Tag Archives: protection

The iBooks Author EULA does not create an exclusive license, and doesn’t steal your copyright

This is a follow up to my previous post on the iBooks Author End User License Agreement (EULA) and what it actually means. Rather than posting an update to that post, I decided to follow it up with a simple breakdown of why all of the people who believe the EULA takes away (or tries …

January 27, 2012 – 11:28 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright, Economics & Commerce, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Copyright & Trademark: A primer on their differences

There is a lively discussion on the differences between copyright and trademark law in the comments to a Techdirt article. Copyright and trademark law are often confused, and this is by both lawyers and non-lawyers. (We lawyers call them ‘lay-people.’) I’ve even see a lawyer confuse the DMCA takedown process and issue a takedown letter …

July 20, 2011 – 2:25 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright, Trademark | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Why Apple’s new iTunes Match service cannot be used to chase down music pirates

Ars Technica has an article about whether iTunes’ new iCloud features will be used to chase down music pirates. Some lawyers and academics writing about this might hedge their comments with conditions and exceptions. I won’t. No, iTunes’ new iCloud match features cannot and will not be used to chase down music pirates. (And Ars …

July 5, 2011 – 4:09 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright, Polemics | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Can you steal the idea for a product or service?

The Telegraph has an article about claims that the founders of the Huffington Post ‘stole’ the blueprint for the popular website.  Can you ‘steal’ an idea, be it for a product or a service? On some level this questions appears to ridiculous.  The Huffington Post, for example, is modeled after many community sites before it, …

May 26, 2011 – 2:02 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright, Economics & Commerce, Polemics, Trade Secret, Trademark | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

The Consumer’s IP Law: A review of trademarks

Two trademark stories on Techdirt highlight the power of trademark law.  The first deals with Walmart being sued by the makers of Sillybandz — this generation’s slap bracelets — for selling and distributing a competitor’s products that, Sillybandz claims, are too similar.  The second concerns trademark law causing problems for Etsy, an online marketplace for …

November 7, 2010 – 10:45 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Trademark | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

Implied licenses: Why copyright and contract prevents North Country Gazette from suing you

The North Country Gazette has threatened to sue folks who read more than one article on their website.  Since the threat was unearthed by BoingBoing and Techdirt, and re-posted on Slashdot, the website has gone down, come back up, and added a username/password authentication requirement. The original threat, detailed by Techdirt, outlines the Gazette’s plans …

October 28, 2010 – 11:08 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Garage Door Openers and the DMCA’s Anti-Circumvention Provision

Ars Technica, a website chock full of useful articles for any tech lover, has an interesting and lengthy examination of how law and technology interact when it comes to garage door openers. People confuse intellectual property fundamentals all the time.  It is not surprising, then, that specific technical aspects to copyright law get confused by …

December 17, 2009 – 10:01 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Cell Phones, the Fourth Amendment, and the Ohio Supreme Court

Arrested with an iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pre, or some other smartphone on you?  Were you carrying your fancy new Netbook? Officers can search you upon arrest in order to protect themselves, inventory your stuff, and prevent evidence from disappearing.  All of these searches can be done without a warrant. What about your searching your electronic …

December 15, 2009 – 8:33 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Using privacy law to protect virtual resources rather than property law

Author’s Note: This an excerpt from an early draft of a paper I am currently writing. I.    Introduction Applying property rights  to virtual resources is often justified by arguing that property rights will allow consumers and users to better protect their interests online and in online games.  Garrett Ledgerwood, in Virtually Liable, argues “[a] court’s …

December 5, 2009 – 10:12 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)