Provides guidelines for negotiating copyright situations, and describes the copyright system, covering copyright ownership, copyright duration, fair use, contracts, and more.

A guide on how to manage a trademark to maximize profits, avoid lawsuits, and protect ideas, and includes how to register a trademark, trademark protection and infringement, and more.

Many great ideas fail because the inventors do not take the appropriate steps to protect, promote, and profit from their ideas. This friendly guide will walk you through everything that needs to be done before you can expect to realize financial gain from your invention. Experienced patent attorney Carl W. Battle provides methods for commercializing your invention, sources of information and assistance, and helpful guidelines for obtaining a US patent on your idea. Specific topics include: Using patent attorneys and agents Dealing with invention brokers and promotion firms Maintaining confidentiality of your ideas Obtaining foreign patent rights Enforcing your patent against infringement Licensing opportunities And much more This invaluable handbook also offers information that can assist in the selection of an attorney or patent agent, and will help you to get involved and monitor the patent and marketing process. Finally, easy-to-use forms and step-by-step instructions give you the option of saving money by handling the patenting and commercializing processes without hiring a patent attorney or invention broker. If you have an idea for an invention that could improve productivity, create jobs, or solve some long-standing problem, then pick up this Pocket Legal Companion™ and learn how to maximize your profits.

* How can you use a state's film tax credits to fund your film? SEE PAGE 63. * You have an idea you want to pitch to a production company; how do you safeguard your concept? SEE PAGE 77. * How can you fund your production with product placement? SEE PAGE 157. * How do you get a script to popular Hollywood actors and deal with their agents? SEE PAGE 222. Find quick answers to these and hundreds of other questions in this new edition of The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers. This no-nonsense reference provides fast answers in plain English-no law degree required! Arm yourself with the practical advice of author Thomas Crowell, a TV-producer-turned-entertainment-lawyer. This new edition features: * New sections on product placement, film tax credits and production incentive financing, Letters of Intent, and DIY distribution (four-walling, YouTube, Download-to-own, Amazon.com, iTunes, and Netflix) * Updated case law * Even more charts and graphics to help you find the information you need even more quickly. This book is the next best thing to having an entertainment attorney on retainer!

"Since the publication of its first edition in 2007, "The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers" has quickly become one of the best-selling legal guides for independent filmmakers. Now in its second edition, "The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers" is used as a textbook in film and law schools across the country, and graces the desks of indie filmmakers and studio executives alike. Backstage Magazine calls it "An [an] excellent, potentially career-saving resource." The book's hands-on, straightforward style demystifies the complex world of contracts and copyrights so critical to the business success of any independent film. Its revolutionary combination of graphics, cross-referencing, and step-by-step explanations have been praised by filmmakers for helping them find the information they need at a glance without having to read the book cover to cover"--

How should you respond to a request to remove copyrighted materials from a Facebook page? If you create a Twitter handle at work, who owns that handle when you change jobs? Can you be sued for libel if your posts are defamatory? If you’ve ever asked yourself these kinds of questions, this pioneering legal handbook is for you. Despite the enormous growth in social media, scant legal advice is available to help the many people who are posting online. Easy-to-understand, comprehensive, and current, Legal Guide to Social Media provides the latest information on case law and statutes. It covers everything from privacy laws to copyright issues to how to respond to employers’ requests for your social media passwords. This plain English legal companion offers examples of and solutions to the kinds of situations you can expect to encounter when posting online content, whether for personal enjoyment or on behalf of an employer. You’ll learn how to avoid liability for defamation and third-party posts, the legalities of copying and linking to content, how to protect your own content, and much, much more. Whether you’re a marketer, entrepreneur, business owner, new media manager, or simply one of the millions of social media users in the United States, this must-have guide will help you to understand and mitigate the most common legal risks inherent in social media use.

According to the Oral History Association, the term oral history refers to "a method of recording and preserving oral testimony" which results in a verbal document that is "made available in different forms to other users, researchers, and the public." Ordinarily such an academic process would seem to be far removed from legal challenges. Unfortunately this is not the case. While the field has not become a legal minefield, given its tremendous growth and increasing focus on contemporary topics, more legal troubles could well lie ahead if sound procedures are not put in place and periodically revisited. A Guide to Oral History and the Law is the definitive resource for all oral history practitioners. In clear, accessible language it thoroughly explains all of the major legal issues including legal release agreements, the protection of restricted interviews, the privacy torts (including defamation), copyright, the impact of the Internet, and the role of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). The author accomplishes this by examining the most relevant court cases and citing examples of policies and procedures that oral history programs have used to avoid legal difficulties. Neuenschwander's central focus throughout the book is on prevention rather than litigation. He underscores this approach by strongly emphasizing how close adherence to the Oral History Association's Principles and Best Practices provides the best foundation for developing sound legal policies. The book also provides more than a dozen sample legal release agreements that are applicable to a wide variety of situations. This volume is an essential one for all oral historians regardless of their interviewing focus.