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Attorney Steve® Copyright Infringement Essentials - Fair Use Defense In the Mattel Barbie photo infringement case, the issue of fair use defense was a major factor in the trial. Mattel sued Walking Mountain Productions, an independent production company, for copyright infringement. The basis of the claim was that Defendant had used images of Barbie dolls in photos they produced without the permission of Mattel. At the trial, Walking Mountain argued that their use of the images was protected...

Attorney Steve® Copyright Law Essentials - Fair Use Factors FAIR USE SHORTS EPISODE#1 - Using photos to criticize a political opponent. Fair use is an invaluable tool when it comes to copyright infringement. It is a longstanding defense and provides allowance for copyrighted material to be reused or reworked, providing the user acknowledges the original photograph. Navigating this legal and ever-evolving issue can be tricky; however, there are four factors which help determine if the...

Attorney Steve® Software Audit Essentials - Autodesk tactics to avoid having clients hire legal counsel (while they also have legal counsel). Vondran Legal® has likely handled more software audits with Autodesk than any other lawyer in the United States. We have handled HUNDREDS of cases over the years. Recently, we see a new tactic they are trying to do to keep the playing field UNLEVEL. It appears they do not really want Autodesk clients to have legal counsel assisting them in representing...

Vondran Legal - Crypto & NFT Law - Ripple vs. SEC (motion for summary judgment). Ripple, the company behind the third-largest cryptocurrency by the same name, is facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC alleges that Ripple violated federal securities laws by selling unregistered securities in the form of its XRP tokens. Ripple has motioned for summary judgment, arguing that XRP is not a security and that the SEC's case is "legally and factually...

Attorney Steve® Crypto Lawyer - SEC vs. Ripple On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a motion for summary judgment against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executives, alleging that they had raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered securities offering. The SEC's complaint alleges that Ripple's sales of digital tokens, known as XRP, constituted an "investment contract" under U.S. securities laws, and that Ripple violated these laws by failing to...

Attorney Steve® Fair Use Basics Film producers and video creators have a real chance today to be the next Stephen Spielberg. Content abounds on the internet, and sites like Instagram rolls, YouTube shorts, and TikTik videos can provide a chance to get your name out there and potentially even make money in the career you love. Many times, the top creators (just like the top teachers and top lawyers) are storytellers. Many times you need third party content to help tell your story. In this...

Attorney Steve® - TV Signal Piracy - Joe Hand Promotions If you received the Joe Hand Promotions "love letter" call us to discuss your case. This podcast explains a common example of what happens if you are sued in a boxing piracy case. Below are some helpful links to videos we have created to educate you if you find yourself in this situation. ATTORNEY STEVE VIDEOS Boxing Piracy Damages: https://youtu.be/ELZxIsQbs_c Overview of Boxing Piracy Defense: https://youtu.be/8j1drJ8my5Y J&J Sports...

Attorney Steve® - Software Piracy Essentials - The Hexagon/Vero software infringement letter Getting a legal demand letter from Hexagon is no fun. You may also get a direct phone call from one of their representatives. When this happens, my BIGGEST TIP is HANG UP THE PHONE. Don't talk to them and admit infringement of their software before you talk with a copyright lawyer. We have handled hundreds of software audits since our founding in 2004, and this includes companies such as:...

The Piracy Log with Attorney Steve® - Wrap up of the latest piracy and copyright legal news! Topics discussed: Business Software Alliance appears to be back with audit casesCalifornia new Cyberflashing law has BIG penaltiesDish-Nagrastar on the movie with piracy cases9th Circuit Braking News - extenstion on right to recovery copyright infringement damagesCounterfeit product commercial highlights counterfeitting concernsMariah Carey - All I want for Christmas is you lawsuitTriller being sued...

Attorney Steve Copyright Law Essentials - Copyright Small Claims Board ("CCB") The copyright claims board, also known as the CCB, is set to open in Washington D.C. on June 16th, 2022. The board will accept copyright claims for things like photo infringement, art infringement, and music infringement. Claimants will be able to receive up to $30,000 for their claim. This is a great opportunity for artists and musicians who have had their work infringed upon to get the compensation they deserve....

Meet Attorney Steve® - Vondran Legal Hour - Thinking of becoming a lawyer? What you need to know! In this episode, Attorney Steve® discusses the steps you might consider taking if you are planning on going to law school and becoming a lawyer. In general, you can expect the following: Finish high school or GEDFinish collegeDecide if you want to be a lawyerDecide what type of lawyer you might want to beWrite a "purpose letter" (see if you really mean it)Apply to law schoolsGet accepted to the...

Attorney Steve® Internet Law - Brand Protection Essentials - Using the DMCA General tips if someone is abusing your brand online: 1. Someone copying or displaying your personal photo- could be a violation of the Right of Publicity (using your name, image or likeness for commercial purposes without consent). Could be a lawsuit if the defendant is financially solvent. You can also use a DMCA "takedown request" to send to the company where the picture is being posted (a counternotification...

Attorney Steve® - Strike 3 Holdings Litigation Updates - Order to Show Cause Here is a case from Michigan Federal District Court where Strike 3 violated the Court's order (whether intentional or accidental remains to be seen since no response to the OSC has been filed. This can highlight the importance of seeking to settle your copyright BitTorrent file-sharing case (Tushy, Blacked, Vixen), early on to prevent things like this from happening which can make your name temporarily available on...

Discussions are general in nature as we are not allowed to give legal advice over the internet.

Attorney Steve BitTorrent Settlement Essentials - Submitting financials In this episode of Vondran Legal Hour® Attorney Steve® discusses what we look for in terms of financial hardships when seeking to get the best settlement possible in a Strike 3 Holdings file-sharing lawsuit case. We have appeared in over 250 federal court copyright infringement cases making us one of the top firms in the United States. Here are a few of the things you can expect their copyright counsel may look at in...

Attorney Steve® IP Enforcement Essentials - Protect your brand and IP from infringing or counterfeit importation of goods. If your company has valuable intellectual property (such as trademarks registered on the principal register, trade secrets, copyrights registered with the United States Copyright Office (USCO), or patents registered with the USPTO), then it would behoove you to look into this rather simple way to federally register your rights with the CBP (Customs and Border Protection...

Attorney Steve® Domain Name Dispute Essentials - Overview of the domain dispute procedural process!

Attorney Steve® Copyright Small Claims CASE ACT updates for March 2022 - Corporations, Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations eligible to designate agents for infringement matters! In a new partial final rule, the Copyright Claims Board ("CCB") is now initiating the ability to register an "agent" where copyright claims cases can be served on the corporation. This allows big companies that are expecting to have a large number of claims filed against them to register an agent. The...

Attorney Steve® Copyright Law Essentials - Safe Harbors for Copyright Registration Defects In this exciting episode of Vondran Legal Hour Attorney Steve® discusses copyright registration and defects thereto and how the copyright "safe harbors" come into play. Plaintiff (Unicolors) filed a lawsuit and had their registration placed at issue apparently because they filed too many of their art/fabric designs in one application and Defendant argued there should have been separate applications. In...

Attorney Steve® IPTV illegal Movie and Television Interception and Broadcast - MPAA is hiring internet investigators In this exciting episode of Vondran Legal Hour® Attorney Steve® Copyright infringement lawyer discusses the MPAA (Motion picture association that has members such as Paramount, Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Universal, and Amazon Content Services - among others) and a recent job posting on indeed for an internet investigator with copyright infringement investigation...