Intellectual Property

Who owns property rights to your advertising material?

Intellectual Property

creative work copyright law attorneys gainesville fl

Graphic Design: Who Owns Advertising Material?

You would think that if you pay someone to create advertising material for your business, you would have a right to the advertising that was created for your use.

Surprisingly, Copyright law does not work that way.

The Copyright of creative works does not require any formal registration like an application for a trademark or a patent. As soon as a person creates a creative work, that work is copyrighted. However, creators can register their copyrights with the United States government, which provides more protections to creative works.

  1. Filing Suit
  2. Attorney’s Fees and statutory damages
  3. Automatic validity

If you think that someone is infringing on your copyrighted work, you can get an injunction, the impoundment of the infringing work, damages, and attorney’s fees.

If you do not have your copyright registered with the United States Copyright Office, you must be able to prove when you created your copyrighted work to establish the validity of your copyright. Only after you establish your ownership of the copyrighted work will you be able to ask a Court to prevent others from infringing that work or award you monetary damages for infringement of your copyright.

The copyright owner of a creative work, like advertising material, has the following exclusive rights:

  1. to reproduce the copyrighted work;
  2. to prepare derivative works based on the original copyrighted work;
  3. to distribute copies of the copyrighted work;
  4. to perform the work publicly;
  5. to display the work publicly; and
  6. in the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly through digital audio transmission.

These copyright law implications touch on all aspects of advertising material for businesses in Florida, including the display of business logos, advertising with on a business’s website, or preparing brochures to then provide to customers. Without thorough consideration of the copyright infringement, it is possible to get sued for using your own advertising material!

The attorneys at Knellinger & Associates in Gainesville, Florida can help advise your business on your intellectual property rights in advertising. We can help you develop a business strategy that combines the protections of both copyright and trademark law.

Gainesville Native Creates Protective Armor

Intellectual Property

Gainesville residents John and Susan Perkins operate, Basic Black, a company that produces protective armor for armed forces and police. John is an engineer and grew up in a military family. However, he initially began developing protective armor from contacts he met volunteering as a Boy Scout troop leader. A parent of a child in a Boy Scout troop asked him to develop protective armor for police cars. Eventually other Scout parents, who were in the military, requested armor that was more protective. John enjoyed researching and developing products that helped those serving our country stay safe.

Perkins has created many products including an armored plate that protects the shoulder area, clipboards that can protect against rifle shots, and a safety shield that protects against flash bang grenades. Perkins strives to make his products better by constantly obtaining feedback from the men who use them. As he creates his products, Perkins needs the help of an intellectual property attorney to apply for patents and ensure that his ideas are protected.

Inventors want to enjoy success similar to John Perkins, but need to protect their ideas in order to do it. If you have identified a problem and have developed an idea that will solve it, the Law Office of Knellinger & Associates has patent attorneys that are experienced in protecting inventions and ideas. Please contact our business to learn how we can guide you through the patent process. We can help you determine if someone else has already applied for a similar patent, and how your patent application can be unique. We also can help if you believe that someone is infringing on your patents.

Keeping Your Trademark Secure

Intellectual Property

A trademark is a symbol that consumers associate with your company. A valuable trademark is unique enough to make consumers easily associate your products with your company without any confusion. When you create a trademark, it is important to make sure that other companies are not using a trademark that is too similar to yours. Your trademark should stand out. Consulting with an attorney can help you ensure that your trademark is unique, and that you are not encroaching on existing trademarks.

Registering your trademark helps protect it; registration ensures that other companies can find it, so that they do not duplicate it. You can register your trademark within your state only or you can choose to register it federally. Anticipating how you intend to use your trademark will help you decide how best to register it. Companies that have federally protected trademarks use the ® symbol to let the world know that their trademark is federally registered. If you anticipate selling your products nationally, you will probably want to register your trademark with the federal government.

The Law Office of Knellinger & Associates has been assisting clients with protecting trademarks for years. We can check to make sure that your trademark is not already registered or used by another business. A strong trademark helps clients remember your company and products.

Additionally, if you believe another company or person is infringing upon your trademark, it is a good idea to consult with an attorney to protect your rights. Trademark infringement often occurs in different jurisdictions, so an attorney may be able to help minimize the costly expenses of litigation that is out of your jurisdiction. Our attorneys at the Law Office of Knellinger & Associates can evaluate your situation and help you to keep your trademark protected.

Technology Cools Off Football Players

Intellectual Property

Many people may not realize that heat-related illnesses in athletes can cause injuries, comas and can even be fatal. Dr. Nick Gravenstein, affiliated with Shands, became concerned about heat-induced illnesses on the football field when a University of Florida freshman football player, Eraste Autin died tragically in July 2001 during training camp. This unfortunate fatality was attributed to the high temperature, intense training and inability of the athlete’s body to maintain a healthy temperature. The tragedy inspired Dr. Gravenstein, along with Samsun Lampotang, to conduct research the led to the creation of a revolutionary cooling system.

Dr. Nick Gravenstein was recently acknowledged for the Temperature Management System that he and Samsun Lampotang invented. The technology has provided football players with greater comfort and a lower risk of heat-related illness. Dr. Gravenstein and Lampotang created a shoulder pad which contains a unique cooling system that effectively helps to keep the body cooler during rigorous training. Many college and professional players currently use Dr. Gravenstein’s invention.

Medical research is at the forefront of saving lives, and prolific inventions are constantly being devised in that field, as well as many other fields. However, you do not have to be a physician or even have an advanced degree to create a unique invention that addresses a problem. Useful inventions can be developed by anyone.

If you are an inventor interested in protecting your ideas, we can help you with licensing and royalty agreements and help you to connect with the necessary patent professionals. Please contact our Business Law Attorney at the Law Office of Knellinger & Associates to find out how we can help.