Week 11 Final Evaluation

Coming into this class, I was really looking forward to understanding the rules and limitations we designers have in our designs. A couple years ago when I was in high school, a buddy and I thought of a brand but we weren’t sure how to make it legitimate. We didn’t even know what a Patent Attorney was at the time. Overall, this class was very helpful and I’m definitely glad I took it. Especially for the students of our school, maybe it should be necessary to take this class. Ultimately, I feel like I know more than the basic amount of the endless patent and copyright law. Everything was fun for the most part, including the Jeopardy game and the final project. I didn’t really know how well I was going to do with the final because of how tricky it was to find a lawyer. Although I was slacking on tweets and a couple absent days, I worked very hard and I feel like a deserved anything above a B.

Final Evaluation Best Final Project

http://psyphergames.blogspot.com/

-After looking at everybodies projects, i strongly feel that Saul's project was the most organized and had the most information. I personally read his blog a couple times during the project and it actually helped me start my process and it really helped guide me through it.

Own Opinions & Arguments

“A copyright owner grants a nonexclusive license when the owner authorizes another person or institution to exercise one or more of the rights belonging to the owner under the copyright on a shared basis.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 272)

As for the ruling, the question of whether the architectural firm granted the developer a non-exclusive license to use its copyright in the architectural designs formed a backdrop to the case. Even if the developer were to obtain a copy of the designs, it would not be able to start building without committing copyright infringement unless the Court were to find that it was granted an implied non-exclusive license. The architectural firm argued that it did not intend to grant an implied license that would permit the developer to use the designs after it was no longer involved in the construction. The developer claimed that the entire construction project would be delayed, if not shut down, without the plans. (Wereldhave USA-San Antonio, L.P. v. Peter Fillat Architects, Inc., 2010 WL 419388 (D. Md. 2009)) My opinion of the ruling is that it’s very confusing. Ultimately I think that the architectural firm was at fault for not allowing the developer access to the designs when they needed each other’s help anyway. I think it is the architecture firm’s job to make sure everything goes as planned and it seemed like they weren’t as professional as they shouldve been. Also I realized that to actually win a case like this, you would definitely need a good patent attorney.

Rule of Law

“..The Ordinary Observer Test: The court first compares the allegedly infringing device with design patent drawings under the ordinary observer test to determine whether the allegedly infringing design is substantially the same as the patent design.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 74)

Seeing how I didn’t get the right answers I was looking for, and I wasn’t able to personally speak with a patent lawyer, no precedents were discussed. I decided to start looking online for previous cases dealing with designs in the architecture world. I came across a recent case (http://senlawoffice.com/exclusiverights/category/architectural-design/) where the plaintiff developer paid an architectural firm over $2.7 million for its services. After things went sour, the developer claimed the firm was late in submitting designs. The architectural firm refused to provide the developer access to the designs being they claimed that it was owed another $491,000 for the other services. “..infringement action is a lawsuit alleging that one or more parties have, without permission, made, used, or sold an invention protected under a patent owned by the party bringing the lawsuit.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 74 )After reading this, it really put into perspective how much money a company can lose for not paying for a design, or even for just being late on submittals. I’m also assuming that this was one of the smaller cases, I don’t even want to think about the charges of bigger and more serious cases.

“Copyright protection extends to any original work regardless of who reated it and permission is required for reproduction, display, or distribution of the work.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 282)

Reasoning of the Law

After I had given Billie-Mae my questions, she responded by saying this, “…first I must tell you that I am a personal injury attorney and your questions seem to be directed specifically at design related matters therefore I cannot answer any of your questions with the specificity that you are looking for. That being said, not practicing in that area of law this is the best I can do.”

If a company give you a design and didn’t know it was inspired by another company and you didn’t know anything about it, can you still be sued?

“Yes, just about anyone can be sued for anything. The real question is who would prevail and how should you protect yourself against that happening.”

What is the best response to a non compete disclosure contract? (what’s the best way to handle it)

“You will have to seek the advice of an attorney who specializes in that are.”

Is it possible to modify an existing design and use it as my own?

“This is not a legal question.”

What rights do I retain when using company software?

“You will have to read the software agreement that accompanies it.”

If you do a design, etc. for a client and are not paid for it, does the actual design belong to you or the client?

“It depends on the contract between you and the client and how it is written.”

How much do people charge to read a contract, or advice/interpreter?

“You will have to consult contract attorneys.”

Can you be inspired by a competitors work and use it against them, at the same time changing it into a different design?

“Of course you could, but are there legal ramifications, I do not know. You will have to contact a patent attorney.”

If I lose inspiration and go online and use someone else’s design, more than I intended to. Will I be safe from a lawsuit if I changed it enough so it isn’t exactly the same? What recourse do I have if the roles are reversed, if my work is the work being stolen?

“This is too specific. You need a patent attorney.”

If I create a design for a company, can I still distribute the same design to other companies?

“You need a patent attorney.”

Am I entitled to full rights of a design if I were to create it within a group?

“You need a patent attorney.”

When I first got the answers, I didn’t really think I would be able to use them because she only partially answered my questions. So I began searching and calling other lawyers, except this time specifically patent attorneys. Because I had been reliant on the lawyers I called and emailed, I stopped searching and only received Billie-Mae’s answers which barely helped me. After a few more days, a man named John Rizvi,a patent lawyer who is linked to a patent site, emailed me back with a Patent Guide which was actually pretty helpful.

"Patent attorneys prepare and prosecute patent applications, represent clients in interference proceedings..." (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 100)

The Questions

Since we were supposed to come up with 10 questions related to our major, I really had no clue where to even start. I began looking through different blogs and with the help of other students, I found these questions to be most helpful and useful to me.

If a company give you a design and didn’t know it was inspired by another company and you didn’t know anything about it, can you still be sued?

“An application for a patent on an invention must be made in the name of the inventor, even if a commercial or non-profit organization actually owns the invention.”(Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 80)

What is the best response to a non compete disclosure contract? (what’s the best way to handle it)

“A business that owns trade secrets is entitled to court relief against those who have stolen the secrets or divulged them in violation of a legal duty-for example, after signing an agreement not to disclose a nondisclosure agreement or NDA.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 512)

Is it possible to modify an existing design and use it as my own?

“To design or build a device or process that is similar to but doesn’t infringe on an invention protected by a patent is referred to as “design around” the patent.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 52)

What rights do I retain when using company software?

“The term internet patent has been used to describe a group of utility patents issued for software programs and for methods of doing business, most of which relate to Internet uses.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 79)

If you do a design, etc. for a client and are not paid for it, does the actual design belong to you or the client?

“The process by which an owner gives permission to another party to make, use, or sell his or her patented invention is most often given in the form of a written document called a license.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 82)

How much do people charge to read a contract, or advice/interpreter?

“…patent agents are nonattorneys with technical training who are legally permitted-under a license issued by the U.S. Patent and trademark Office-to draft, file and prosecute patent applications on behalf of inventors.” (Patent, Copyright and Tradmark. Richard Stim. Page 97)

Can you be inspired by a competitors work and use it against them, at the same time changing it into a different design?

“Whoever invents any new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 177)

If I lose inspiration and go online and use someone else’s design, more than I intended to. Will I be safe from a lawsuit if I changed it enough so it isn’t exactly the same? What recourse do I have if the roles are reversed, if my work is the work being stolen?

“If the person explains in writing the pertinency and manner of applying such prior art to at least one claim of the patent, the citation of such prior art and the explanationtherof will become a part of the official file of the patent.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 186)

If I create a design for a company, can I still distribute the same design to other companies?

“When a copyright owner wishes to commercially exploit the work, the owner typically transfers one or more of these right to the publisher or other entity who will eresponsible for getting the work to market.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 192)

Am I entitled to full rights of a design if i were to create it within a group?

“If the license allows others to exercise the same rights being transferred in the license, the license is said to be nonexclusive.” (Patent, Copyright and Trademark. Richard Stim. Page 192)

Being a draftsman, most of the time we work in groups. These questions are related directly toward my major and it will help me create a better understanding of the limits and rules about designing and working professionally.

Legal Authority

For our final assignment, Mr. Pinto asked if the class would find a lawyer and ask 10 related questions according to the student’s major. Seeing how my major is Drafting technology, I literally had no idea how to come about this project. It’s definitely different to me for a couple reasons; one, because I’ve never really had to find a lawyer before, and two, I hadn’t really thought about the issues or consequences that would follow if I actually used someone else’s design. Therefore I was very eager and just wanted to get my information quick. When I first started this project, which was probably 2 weeks ago, I found myself searching, calling, and emailing a whole bunch of different attorneys. Searching everywhere from Google to the Super Yellow Pages, it was definitely alittle trickier than I thought. After a couple unsuccessful trys, I received an email from a woman from Craig B. Kenny & Associates named Billie-Mae Morrison. She was one of the only lawyers that actually called me back and replyed. I had talked to her on the phone and dicussed my project alittle bit more. When I was talking to her, she had mentioned that she had an M.B.A. I didn’t think much about it at first, which was a very big mistake. So I sent her a brief overview of our project and my questions relating my major. I wasn’t paying as much attention to who or what the lawyers specialized in, and that is why I got the response I did.

Week 10 EOC Movie

Today we watched a movie on a man trying to fight a huge car company for trying to infringe his designs. His design was the wind shield wiper. Of course we think that it was always part of a car, but thats where we're wrong. It was invented by a man named Bob. Forget his last name. But, through this process of going against these huge lawyers, Bob had almost zero support, both professionally and personally. No one thought that he could protect his case and design with these huge car companies like Ford. But Bob was very persistent and believed that he was truly deserving of this money that was his. Although he wins the case ultimately, Bob did have to sacrifice many things in his life. One of the most important to anyone was his kids and wife. He was so caught up with ihs invention that he neglected his family which ultimately led to them leaving him.