Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with intellectual

Counterfeit careers!

parmanparman — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:52:51 -0800

I love counterfeiting. Especially counterfeit toys and clothes, cars and other crazy items! I LOVE counterfeiting. I want to explore the possibility of a career in intellectual property law or other careers that have to do with counterfeiting (like: becoming a counterfeiter!) What books I should be reading about counterfeiting or intellectual property law?

Blogs worth looking at?

Places where I can meet/greet counterfeiters and learn the business?

Places where a layman interested in IP law could learn about careers?

Other ways to use IP law in a career environment?

Web sites for jobs in counterfeiting?

Being the bright kid at 30

dcrocha — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:18:40 -0800

I would like to be the bright kid again, but I've just turned 30. What should I do? To make a very long story short: I was always the bright student, the one who'd have an amazing future, study in the best universities, get the highest paid jobs and be rich. I was also supposed to discover the cure of cancer, or at least have enough money to pay somebody to do so. Jokes aside, now.

During primary & high school, I studied in many different cities and schools but my results were the same: a perfect GPA , many compliments from teachers, many prizes, etc. In my country we must take a mandatory exam for each college you're applying to. I have applied to one of the best and got in without much effort.

During my first two years, still the bright kid: straight A's, few friends, "the one with the bright future" and all that crap. Then, in the 3rd. year of college, I decided I'd had enough of that sh*tty course and dropped out, going to work for an Internet startup instead.

Forwarding it to the present, so I won't bore you to death, I made a reasonably successful career as a software developer, working curently as a systems engineer for one of the greatest companies in the world, earning a decent (not fantastic) salary, and as I had some time to spare in the past 3 years, I finished a degree (with the same low level of interest) so I could have a diploma.

All seemed well, but a couple of weeks back I was flying to the U.S. reading my fave magazine ("Economist"), and took a more detailed look at its jobs section, which features many great jobs at the world's most prestigious companies and organizations such as the UN, European Comission, etc. Then I was struck by a lightning, having instantly realized I wasn't qualified for any of those positions. I got depressed.

The following week, I was in Boston for business and as I had a free Saturday I decided to have a look at the Harvard square. Pretty nice place, but I only got more depressed realizing I will never be part of such a community because I stopped being the bright kid the moment I dropped out of college, 10 years ago.

I am very proud of having taught myself everything I know, professionally-wise: English, Spanish, computer programming, etc. However I became very sad since this last trip, as I realized I'm just one more in the crowd, my predicted "bright future" didn't happend and I'm here having a standard corporate job, which I tolerate (but don't love), when I feel I could be doing much more with my life, had I followed the path "originally" planned for me.

I have already tasted having a normal life with a normal career. I'd like to see what my life would be if I become again the bright kid I once was.

How do I do that?

How would a contractor paid a weekly rate by Company X make ownership distinctions between works created for X and works for others?

weston — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:19:30 -0800

I've been offered a new contract/consulting job where I would be paid not by the hour or for a specific deliverable, but at a flat weekly rate. Under this arrangement, how might I make intellectual property distinctions between works that will belong to this client, and outside works I may do for myself or others? This is a new situation for me. Every time I've done contract work before, the arrangement has been either:

(1) We want you to produce a deliverable, and we will give you $N for producing it. When you deliver and we pay you, we have <insert agreed rights here> to the deliverable.
(2) We will pay you $H per hour for time you spend working on things for us. Work produced on time you bill to us is owned by us as a work-for-hire unless otherwise agreed.

Under either arrangement, it's easy to make distinctions between ownership of work done for multiple clients. Under this new-to-me weekly-rate potential arrangement with Company X, there are no specific deliverables defined yet, just an expectation of minimum availability for work, and there's no billing by time, so I'm not sure how to handle this specific point.

Company X is in New York, and the agreement they have sent me appears to assign them all rights to my works which "in whole or in part, concern or relate to or are useful in the Company Business" if they're created during the term of the agreement.

Since some of the other projects I work on are potentially related to or useful in any web development project, and since a web application development is what I'll be doing for Company X, it seems to me there's a significant overlapping scope problem here. I'm trying to explore what else to propose that strikes a good faith balance between my interests and theirs.

Note: I realize you may not be a lawyer, and that if you are, you are not my lawyer, and that I am most likely to get the best possible answers to my question by taking it to a lawyer versed in New York employment and creative property law. So I welcome specific recommendations of such lawyers as one type of possible answer to my question.

However, I figure it's also possible there's a few common solutions, or there may be some readers here who've negotiated situations like this before and have come up with agreeable solutions, and I'd love to hear from anybody who feels they have some knowledge to contribute here.

How to find someone to be an intellectual mentor for them?

Furious Fitness — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 03:38:24 -0800

How to find someone to be an intellectual mentor for them? The difficulties I see in finding someone are: 1) I'm not around many new people (esp. younger) that would be interested and 2) why would they choose me? This question http://ask.metafilter.com/79568/Not-an-easy-task made me realize I want to be an electronic intellectual mentor for someone. For the life of the mind, I have a rare level of understanding of many things. My goal wouldn't be to explain primarily however, but to cultivate the other person's interests and especially do things like find their interests, share the best works I know of in that area, share the works critical of that area, and share areas that would balance that area out.

Saul Williams-esque

khaibit — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:28:48 -0800

So, I was listening to the new Saul Williams album and its awesome. Can you recommend other more intellectual hip hop.

What can an artist do about unauthorized commercial use of his artwork?

espertus — Sat, 26 May 2007 11:36:16 -0800

An artist friend of mine was surprised to see his artwork used without permission on a flier for a band. He had posted the artwork on his website. What can/should he do to stop the misuse? I know that he automatically holds a copyright on the work as its creator. (I have advised him to post watermarked versions of his work in the future to prevent future misuse.)

Attempt to control artist through LLC???

msshe — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 16:35:03 -0800

can someone form an LLC specifically and solely based on another individual's work/product -- without telling/consulting them? A *LOT*-- Of course, I know that I would need to sign something to be legally bound to an agreement, but I'm completely perplexed (and angry) and trying to figure out why this happend:

I am an artist, (paintings), only recently doing my first shows/sales. Lot of committment and significant financial support from my non-romantic partner/housemate/best friend who offered me this ipportunity to develop my work with his financial support. Statements of paying him back entailed "I don't expect or require anything, but if you become a huge success, it would be nice to know you could pay back something. I wouldn't turn it down." This statement did not change until recently---when I made my first
sale. (cah-ching!).

I had formed a business identity for myself, with cards, print materials, logo, typeface, and I was in the process of building my website under my trade name which I expected to use to encompass all my current and future actions as an artist.

I then went out of town for the holidays (2000 miles out) and was gone for several weeks. During that time I got an email from my friend saying that he had formed an LLC under my artist name/identity (using it for the name of the LLC) and did this primarily becuase he realized that he could get a tax advantage if he formed a company quickly, and he also decided that making himself sole owner of my trade name would entice me to
work on an agreement with the company in which he would also own everything else I've created and will create in the future (all rights, everything) because I suddenly "owed" him a specific amount of money for his contributuions to me and my art, which is the same amount of money he submitted for expense deductions for his LLC. These included the $500 for the accountant to set up the company, my christmas present, food purchases he told me to make, items for his home that I did the physical picking out and bringing back to the house, insulation in the room I use as a studio... cash he gave me when he was gone for a week with the car and groceries were needed. Airfare that he loaned and was repaid, etc. I am expected to repay him for all these things--wasn't even in the state when he purchased a $400 tool!

Needless to say, I refused to agree to have my name taken without my consent or knowledge, and registered as a legal LLC basically making it impossible to protect it myself (I didn't think it was necessary since i had just started out.

He is attempting to coerce me into entering into an agreement whereby my art is owned by this company, and to which all profit go. THe company will still pay for art supplies, and if and when my debt is "paid off", I might be "cautiously" considered for a share in the company. Unfortunately, as described, if I continue to owe and incur debt for the expenses of the company, that will never happen.

I don't understand how this could in any way be legitimate, and I am not doing anything with this person and I have insisted that he release my name so I can register it myself as planned. He refuses, stating that he did this for my benefit and thinks it would be a waste to use another name for his company.

If, on the slim chance, I were to enter into an agreement (that I knew about and was consulted in), I would expect to represent myself as (my business name) and form the agreement with (other name LLC), retaining my IP and moral rights to what I create, regardless of how profit shares and such are divided.

Yes, I can just drop this and use some other name. Unfortunately I made a huge mistake and found a name that is personally meaningful and can't be altered and not lose that significance. I fully expected to protect it, and it is valuable only to me. My friend said if I refuse to consider working with him, he will just dissolve the company and let the name become available to "the next person who wants it" rather than change the LLC and at least give me warning so I can register it safely.

My friend seems to think that I am going to make some money with my paintings, and with my tiny, new start, it looks positive but that guarantees nothing. I am dedicated and I think I will only get better. This whole fiasco may have cost me my first solo show and reception in NY state, and that was a big deal. I am stuck for the moment and somewhat at the mercy of my friend, because we had been operating on a financial agreement that he just stopped when I balked at my name, and for the short term, I am stuck without repleneshing paint and its just a mess all around.

I am shocked that he formed this LLC, seizing my name and expecting to structure this entity based entirely on me and what I do--without saying a word to me (and expediting the process so it would be done before I returned to the studio/house--which he is also charging me for). He is bullying me into signing onto this company (with no rights or profit shares) with my name as leverage (which will not work, and I've made that clear), I think he may be afraid of what to do with this defunct company and having to justify those expenses.

I would really like some constructive advice--I'm ashamed and frustrated, so constructive criticism is welcome to, but I've already done the beating myself up part.

Sorry for the length. I would love some insight from any of you. There has never been any indication that this person was anything but trustworthy and decent. I don't understand. Are there legal implications I'm not getting? What could they possibly be? I don't have anything except my artwork. Only half of which is fine enough to sell.

There's poetry in this savage ballet

indiebass — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 13:22:36 -0800

Can someone help me find an article that defends american football NOT baseball as the thinking man's game? I know I read an article to that effect a little bit ago, but now my google-fu fails me. The closest thing I have been able to find is this article from Salon, but it isn't really what i'm looking for. I specifically was looking for an "expert" (and you can interpret that VERY loosely) delineating WHY baseball isn't necessarily as intellectual as people seem to think and why football (american football) is really very intellectually complex.

(This is specifically in response to a lunch conversation with a coworker who won't drop it, so... you know, pretty much my #1 priority right now.) =)

Does my dad need to protect his Intellctual Property rights?

lizjohn — Sun, 14 May 2006 15:52:12 -0800

My Dad sells computer games on the Internet as a hobby. He has done nothing to protect his intellectual property rights other than placing a copyright notice on an "About" screen. He thinks Nintendo might like one of his game ideas and would like to contact them about it. Should he be concerned about protecting his IP rights before contacting Nintendo or is it too late? Another question:

My Dad has an idea for a computer puzzle game inspired by another puzzle
game he has seen. The original game has a copyright notice, but does not seem to have any patents. My Dad's game would not look at all like the original game, but would use a similar concept for the puzzle (find images that meet certain criteria). How can he tell if his game idea is different enough from the original idea that it would not be violating intellectual property rights?

Deutschsprachige Aldaily?

austin5000 — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 10:55:27 -0800

I really enjoy Arts and Letters Daily and Political Theory Daily Review. Are there any german equivalents?

MovieFilter: Protecting my IP/Screenplay

bkdelong — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:23:59 -0800

How to I protect my book from being adapted to film/screen/movie without my permission? I have a friend who registered her first screenplay based on her first book with the Writers Guild of America. She has written her second book but it is not yet adapted to screenplay form. She wants to make sure she protects her book/IP from being adapted for a movie without her permission.

Should she register her Book as "intended for Screen" with the Guild? Are there other ways to protect her works?

Blogs and Intellectual Property Rights

billysumday — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 16:24:04 -0800

What are the Intellectual Property Rights boundaries for revenue-generating blogs that recycle others' work? What's the legality of sites like the new sploid.com (discussed today here, with my regrettably too harsh comments about the post) a for-profit website that basically, besides having a splashy front-page, just links to other websites? If Denton blogs really make $75,000 in advertising a year, how can they justify the revenue they make off the content of their site without giving a cut to the sites that they link to? Gawker, Wonkette and Defamer all rely on original content, and should be entitled to what they make, but this just seems like pillaging.