"Audiovisual works, the copyright act specifically protects movies, videotapes, videodiscs, cd-rom multimedia packages, training films, and computer games as audiovisual works. The copyright act defines audiovisual works as ones consisting of a series of related images intended to be shown on machines such as projectors, viewers, or electronic equipment, with accompanying sounds, if any, whether the works are recorded on film or tape, or other material"(Stim, 215). What I wanted to focus on in this course is to take a special interest in all that is involved in the film production world.
"Authorized use of copyright material, a person accused of infringing another's copyright may see to prove as a defense that the use was authorized, usually through license or other transfer. Even in the absence of a written agreement, a defendant may make the argument that the use was authorized orally or was implied by the actions of the copyright owner. Were such a case to go to court, the judge would seek to determine the conditions under which the license or transfer was granted, what was transferred to whom" (Stim, 216).
"cease and desist letter, the opening salvo in any copyright dispute is usually a cease and desist letter from the copyright owner's attourney. This letter informs the alleged infringer of the validity and ownership of the copyrighted work, the nature of the infringement, and the remedies that are available to the copyright holder unless the infringement is halted" (Stim, 219).
"Credit line is a written acknowledgement of authorship is referrred to as a credit line. When authors give permission for somebody else to use a portion or an entire work, they commonly condition the permission on including a line crediting the original author in the new work" (Stim, 240). "Characters, fictional can be protected separately from their undelying works as derivative copyrights, provided that they are sufficiently unique and distinctive-- for example James Bond, Fred Flintstone, Hnnibal Lector, and Snoopy" (Stim,219).
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Rule of Law
"Business information as a trade secret. A business's internal information can qualify as a trade secret if its disclosure would negatively affect that business's competitivness. For example, the following types of information commonly are considered to be trade secrets because they provide a business with a cometitive edge: information concerning the characteristics of customers, information relevant to the cost and pricing of good, sources of supply, especially if disclosure would divulge the nature of a secret ingredient, books and records of the business, mailing lists and other sales information, customer lists, information regarding new business opportunities, information regarding the effectiveness and performance of personnel, distributors and suppliers, and methods of doing business. On the other hand, business information is not protectible as a trade secret if it can be independently developed with little dificulty. Information that might not generally qualify as a trade secret includes general employee handbooks and personnel policies that discuss the rights and responsibilities of workers based on applicable federal and state laws" (Stim 532-533).
My main concern with the questions and information I have established is to find myself more ready to be able to start a business on my own and feel that I am prepared and not going in it blind.
" Nondisclosure agreements should be used whenever it is necessary to disclose marketing, evaluation, or fiscal backing. Through the conscientious use of non disclosure agreements, trade secrets ccan be distributed to a relatively large number of people without destroying their protected status" (Stim, 555). Nondisclosure agreements would be extremely important in the business that I want to get into. Production companies can deal with high end clients and there are secrets to the trade, this would be a great form of protection for a business. "The right of publicity is the right of a person to prevent the use of his or her name or persona for commercial purposes. Although the right of publicity is commonly associated with celebraties, every person, regarless of how famous, has a right to prevent unauthorized use of his or her name or image to sell products. The right extends beyond the commercial use of a person's name or image and includes the use of any personal element that implies an individual's endorsement of a product, provided that the public can identify the individual based upon the use" (Stim, 464). Especially in this business, if it become successful, the right of publicity is going to be a very important factor. One wrong move, could anger the wrong people and than the business would never go anywhere.
"If there is no employment relationship, a work will still be considered a work made for hire if both parties sign a written work-for-hire agreement and the work fits within one of the following categories of works(17 United States Code, Section 101): a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, such as a screenplay, a translation, a supplementary work, a compilation, and instructional text, a test or answer material for a test, and atlas or a sound recording" (Stim, 320). A work for hire agreement is especially important when working in the video production world. "Attribution, people mistakenly believe that they can use copyrighted material as long as they credit the author. This is not true. For example, providing the author's name for a quotation will not, by itself , excuse someone from a charge of infringement for qualify your use as a fair use" (Stim 214). Attribution happens quite often in the production business, it is good information to know that nothing is free when it comes to art.
My main concern with the questions and information I have established is to find myself more ready to be able to start a business on my own and feel that I am prepared and not going in it blind.
" Nondisclosure agreements should be used whenever it is necessary to disclose marketing, evaluation, or fiscal backing. Through the conscientious use of non disclosure agreements, trade secrets ccan be distributed to a relatively large number of people without destroying their protected status" (Stim, 555). Nondisclosure agreements would be extremely important in the business that I want to get into. Production companies can deal with high end clients and there are secrets to the trade, this would be a great form of protection for a business. "The right of publicity is the right of a person to prevent the use of his or her name or persona for commercial purposes. Although the right of publicity is commonly associated with celebraties, every person, regarless of how famous, has a right to prevent unauthorized use of his or her name or image to sell products. The right extends beyond the commercial use of a person's name or image and includes the use of any personal element that implies an individual's endorsement of a product, provided that the public can identify the individual based upon the use" (Stim, 464). Especially in this business, if it become successful, the right of publicity is going to be a very important factor. One wrong move, could anger the wrong people and than the business would never go anywhere.
"If there is no employment relationship, a work will still be considered a work made for hire if both parties sign a written work-for-hire agreement and the work fits within one of the following categories of works(17 United States Code, Section 101): a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, such as a screenplay, a translation, a supplementary work, a compilation, and instructional text, a test or answer material for a test, and atlas or a sound recording" (Stim, 320). A work for hire agreement is especially important when working in the video production world. "Attribution, people mistakenly believe that they can use copyrighted material as long as they credit the author. This is not true. For example, providing the author's name for a quotation will not, by itself , excuse someone from a charge of infringement for qualify your use as a fair use" (Stim 214). Attribution happens quite often in the production business, it is good information to know that nothing is free when it comes to art.
Reasoning of the Law
The first question I asked, when I film something I'v writt
en and it happens to have say like a coke bottle or something else along the lines in that and it happens to make it big, is there a possibility of that company coming after me for the rights of it?Whitehead explained, when your going to have different products in the movie that your shooting you need to look up licensing for it. That the company would have to get a negotiated contract with that enterprise that we would want to use and pay royalties. The only time a company will sue you for royalties is only on a mjor level that is applicable. Under the copyright Act of 1976, "Subject matter of copyright: In General, Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories, literary works, musical works, including any accompanying words; dramatic works, including any accompanying music; pantomimes and choreographic works; pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; sound and recordings; and archeitectural works. In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work" (Stim, 358).When I write a script or am a co-writer of a script, what steps do I need to take in order to get a copyright on the idea, also lets say I have copy written it and it is stolen how do how do I legally go about taking action against the the entity that has used my script without my permission?In order to protect my work I need to take the proper percautions or something like in Janky v. Lake County Convention and Vistiors Bureau could happen, "The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a songwriter whose contribution was somewhat disputed was still entitled to license the resulting song. In this case, a songwriter created an ode to Indiana and then, upon the suggestion of an acquaintance, modified the lyrics so that the song was about Lake County, Indiana. That enabled the acquaintance to license the song in her own name, then registered it again listing the acquaintance as a co-writer and sued the vistitors bureau for infringement claiming that the acquaintance was not a co-writer and therfore had no right to license the work. The court of appeals ruled against the songwriter and held that the contributions by the acquaintance merited co-authorship because they added tot eh song's commercial viability, shifting the song from being pro-Indiana paean to being a Lake County, Indiana song. A dissenting justice characterized the contribution as uncopyrightable "ideas, refinements, and suggestions"" (Stim, 205). When I co-write a script, what legal rights do I have with it ? When I spoke to the lawyer I was informed that my rights as a co-author would be that I would share in profits jointly with how ever many co-writers participated in the script. The only way to fully protect myself as a co-writer would be to enter in a contractual agreement. I read that it would be called a "collaboration agreement, when coauthors want to specify their rights, obligations, and percentage of copyright ownership and revenues, they must enter into a collaboration agreement. Without a collaboration agreement , a court will presume that the coauthors share equally unless evidence to teh contrary is introduced" (Stim, 222). As I read further, I found even if I did have a collaboration agreement, for example if a foreign country wanted to translate the works into their own language in order to remake the movie Stim states, "In countries that subscribe to the Universal Copyright Convention including the United States, an author may be required to grant a compulsory license toa subscribing government to translate his or her work into that country's primary language if no translation has been published within seven years of the works original date of publication. This rule precludes copyright owners in most countries from preventing the translation of works covered by their copywrits into different languages" (Stim, 226).I was legally advised that if I should ever decide to co-write a script, that there should be a written collaboration agreement/conract because when it comes down to making money on the works written, there is usually an unlikely chance of one or both of the parties to end up with any type of profit. In most cases that a contract is not entered before the writing process begins, than if the script were to become popular, than it would be a nightmare in court and cost more money than would be received because it is too difficult to distinguish between two joint writers and to keep the contributions separate.As a independent filmmaker what contracts should I have in place for hiring actors, locations?Before hiring any actors, we would have to determine the type producting we are producing whether it would be for pay or non pay. Based upon those issues, Whitehead would act as the companies lawyer and decide what kind of contract would be needed in order for negotiations. Im doing a commercial for a company that happens to have a seperate company attched to it and their logo is right above the company in which we are doing, so my first part of this question is, what kind of conract should we have in for the company we are shooting, second what contract should we have with the combining company and third is it a wise decision to do it at all? With this question, couldn't really get a clear answer from the lawyer, he said he would have to review the tenant contracts between the two businesses, and that I would need to get a business license and everything that goes with it, if there was to be any type of profit made.
What is the proper procedure for obtaining an LLC in Nevada for a production company? There are many steps when it comes to forming and LLC in Nevada."To create an LLC, you file "articles of organization" (in some states called a "certificate of organization" or "certificate of formation") with the LLC division of your state government. This office is often in the same department as the corporations division, which is usually part of the secretary of state's office. Filing fees range from about $100 to $800. Now, in every state, you can form an LLC with just one person.
Many states supply a blank one-page form for the articles of organization, on which you need only specify a few basic details about your LLC, such as its name and address, and contact information for a person involved with the LLC (usually called a "registered agent") who will receive legal papers on its behalf. Some states also require you to list the names and addresses of the LLC members.
In addition to filing articles of organization, you must create a written LLC operating agreement. You don't have to file your operating agreement with the state, but that doesn't mean you can get by without one. The operating agreement is a crucial document because it sets out the LLC members' rights and responsibilities, their percentage interests in the business, and their share of the profits" (Nolo.com, Beth Lawernce).
Las Vegas has a lot of strict rules on when and where you can shoot, so what are some of the legal issues I should look for when filming in Las Vegas? Most of Las Vegas is Clark County. If you want to shoot on the strip it is considered private property and I would have contract through the casino owners. In the rest of Clark County, it would be required of me by law to get certain permits and business licenses in order to shoot. What are some of the possible consequences on doing a production without an LLC?Before going into a production you need to have your business license, LLC, business insurance, if you do not have this in line, you would be personally liable for any mistakes and could be sued personally rather than the company being a liability. Also there is the possibility of the IRS investigating into the funds that are being made that are not properly taxed.What steps would I take in order to get No Frown Entertainment Copyrighted? I would have to have "title of my work, nature of my work, publication as a contribution, the author, works made for hire, nature of authorship, creation and publication, the copyright claimant, transfer,derivative work or compliation, deposit accounts and correspondence, certification, signature, mailing information, the fee, including copies of your work with the registration application" (Stim, 344-346).
Is there a specific contract for starting a business with a partner, not a self-employed business, because No Frown Entertainment is in the beginnings of a partnership?
Your business may need to obtain business or professional licenses depending on the type of business activity you are engaged in. Nevada provides a comprehensive website of every occupation that requires a license by a partnership. You can obtain this information by going to the Nevada Secretary of State Licensing Center. In addition, local regulations, including licenses, building permits, and zoning clearances, may apply to your business. You will need to check with your city and county governments for more information.
en and it happens to have say like a coke bottle or something else along the lines in that and it happens to make it big, is there a possibility of that company coming after me for the rights of it?Whitehead explained, when your going to have different products in the movie that your shooting you need to look up licensing for it. That the company would have to get a negotiated contract with that enterprise that we would want to use and pay royalties. The only time a company will sue you for royalties is only on a mjor level that is applicable. Under the copyright Act of 1976, "Subject matter of copyright: In General, Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories, literary works, musical works, including any accompanying words; dramatic works, including any accompanying music; pantomimes and choreographic works; pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; sound and recordings; and archeitectural works. In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work" (Stim, 358).When I write a script or am a co-writer of a script, what steps do I need to take in order to get a copyright on the idea, also lets say I have copy written it and it is stolen how do how do I legally go about taking action against the the entity that has used my script without my permission?In order to protect my work I need to take the proper percautions or something like in Janky v. Lake County Convention and Vistiors Bureau could happen, "The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a songwriter whose contribution was somewhat disputed was still entitled to license the resulting song. In this case, a songwriter created an ode to Indiana and then, upon the suggestion of an acquaintance, modified the lyrics so that the song was about Lake County, Indiana. That enabled the acquaintance to license the song in her own name, then registered it again listing the acquaintance as a co-writer and sued the vistitors bureau for infringement claiming that the acquaintance was not a co-writer and therfore had no right to license the work. The court of appeals ruled against the songwriter and held that the contributions by the acquaintance merited co-authorship because they added tot eh song's commercial viability, shifting the song from being pro-Indiana paean to being a Lake County, Indiana song. A dissenting justice characterized the contribution as uncopyrightable "ideas, refinements, and suggestions"" (Stim, 205). When I co-write a script, what legal rights do I have with it ? When I spoke to the lawyer I was informed that my rights as a co-author would be that I would share in profits jointly with how ever many co-writers participated in the script. The only way to fully protect myself as a co-writer would be to enter in a contractual agreement. I read that it would be called a "collaboration agreement, when coauthors want to specify their rights, obligations, and percentage of copyright ownership and revenues, they must enter into a collaboration agreement. Without a collaboration agreement , a court will presume that the coauthors share equally unless evidence to teh contrary is introduced" (Stim, 222). As I read further, I found even if I did have a collaboration agreement, for example if a foreign country wanted to translate the works into their own language in order to remake the movie Stim states, "In countries that subscribe to the Universal Copyright Convention including the United States, an author may be required to grant a compulsory license toa subscribing government to translate his or her work into that country's primary language if no translation has been published within seven years of the works original date of publication. This rule precludes copyright owners in most countries from preventing the translation of works covered by their copywrits into different languages" (Stim, 226).I was legally advised that if I should ever decide to co-write a script, that there should be a written collaboration agreement/conract because when it comes down to making money on the works written, there is usually an unlikely chance of one or both of the parties to end up with any type of profit. In most cases that a contract is not entered before the writing process begins, than if the script were to become popular, than it would be a nightmare in court and cost more money than would be received because it is too difficult to distinguish between two joint writers and to keep the contributions separate.As a independent filmmaker what contracts should I have in place for hiring actors, locations?Before hiring any actors, we would have to determine the type producting we are producing whether it would be for pay or non pay. Based upon those issues, Whitehead would act as the companies lawyer and decide what kind of contract would be needed in order for negotiations. Im doing a commercial for a company that happens to have a seperate company attched to it and their logo is right above the company in which we are doing, so my first part of this question is, what kind of conract should we have in for the company we are shooting, second what contract should we have with the combining company and third is it a wise decision to do it at all? With this question, couldn't really get a clear answer from the lawyer, he said he would have to review the tenant contracts between the two businesses, and that I would need to get a business license and everything that goes with it, if there was to be any type of profit made.
What is the proper procedure for obtaining an LLC in Nevada for a production company? There are many steps when it comes to forming and LLC in Nevada."To create an LLC, you file "articles of organization" (in some states called a "certificate of organization" or "certificate of formation") with the LLC division of your state government. This office is often in the same department as the corporations division, which is usually part of the secretary of state's office. Filing fees range from about $100 to $800. Now, in every state, you can form an LLC with just one person.
Many states supply a blank one-page form for the articles of organization, on which you need only specify a few basic details about your LLC, such as its name and address, and contact information for a person involved with the LLC (usually called a "registered agent") who will receive legal papers on its behalf. Some states also require you to list the names and addresses of the LLC members.
In addition to filing articles of organization, you must create a written LLC operating agreement. You don't have to file your operating agreement with the state, but that doesn't mean you can get by without one. The operating agreement is a crucial document because it sets out the LLC members' rights and responsibilities, their percentage interests in the business, and their share of the profits" (Nolo.com, Beth Lawernce).
Las Vegas has a lot of strict rules on when and where you can shoot, so what are some of the legal issues I should look for when filming in Las Vegas? Most of Las Vegas is Clark County. If you want to shoot on the strip it is considered private property and I would have contract through the casino owners. In the rest of Clark County, it would be required of me by law to get certain permits and business licenses in order to shoot. What are some of the possible consequences on doing a production without an LLC?Before going into a production you need to have your business license, LLC, business insurance, if you do not have this in line, you would be personally liable for any mistakes and could be sued personally rather than the company being a liability. Also there is the possibility of the IRS investigating into the funds that are being made that are not properly taxed.What steps would I take in order to get No Frown Entertainment Copyrighted? I would have to have "title of my work, nature of my work, publication as a contribution, the author, works made for hire, nature of authorship, creation and publication, the copyright claimant, transfer,derivative work or compliation, deposit accounts and correspondence, certification, signature, mailing information, the fee, including copies of your work with the registration application" (Stim, 344-346).
Is there a specific contract for starting a business with a partner, not a self-employed business, because No Frown Entertainment is in the beginnings of a partnership?
Your business may need to obtain business or professional licenses depending on the type of business activity you are engaged in. Nevada provides a comprehensive website of every occupation that requires a license by a partnership. You can obtain this information by going to the Nevada Secretary of State Licensing Center. In addition, local regulations, including licenses, building permits, and zoning clearances, may apply to your business. You will need to check with your city and county governments for more information.
The Questions
1. When I film something I'v written and it happens to have say like a coke bottle or something else along the lines in that and it happens to make it big, is there a possibility of that company coming after me for the rights of it?
2. When I write a script or am a co-writer of a script, what steps do I need to take in order to get a copyright on the idea, also lets say I have copy written it and it is stolen how do how do I legally go about taking action against the the entity that has used my script without my permission?
3. When I co-write a script, what legal rights do I have with it ?
4. As a independent filmmaker what contracts should I have in place for hiring actors, locations?
5. Im doing a commercial for a company that happens to have a seperate company attched to it and their logo is right above the company in which we are doing, so my first part of this question is, what kind of conract should we have in for the company we are shooting, second what contract should we have with the combining company and third is it a wise decision to do it at all?
6.
What is the proper procedure for obtaining an LLC in Nevada for a production company?
7. Las Vegas has a lot of strict rules on when and where you can shoot, so what are some of the legal issues I should look for when filming in Las Vegas?
8. What are some of the possible consequences on doing a production without an LLC?
9. What steps would I take in order to get No Frown Entertainment Copyrighted?
10. Is there a specific contract for starting a business with a partner, not a self-employed business, because No Frown Entertainment is in the beginnings of a partnership?
These questions attain to me and what I want to do in my field and what I want to do in my career. As of right now I am trying to start up a production company and these are some of the questions that I feel will come up during of the duration of my career.
"Identification of the Mark, if the mark is a word or group of words, identification of the mark is straight-forward. For example, the mark may be identified simply as "Hooky Wooky Hats."(Note: For the broadest protection for a word mark, register is free of any lettering style. This will give you the ability to use the trademark in various fonts, rather than being restricted to your original presentation" (Stim, 488).
2. When I write a script or am a co-writer of a script, what steps do I need to take in order to get a copyright on the idea, also lets say I have copy written it and it is stolen how do how do I legally go about taking action against the the entity that has used my script without my permission?
3. When I co-write a script, what legal rights do I have with it ?
4. As a independent filmmaker what contracts should I have in place for hiring actors, locations?
5. Im doing a commercial for a company that happens to have a seperate company attched to it and their logo is right above the company in which we are doing, so my first part of this question is, what kind of conract should we have in for the company we are shooting, second what contract should we have with the combining company and third is it a wise decision to do it at all?
6.
What is the proper procedure for obtaining an LLC in Nevada for a production company?
7. Las Vegas has a lot of strict rules on when and where you can shoot, so what are some of the legal issues I should look for when filming in Las Vegas?
8. What are some of the possible consequences on doing a production without an LLC?
9. What steps would I take in order to get No Frown Entertainment Copyrighted?
10. Is there a specific contract for starting a business with a partner, not a self-employed business, because No Frown Entertainment is in the beginnings of a partnership?
These questions attain to me and what I want to do in my field and what I want to do in my career. As of right now I am trying to start up a production company and these are some of the questions that I feel will come up during of the duration of my career.
"Identification of the Mark, if the mark is a word or group of words, identification of the mark is straight-forward. For example, the mark may be identified simply as "Hooky Wooky Hats."(Note: For the broadest protection for a word mark, register is free of any lettering style. This will give you the ability to use the trademark in various fonts, rather than being restricted to your original presentation" (Stim, 488).
Legal Authority
Looking at the last page of the course book I found an AD that said NOLO Looking for a Lawyer, so I went to that website in order to find a lawyer. "When you want help with a serious legal problem, you don't want just any lawyer-- you want an expert in the field who can give you and your family up-to the minute advice. You need a lawyer who has the experience and knowledge to answer your questions about personal injury, wills, family law, child custody, drafting a patent application or any other specialized legal are you are concerned with. Nolo's law directory is unique because it provides and extensive profile of every lawyer. You'll learn about not only each lawyer's education, professional history, legal specialties, credentials and fees, but also about their philosophy of practicing law and how they like to work with clients" (Stim, 640).
I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly lawyers responded to me from this website. Within fifteen minutes, and mind you it was at seven at night I a few different lawyers call me right away after I sent in a description of my questions. When I went on the website, I was able to navigate through it very quickly and was actually able to choose specifically what type of lawyer I was looking for from a huge selection. This site was also very good tool to keep in mind for the actual production business I am currently starting with a partner. I was able to find out explicit details, contracts, legal information, as well as links to state websites that can assist me as well. Nolo.com is a great resource for any person that doesn't have the financial resources to get a lawyer for legal advice, you just have to be willing to do the research.
I hadn't quite anticipated such a quick response from so many lawyers, and I happened to be working with my production crew with one of our newest clients. The lawyer that I originally wanted to get into contact with, I checked out his profile which I have shown below:
Borghese Legal, Ltd.
Intellectual property, internet and business law firm
Firm OverviewBorghese Legal, Ltd. is a Las Vegas, Nevada law firm focused on trademarks, copyrights, internet, and transactional law. The firm provides legal services in the areas of trademark, copyright, entertainment law, business transactions, internet law, and corporate law. The firm's business transactional work includes preparing and negotiating licenses, work-for-hire agreements, and other contracts for the protection of business trade secrets and intellectual property. In addition, the firm serves as the domestic representative for foreign trademark and copyright owners.
Main Office
Main
10161 Park Run Drive
Suite 150
Las Vegas NV 89145
Phone
(702) 382-0200
(702) 382-0212
http://borgheselegal.com
The firm offers a free half-hour initial consultation.
Services Offered For Fixed Fees?
Fixed price services are available for various services including trademarks, copyrights, corporations, LLC, and resident agent fees.
Hourly Rates
$280
Office InformationOffice Hours
Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Emergency After Hours
Yes
Is your firm willing to help a client with one discrete part of a case, without taking on the whole case?Yes. Handling one part of larger matter often works best for the client and the attorney.
What are your policies about dividing work within the firm to make the process most cost-effective for the client?All work is handled in the most cost-effective manner possible.
How frequently does your firm use mediation, arbitration, or collaborative law to resolve cases?Alternative dispute resolution such as mediation and arbitration are used whenever possible to resolve a case.
Does your firm provide pro bono legal services or otherwise participate in your community?Yes.
What distinguishes your law firm from others?Personalized service and the prompt return of all emails and voicemails.
What is your firm's point of view regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?Clients should always learn about the legal issues they are involved in. Clients who know and understand the law make the best clients.
Is your firm willing to review documents prepared by clients?Yes, the firm will review and revise documents prepared by clients.
Is your firm willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?Yes. Often it makes more sense for clients to represent themselves in simple legal matters or matters where it would cost too much to hire an attorney.
Unfortunately I was unable to get back into contact with this particular lawyer, instead, a Mr. Jeffery Whitehead set up an appointment with me and answered my questions. I was a little disappointed in his answers, I felt like he was keeping them vague to keep me past the half hour so he could charge or that he knew he wasn't going to be able to make a profit out of me so therefore didn't put in as much effort. Honestly I felt that I could gather most of the pertinent information pertaining to my questions from nolo.com and the various govenment sites that is linked to this site.
I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly lawyers responded to me from this website. Within fifteen minutes, and mind you it was at seven at night I a few different lawyers call me right away after I sent in a description of my questions. When I went on the website, I was able to navigate through it very quickly and was actually able to choose specifically what type of lawyer I was looking for from a huge selection. This site was also very good tool to keep in mind for the actual production business I am currently starting with a partner. I was able to find out explicit details, contracts, legal information, as well as links to state websites that can assist me as well. Nolo.com is a great resource for any person that doesn't have the financial resources to get a lawyer for legal advice, you just have to be willing to do the research.
I hadn't quite anticipated such a quick response from so many lawyers, and I happened to be working with my production crew with one of our newest clients. The lawyer that I originally wanted to get into contact with, I checked out his profile which I have shown below:
Borghese Legal, Ltd.
Intellectual property, internet and business law firm
Firm OverviewBorghese Legal, Ltd. is a Las Vegas, Nevada law firm focused on trademarks, copyrights, internet, and transactional law. The firm provides legal services in the areas of trademark, copyright, entertainment law, business transactions, internet law, and corporate law. The firm's business transactional work includes preparing and negotiating licenses, work-for-hire agreements, and other contracts for the protection of business trade secrets and intellectual property. In addition, the firm serves as the domestic representative for foreign trademark and copyright owners.
Main Office
Main
10161 Park Run Drive
Suite 150
Las Vegas NV 89145
Phone
The firm offers a free half-hour initial consultation.
Services Offered For Fixed Fees?
Fixed price services are available for various services including trademarks, copyrights, corporations, LLC, and resident agent fees.
Hourly Rates
$280
Office InformationOffice Hours
Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Emergency After Hours
Yes
Is your firm willing to help a client with one discrete part of a case, without taking on the whole case?Yes. Handling one part of larger matter often works best for the client and the attorney.
What are your policies about dividing work within the firm to make the process most cost-effective for the client?All work is handled in the most cost-effective manner possible.
How frequently does your firm use mediation, arbitration, or collaborative law to resolve cases?Alternative dispute resolution such as mediation and arbitration are used whenever possible to resolve a case.
Does your firm provide pro bono legal services or otherwise participate in your community?Yes.
What distinguishes your law firm from others?Personalized service and the prompt return of all emails and voicemails.
What is your firm's point of view regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?Clients should always learn about the legal issues they are involved in. Clients who know and understand the law make the best clients.
Is your firm willing to review documents prepared by clients?Yes, the firm will review and revise documents prepared by clients.
Is your firm willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?Yes. Often it makes more sense for clients to represent themselves in simple legal matters or matters where it would cost too much to hire an attorney.
Unfortunately I was unable to get back into contact with this particular lawyer, instead, a Mr. Jeffery Whitehead set up an appointment with me and answered my questions. I was a little disappointed in his answers, I felt like he was keeping them vague to keep me past the half hour so he could charge or that he knew he wasn't going to be able to make a profit out of me so therefore didn't put in as much effort. Honestly I felt that I could gather most of the pertinent information pertaining to my questions from nolo.com and the various govenment sites that is linked to this site.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Week 10 EOC: Lawyer Jokes
"As Mr. Smith was on his death bed, he attempted to formulate a plan that would allow him to take at least some of his considerable wealth with him. He called for the three men he trusted most - his lawyer, his doctor, and his clergyman. He told them, "I'm going to give you each $30,000 in cash before I die. At my funeral, I want you to place the money in my coffin so that I can try to take it with me." All three agreed to do this and were given the money. At the funeral, each approached the coffin in turn and placed an envelope inside. While riding in the limousine to the cemetery, the clergyman said "I have to confess something to you fellows. Brother Smith was a good churchman all his life, and I know he would have wanted me to do this. The church needed a new baptistery very badly, and I took $10,000 of the money he gave me and bought one. I only put $20,000 in the coffin." The physician then said, "Well, since we're confiding in one another, I might as well tell you that I didn't put the full $30,000 in the coffin either. Smith had a disease that could have been diagnosed sooner if I had this very new machine, but the machine cost $20,000 and I couldn't afford it then. I used $20,000 of the money to buy the machine so that I might be able to save another patient. I know that Smith would have wanted me to do that." The lawyer then said, "I'm ashamed of both of you. When I put my envelope into that coffin, it held my personal check for the full $30,000."
http://www.stromer.com/jokes/185jokes.html
Q: What's the difference between an accountant and a lawyer?
A: Accountants know they're boring.
A: Accountants know they're boring.
Q: What's the difference between a female lawyer and a pitbull?
A: Lipstick.
A: Lipstick.
http://www.iciclesoftware.com/LawJokes/IcicleLawJokes.html
A lawyer's dog, running around town unleashed, heads for a butcher shop and steals a roast. The butcher goes to the lawyer's office and asks, "if a dog running unleashed steals a piece of meat from my store, do I have a right to demand payment for the meat from the dog's owner?" The lawyer answers, "Absolutely."
"Then you owe me $8.50. Your dog was loose and stole a roast from me today."
The lawyer, without a word, writes the butcher a check for $8.50. The butcher, having a feeling of satisfaction, leaves.
Three days later, the butcher finds a bill from the lawyer: $100 due for a consultation.
"Then you owe me $8.50. Your dog was loose and stole a roast from me today."
The lawyer, without a word, writes the butcher a check for $8.50. The butcher, having a feeling of satisfaction, leaves.
Three days later, the butcher finds a bill from the lawyer: $100 due for a consultation.
http://www.ahajokes.com/law004.html
Q: What's the difference between a lawyer and a vulture?
A: The lawyer gets frequent flyer miles
A: The lawyer gets frequent flyer miles
A lawyer in Charlotte, NC purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire among other things. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed a claim with the insurance company.
In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued....and won! In delivering the ruling the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be "unacceptable fire," and was obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000.00 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the "fires."
But... After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000.00 fine.
In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued....and won! In delivering the ruling the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be "unacceptable fire," and was obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000.00 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the "fires."
But... After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000.00 fine.
http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Lawyer.htm
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Week 9 EOC: Letters of Permission
The four letters of permissions I chose where the talent release forum, general release forum, location release forum and material release forum. Upon my research of these letters of permissions, they are among some of the most applicable when trying to film a movie or any other form of visual media.
I attained these letters of permissions from the from the following site,
http://www.videouniversity.com/articles/releases-for-use-in-film-and-video/. Although these release forums are the same site, I came across a few others which have simular documents. I chose this site because all of the documents where more simple and stright forward as oppsed to some of the other sites.
As a genearl sense of all the permission letters, each states that my film company as granted permission to use all underlined locations, people, products and so on, in whatever film I happen to be making at the time and stated in the release forums.
I attained these letters of permissions from the from the following site,
http://www.videouniversity.com/articles/releases-for-use-in-film-and-video/. Although these release forums are the same site, I came across a few others which have simular documents. I chose this site because all of the documents where more simple and stright forward as oppsed to some of the other sites.
As a genearl sense of all the permission letters, each states that my film company as granted permission to use all underlined locations, people, products and so on, in whatever film I happen to be making at the time and stated in the release forums.
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