In terms of “return on investment,” the $55 fee of the Copyright Office to register a copyright is hard to beat.  Not only is registration generally a prerequisite to enforce a copyright, but failure to promptly register a copyright can significantly impair a copyright owner’s ability to obtain monetary relief in an amount sufficient to make enforcement economically worthwhile.  A “cautionary tale” will follow, but first… What’s He Talking About? Let’s review the basics of copyright damages. A successful plaintiff in a copyright infringement suit may have several monetary remedies available.  First, they may be able to recover actual damages […]

Of the areas we focus our practice on, perhaps none is more misunderstood than copyright law.  That’s unfortunate, because copyright is the area of IP law that everyday individuals are most likely to run afoul of.  With that in mind, we thought it would be helpful to point out some of the most common myths/misconceptions surrounding copyrights.  But first…. The Basics Copyright law protects original works of creative authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium.  The kinds of works that can be protected are varied, and include the “traditional“ (for example, books, music, paintings and computer software) to the […]

We are pleased to present the iPhone Developer Legal Guide, a short publication that covers several of the most pressing intellectual property issues of concern to iPhone Developers. Given the popularity of the iPhone app store and the still-exploding growth of development activity around it, we thought it would be useful for developers to get a sense of some of the legal pitfalls to avoid in creating a new app. The iPhone Developer Legal Guide is available for download here.