January
14th 2009
Posted under Copyright & Graphic Design & Intellectual Property & Legal Issues & Logo Design & Trade Secrets & Trademarks & Web Design
Many creative professionals are aware that we must protect ourselves by contracts and by being copyright conscientious. However, few are aware that aspects of their creative business may be warranted trade secret protection. Dr. David Himelstein states in his website, “[t]rade secret law can be used effectively to protect web sites and computer software.” (Himelstein, 2006) It is not advised to rely purely on trade secret protection though; websites and software would benefit best from copyright protection and patents in conjunction to trade secret.
Last week I mentioned how smart J.K. Rowling was for not signing the rights to her Harry Potter franchise away. By not signing her rights away she has become one of the most famous rags to riches success stories to date. Ms. Rowling went from living in her car with her children to being the most successful children’s literary authors in the world. The billionaire author is a role model for new writers everywhere and a household name for millions of families. 
Heading back to the website of a very well respected lawyer who focuses on creative professionals I found numerous articles relevant to this week’s lessons in the Media Law course I assist. Mr. Hoffman has penned countless articles that every person making their living as a creative needs to read. The article I chose for review is entitled 
Most people are extremely confused about copyright law and what constitutes as “fair use” and whether or not you should ask for permission to use someone else’s copyrighted works. As a former Intellectual Property paralegal I know how important it is to use materials that are either royalty free of have been granted free to use via written permission from the creator or is in the public domain.
Most businesses benefit greatly from having a successful well established trademark. Think of it as having a good reputation. If you are a great person who is always friendly and pleasant to be around, your reputation begins acting as a trademark for your persona. The same can be said for your business. To establish a successful trademark you should consider the following characteristics:
The article “Keywords, Meta Tags and Trademarks” is one we all as creative professionals should take to heart. Many creative professionals add meta tags in websites unbeknownst to them that they are possibly committing trademark infringement. Attorney Ivan Hoffman’s article poses to shed some light into trademark infringement in regards to web development. 
