According to the European Economic Co-operation, the Canada’s file-sharing population is larger than any other country including the United States of America. The current Canadian music copyright laws do not effectively address the music file-sharing and the online music streaming. However, the Canada’s laws are automatic in granting the copyright protection to any artist and creative work.
Thus the information, about the Canadian copyright laws have created something out-of-the-ordinary. This is a very smart thinking on your part. It is not unusual for two or more people to come up exactly with the same invention or with the idea despite your meeting, so the person who applies for the copyright protection. Then the to be the winner in this highly competitive game. Thus the article gives a quick look at where your protections lie and how you can make sure you take advantage of each one.
Automatic Copyright Protection:
As the Media Awareness Network explains the original piece of work automatically receives the copyright protection, written, recorded or digitally stored on a computer. Moreover, the Media Awareness Network claims that the Canadian copyrights enjoy the protection of a majority of the foreign countries, due to the international treaties. However, the Canada recommends that an author obtain a certificate of copyright registration and the event must prove the copyright protection.
What Canada Protects:
The law protects the intellectual property of a creation and the Media Awareness Network explains the law which does not guarantee protection for the work’s resulting physical property. Then if a band records an album, the music is protected automatically. However, the music is distributed in a physical format and the form is not necessarily protected.
File Sharing:
The Canada’s copyright regulators explained that the uploading song files are illegal. But the regulators maintain that the downloading music from peer-to-peer networks are still legal. Then the Canada’s law permits copying music for their own personal use.
The important problem with this law is, it does not specifically explain the copy of an authorized, non-copyright infringing version. They are not concerned with the personal piracy as they are focused on preventing the other crime.
Defining your rights:
One of the most important facets of the Canadian copyright law is the granting you exclusive ownership and control over anything you write or design. This extends in a form which extrapolates the content from your property.
Amendment to Law:
The Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement proposed the current copyright laws in Canada. The Clement’s amendment outlaws the illegal cracking of a product’s digital encryption. The digital encryption protects the product from the duplication, whether for personal or peer-to-peer sharing use.
Archive for February, 2011
Basic Copyright Laws in Canadian music
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Modern Judicial Interpretations of U.S. Trademark Law
Product DescriptionModern Judicial Interpretations of U.S. Trademark Law contains selected extracts from judicial opinions covering over one hundred different topics of U.S. trademark law. The extracts represent recent and respected interpretations of trademark law topics. Additionally, many selections were made due to the detail, insight and clarity of the opinion itself. Each selected extract normally fits onto a single page, but some extend onto two or three pages. Most trademark t… More >>
Modern Judicial Interpretations of U.S. Trademark Law
Tips on Choosing a Trademark Lawyer
Going through the complicated process of registering your trademark without the help of a trademark lawyer has its own risks. Although it is not necessary, having an attorney who has specialized in trademark law makes it easy to handle trademark registrations and trademark infringement cases. Here a few points you should consider when you are looking for a trademark lawyer in Toronto.
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How to choose a trademark lawyer
It is important to hire trademark lawyers carefully, as it can cost you a considerable amount of money, depending on the attorney’s qualifications and expertise. Usually, you would need a trademark lawyer for evaluating trademarks, filing a trademark application, registering a product’s trademark, or for handling any trademark infringement cases. To find the best trademark lawyer in Toronto, here are a few tips.
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Searching for a trademark attorney
Choosing the right source to find a trademark lawyer is an important factor that can determine your attorney’s credibility. If you are selecting an attorney based on newspaper advertisement or through a lawyer referral service, the expertise of the professional may be questionable. Just as they would pay for the advertisements, a number of attorneys also pay for the referral services to provide false information regarding their experience in the particular legal field. So before you choose a lawyer from such referral services or ads, make sure to contact and check their client references thoroughly.
Qualification and expertise
Instead of choosing someone who is qualified in general law, look for someone who has a specialization in trademark law and is experienced in handling such cases successfully. If possible, also check the university or law school that they’ve attended as well as their experience in handling relevant cases. This will help you make a more judicious decision when you are looking to hire the most qualified trademark lawyer in Toronto.
Check the attorney’s firm
Besides verifying the attorney’s qualifications and experience, you also need to check the law firm he is associated with. Check for the reputation of the firm, the qualifications and reputation of the other lawyers in the firm, and the cases they have handled along with their success rate. As you would be investing a lot of money for your trademark registration, it is better to choose a law firm that deals exclusively with trademark law to avoid any losses.
Expertise and knowledge of particular industry
The process of registering trademarks can be different for different industries and requires familiarity and knowledge of the specific rules, terminology, procedures, and intricacies involved in it as well as how to handle them. Engage the services of an attorney who is specialized in dealing with varied industries and has an all-encompassing knowledge of the legalities involved.
Accessibility, information sharing and attention to detail
Trademark registration can be a complicated process that involves a number of procedures requiring care and attention. An efficient trademark lawyer should consider all the aspects of searching and filing a trademark, should keep you informed about the procedures involved and regularly update you on the status of the proceedings. Also, the lawyer must be easily available on phone or email, so that you stay informed and are confident about how the entire process is being played out.
Besides these factors for choosing the right trademark lawyer in Toronto, you should also check your comfort level in interacting and dealing with the professional. Choosing someone you can get along with makes it easier to collaborate and work together, increasing your chances of success.
Intellectual Property And Estate Taxes
Nowadays many people have their wealth in both tangible and intangible assets. These intangible assets are also known as intellectual property. It includes patents, copyrights, trademarks and even trade secrets. Many a times the value people are in possession of thus is much higher than the physical assets.
The commercialization and widespread use of the Internet provides everyone the chance to create intellectual property. This is no longer restricted to the large Multi National Corporations or the affluent few. Everyone has the right and the capability to develop such property with the help of copyrights, trademarks or inventions that can be patented. Although the intellectual property grows as a wealth-creating tool, it is added to your estate taxes. You will also be faced with the task of determining the value of this property so that it can be added to your estate to calculate the taxes.
A person’s intellectual property, especially copyrights, make a lot of difference while estimating the estate taxes. It is necessary to know the value of all the assets including the intellectual property to be able to find out the value of the estate. When calculating the value of the gross estate, it will also include retirement accounts, joint property etc. As of now, the maximum limit up to which the estate tax is exempt is $2 million. In 2009, this limit is said to be increased to a sum of $3.5 million.
The valuation of the intellectual property is based on the fair market value of the property on the day of the person’s death. Different intellectual properties like copyrights, patents etc use different methods to decide the market value of the property. On the basis of these findings, the value of the intellectual property is added to the gross estate. The valuation analysis is subjective and so the ideal method to choose is the one that will give you the lowest value. Although this may not be the best method when valuation is done for other purposes, but it is highly recommended when the main objective is to calculate your tax liability.
Many a times the value of the intellectual property will be higher than the value of the liquid cash or assets that are available in hand. This means that you will not have sufficient cash to pay the taxes. If and when you are in such a situation, then you will be required to sell some part of your estate to meet the expenses. You also have the alternative to utilize the tax payment deferment that the Internal Revenue Code(IRS) allows the taxpayers. Code 6161 of the IRS allows a deferment of estate taxes for up to ten years as long as a reasonable cause is provided by you.
One of the causes that the IRS considers reasonable is proof showing that the taxes cannot be paid due to the illiquid intellectual assets that encompass your estate. You are given time to consider the other options available to you to make the payments and ensure that you do not take some hasty decision like selling property. Nevertheless, you will be entitled to pay interest on the differed payment.
File that Provisional Patent Application Instead?
Generally, as opposed to filing a regular utility patent application and entering the patent process, filing a provisional application for patent is not recommended. Don’t just listen to other inventors, you must do your own research. But it can be used to your strategic advantage.
First, it’s a lot cheaper to do and you get Patent Pending status right away. You will be able to mark your products based on your invention as Patent Pending. Maybe you don’t even care about getting a patent in the end because you just want the attributes of being patent pending. The public or your investors may be more likely to trust your products.
Second, you’ll get a whole year to think things through and work on your invention. There are no such things as provisional patents. So, at the expiration of one year after filing your provisional application, you must file your non-provisional patent application. You get a whole year with patent pending status to think about whether going through the whole process is worth it. If you’ve tested the market and see that it’s not worth it, then you’ve saved your time and money.
Third, if you don’t care about claiming patent pending status, then you can use a provisional to extend the time you have before you must file your non-provisional. You should know that you have one year from your public disclosure to file a patent application. So, basically, this extends your one year after your public disclosure by one more year. Now, you have two years to decide whether going into the patent process is worth it.
Lastly, watch out for companies that file provisionals without explaining to you all the pros and cons of provisionals. You must ensure that your provisional properly discloses your invention and does not limit it in such a way that later when you file your non-provisional you will be unable to use your provisional as your priority date. This would make your provisional worthless. Just something to be careful about.
I suggest you look into it before you file a patent application, provisional or not.
The Road To Free Music Downloads
While it is exhilarating to get something at a bargain price, it is more gratifying to get it at no cost. For the music aficionados, there are free music downloads available on the Internet and these come with absolutely no obligation at all. This is perhaps part of the benefits of modern technology and the global advances.
These downloads however, depend on the music websites that you select. There are websites that charge nominal fees per music download. But there are still websites which offer downloads for free regardless of the volume of music downloaded throughout the years and the coming up of stringent rules on piracy and copyright. You can readily download your favorite music selections from these generous websites.
It is important to watch out for websites that offer free music downloads but have fine print declarations which might lead you to costlier downloads in the long run. It is better to do a little research and exercise a little patience in seeking out the websites which offer genuinely free music downloads and do it legally and judiciously.
There are different ways of getting over paying for downloading of music over the Internet. A good way of doing this is to make use of several file sharing programs which can be acquired in the market today. These file sharing programs would accord you the capability to access the different music selections you want, from ballads, popular music, jazz or other music genres.
The file sharing programs can accommodate the different tastes in music, and with it, you can get all the music you want for free and get to use them as easy as 1-2-3. All you need to do is type the music selection you wish on the search engine, and you can already download the music into your computer.
Remember to exercise common sense when getting your free music downloads. Downloading music takes time, and therefore it is best to do your downloading in batches of say, 5 songs at a time, and exercising a lot of patience. If you download a lot of music selections, you may also run the risk of overloading you computer which may lead to unnecessary crashing, thereby losing all your downloaded files. While there are many file sharing programs available in the market, it is best to seek out the most appropriate program for you which would not damage the integrity of your computer.
There is also a danger of getting quality sacrificed when you download a lot of batches of music into your computer. It is therefore recommended to be patient in download music in small batches with time lapses to relieve the pressure from your computer storage system. Remember that when it comes to music, the integrity and quality of sound is very important.
What Are the Best Tips for International Trademark Registration?
Procedures for International trademark registration of marks varies, there is currently no comprehensive database or file system to protect global brand. Trade mark registration shall start from one country, usually the companys home country, whose consent may be obtained at the international level. Regional systems are available to buy international registration of marks, or that may occur in different countries for approval.
The first step in obtaining an international trademark registration is to register in one country, where there is an appropriate trademark registration office. Once the register a trademark is registered in the country, the company may apply for international trademarks registration. This can decrease fees for registration if only using two or three countries, although this is not necessarily the case. It also provides companies direct access to information and local business processes and helps ensure compliance with renewal requirements. Since there is no common database for international brands, research must be conducted in several databases, and perhaps the country. This research will show any potential problems that might arise in obtaining international approval. Systems offers international reputation has been divided into regional areas.
Community Trademark is a system of the European Union (EU). Europe Trademark Registration and Oapi Trademark Registration each provide trademark recognition services for separate groups of African countries.The Madrid System is the primary system of international trademark registration. It does not create an international registering trademark. Instead, it offers particular national rights to trademark protected and approved businesses, sending applications to various countries for approval. Having a collaborative system, such as the Madrid System, also facilitates management of the trademark. Changes can be submitted directly and will then filter down into all the corresponding country trademark offices. Under this scheme, companies in the Member States an application for registration of the mark in a single application. Trademark protection, then extends to the whole uk trademark. Although this system can be difficult because of new EU members, now is a system that provides an alternative to the international trademark registration.
If the trademark office of a designated country, towards which extension is pretended, grants the registration, the protection of the mark is the same as if it had been registered trademark by that Office. The Madrid system also simplifies greatly the subsequent management of the mark, since it is possible to record subsequent changes or to renew the registration through a single procedural step. Further countries may be designated subsequently. Likewise, through this procedure the registration expenses are considerably reduced, in relation to a country by country direct registration.
A trademarkor trade mark or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual,business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.