Reasoning of the Law -- analysis of the thinking process and logic used by your lawyer

The lawyer I spoke to is more experienced with Estate Planning, Taxation, Probate and Asset Preservation. Therefore, I was a bit nervous about asking him about copyright laws. He told me that every lawyer had the opportunity to study all types of laws when in school. So, I just surrendered to the nerves, and asked him all the questions that I have listed prior to this blog. I was relieved that he knew most of the answers. He used terms that I would understand, and was very straight to the point. However, with the questions he was not 100% sure about, he would ask someone in the firm (I believe it was his paralegal). No matter what question I threw at him, he did whatever it took to find the correct answer. He would not give me an answer that he was not sure about. I would like to believe it is because he wanted to help me through my final project; however, thinking back I believe it is because he is trained not to give out inaccurate information. “An attorney will use their years of experience to ensure that you [and your rights] are not trampled on or limited” (Best Business Practices for Photographers, John Harrington, Ch. 15, pg 225). Here are the questions I asked, once again, with the answers the lawyer provided.

1. What rights do I retain when using company software?

You retain Confidentiality rights and Privacy Rights

2. In a series of photographs, do I copyright individually or as a series?

It is best to copyright each individual photo than a series. The reason why is because in the event that a photo is removed from the series, you will have no case.

3. What is the average price to keep an attorney on retainer?

The average cost to keep an attorney on a retainer is anywhere from 1000 to 5000 dollars depending on the attorneys hourly rate. (more seasoned attorneys and partners have a higher hourly rate)

4. 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?

If the client does not pay for the design he has no rights to it, if you pay the for the design it is yours.

5. Do salaried employees have any rights to finished products?

Salaried employees do not hold any rights to a finished product because they are not the creators of said item, they would only hold rights if they had a direct idea or impact other than what they were hired and paid to do.

6. If I took a scene from Alice and Wonderland and used that scene as a reference and did a photo shoot from that reference, am I infringing any laws?

If you use the reference exactly in your photo, just use different models, then you are potentially infringing the law. If you use it just as to be inspired, you are not infringing any laws.

7. If someone like the photography assistant, model, or anyone else on set, gets hurt at my photo shoot, am I liable?

You would be held liable unless you had them sign a waiver or some sort of contract stating that they are liable for any occurrences that were to happen while on set or at work.

8. Should I create a contract before the photo shoot to prevent that and pass them out to everyone on set?

You should create a contract or some kind of model release statement either before or after the shoot so you and or your publisher (the company that you work for) is not liable and cannot be sued

9. Can I use photographs that have no release documentation (ie model release forms, location release forms) into a portfolio or a book?

Portfolio and a published book are two different things. You do not need a release documentation for your portfolio because your intention is to sell yourself. With a published book you do need release documentation because you are selling your art.

10. When is point of creation, rough or final product?

Point of creation is at both rough and final product

The Questions: Explain why these are of interest to you. What specific concepts and terms were involved – in other words, what are the legal issues?

I am currently attending the Art Institute of Las Vegas, majoring in Digital Photography. With the skills I have, I want to work for an advertising company, then eventually own a photography studio. When my dream becomes reality, I will need to know the ins and outs of the laws. I will need to know about intellectual property, which is when "writers, inventors, and artists transform ideas into tangible property"(Patent, Copyright &Trademark, Richard Stim, Your Legal Companion, pg 1). With my career choice of being a photographer, it is also important that I am especially familiar with the copyright law. Why you may ask? "Copyright gives the owner of a creative work the right to keep others from unauthorized use of the work" (Patent, Copyright & Trademark, Richard Stim, Copyright Law: Overview, pg 190). And with that said, it is important to know that “Copyright law does not protect ideas and facts, only the manner in which those ideas and facts are expressed” (Patent, Copyright & Trademark, Richard Stim, Introduction, pg 5). Overall, I want to make sure what I can and cannot do, what is the best for my future business, and also be prepared with every aspect of the photography world. Therefore, I spoke to a lawyer that works for Cane Clarke LLP.

Here are my questions that was asked.

Student Name Kristine Alberto

Class BUS250H Contracts, Negotiations and Copyrights

District or Firm’s Name: Cane Clarke LLP

1. What rights do I retain when using company software?

2. In a series of photographs, do I copyright individually or as a series?

3. What is the average price to keep an attorney on retainer?

4. 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?

5. Do salaried employees have any rights to finished products?

6. If I took a scene from Alice and Wonderland and used that scene as a reference and did a photo shoot from that reference, am I infringing any laws?

7. If someone like the photography assistant, model, or anyone else on set, gets hurt at my photo shoot, am I liable?

8. Should I create a contract before the photo shoot to prevent that and pass them out to everyone on set?

9. Can I use photographs that have no release documentation (ie model release forms, location release forms) into a portfolio or a book?


10. When is point of creation, rough or final product?

Legal Authority: How I made contact, found this person and why they are a good choice.

I never knew that finding a lawyer would be so difficult. I got in contact with many lawyers, and no one was willing to sit for 20 minutes to answer my questions. One of the lawyers I got in contact with was my Aunt Rose, also known as Rose Reyes, Criminal Lawyer in the state of California. She could not provide me any answers because she is a criminal lawyer and did not study copyright or patent law. My Aunt also told me that it would be very difficult to get a hold of copyright lawyer due to their busy and expensive time. After talking to her, my hopes on finding a lawyer to answer my questions was very low and I did not know what else to do. However, I called up a friend of mine that works for a law firm, and also going to law school. He was a big assistance to me on this process of finding a lawyer. He asked one of the lawyers he works for to take the time to answer my questions. I suppose the saying, that floats around Las Vegas, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”, is pretty accurate. The lawyer I contacted chose to keep his name private; however what I can reveal is the firm he works for, Cane Clark LLP. In my eyes, this lawyer is a good choice because of his experience and also because he was very cooperative. He has been in law for over 18 years and primarily practices Estate Planning, Taxation, Probate and Asset Preservation. With all that knowledge, he has also studied what we are learning in class this quarter. I am grateful that he found the time to sit down and answer these questions.

Week 8 EOC: Legal Questions

1. Can we use other’s designs in a portfolio without infringing artist’s rights?

2. Can you incorporate a public domain design into a specialized design and copyright it?

3. What rights do I retain when using company software?

4. In a series, do you copyright individually or as a series?

5. What is the average price to keep an attorney on retainer?

6. 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?

7. If you do designs and aren’t paid, what recourse do you have?

8. Do salaried employees have any rights to finished products?

9. If I rough out a design on school/company software but finish on my own professional software at what point does it become a creation and what are my rights?

10. Can you use designs/images that have no release documentation into a portfolio or a book?

Week 7 EOC: What legal issues concern you most?

There are so many questions that I have for my career to ask a lawyer or a judge. My career as photographer I want to get clear about the whole model and location release forms. When do I need a model or a location release forms? Do I need them when I randomly go shooting on the strip or some little town? If I take a photo of a crowd of people walking around, do I have every single person in that photo sign a model release form? And do I have to find the owner of the place to sign the location release form? And do I need them to sign it before or after I take the photo? This is all important to me because I love capturing people in their environment, almost candid, and asking them to sign the paper beforehand can ruin the concept. Also, I understand that metadata can protect your work and engrave your name into the file. However, what if someone takes my photo, uses it, and gain profit; what kind of process do I need to do to handle this and what will happen to them? If I composited a photo, and include someone else’s work with mine, am I doing something illegal? What certain contracts and paperwork should I have with me when I start a business? All these questions are so important to me because I love what I am doing, and I love expanding my creativity. However, I want to know that I am handling my work correctly and what to know what could happen in the future. I want to be prepared on anything and everything that is and will be affecting me in this field. Therefore, asking these questions to a great and amazing lawyer can be beneficial to me.

Week 6 EOC: Illicit? What do you think?

The movie Illicit really opened my eyes to this market. Before this movie, I would see fake accessories and think "Oh, if I do not know about it then its okay". However, after seeing this movie made me think twice about whats going on. All over the world people are contributing to this market, whether its purses, sunglasses, drugs, kidneys, etc. And it is affecting our economy and people all over the place. We copyright, trademark, and everything to protect our rights and our creation and people around the world are recreating it and taking it to earn dirty money. I see the fake accessories and I do not even think of the process of it. I was shocked about illegal drugs. People can send out Viagra out and no one would know about it. The dogs are not trained to sniff out Viagra; they are trained for more harder drugs. The things these people put in these drugs to make it look like its real, glue, wax, paint, lead, etc is so disgusting. The people that buy them are looking for a cheaper and easier way to buy their pills, and little do they know they are poisoning themselves! The laws are out ther for reason, not only to protect the authors, but also to protect the society. Next time you see a purse, think of that fake gucci as the tip of an iceberg of something more dangerous.

Week 4 EOC: 10 Meaningful Patent Terms

1. Design Around
2. Internet Patent
3. Design Patent
4. Prior Art
5. Patent Agents
6. Patent Attorneys
7. Patent Examiners
8. Date of Invention
9. Submarine Patent
10. Claims