the side of caution is to check the ownership of the item. If a copyright notice accompanies the material that indicates the owner. Most owners can be contacted and some may grant a license to you to use their image or content (or shark) as you would like. However, it is the owner’s right to grant and not yours to take.
Protecting your innovative developments and respecting the intellectual property rights of third parties is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at [email protected].
by Kathleen Lynch | Nov 13, 2014 | Copyright, Intellectual Property
This is one in a series of posts covering some basic aspects of intellectual property law. Previous posts touch on patents (parts 1 and 2) and trademarks (parts 3 and 4). This post will cover the general elements of copyright law.
Copyright law protects the expression of an idea fixed in a tangible medium. Thus, the protection is more limited than other aspects of intellectual property law. However, if copyright infringement is found, relief to the copyright owner can include an order against further infringement as well as money damages which can range from between $200 and $300,000 per act of infringement. Damages may also include attorneys’ fees and costs. Infringers may also be subject to criminal prosecution and may be imprisoned if found guilty.
Types of works covered by copyright law include:
- literary;
- musical;
- dramatic;
- pantomimes and choreographic works;
- pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
- audiovisual works;
- sound recordings;
- derivative works;
- compilations; and
- architectural works.
In order to proceed with a copyright infringement action, you must register your work with the United States Copyright Office. This can be done online on their website.
Copyright notice is given by using “©” followed by the year or years in which the work was published and the owner. In addition, a statement such as “all rights reserved” or “no unauthorized use permitted” may follow the notice. This puts the public on notice of your intent to enforce your rights via copyright law.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at [email protected].
