Zanswer asked:


If I want to use a widely available image of a public figure, say Larry King, on my own website, how do I make sure whether it is in the public domain thus having no copyright protection? Since usually it is the photographer that owns the copyright, is there a simple way to find out whom the photographer is, or I should contact the public figure directly? What about those images floating on the internet that are TV screen shots of Larry King broadcasting? Are they safe to use?

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Legendary asked:


If you are an intellectual property lawyer who deals with trademarks infringement you should be able to answer this.

I will use KMart and Walmart for examples in my scenario

A company owns a trademark on (“WALMART”), so they own WALMART.com. I purchased a domain called KMART.com. They want to sue me because they say the word “MART” in my domain name infringes their federal trademark of (“WALMART”).

My business would pertain to a similar service as theirs.

So the question is, is my domain trade mark infringing? Am I liable for any statutory fines? They keep threatening me that I am liable up to $100k by the Lanham act. I have not made any money off of my domain, it merely had a home page.

What is the worst I have to worry about? I could only imagine injunction, but then what would the statutory fines be for?

They are asking me to turn over the domain, and pay their attorney fees. Should I have to pay for attorney fees? Shouldn’t they at least reimburse me my domain purchase?
blktan24, I already have a new domain but they are asking me for attorney fees, etc. I am already in the mess, question is how can I get out of it without paying attorney fees, and without getting sued. But the question is, am I really liable for statutory fines over this ridiculous law?

sick

M. Oeuf Fromage asked:


***Note***
I posted this in another category too, so I hope I don’t get in trouble but I really need the opinions of people that read and answer in this category too.
***End Note***

OK… I design websites. I do not sell templates. As a matter of fact it is all over my website that I do not do templates, ever.

But a little over a year ago a new client came along and said he was looking for a template. He said he wanted a website built that looked cool and that he would update it.

I never told him I would give him a template, as a matter of fact I told him that he seemed like a busy guy and that I would be there to do the updating of his site for him.

So what I offered him (verbatim) is:

*********
$365 Includes:

5-7 page site designed and implemented
Hosting if needed
Up to 100 Email Addresses (if hosting with me)
Flash Design (2 max)
Logo Design and / or Manipulation
Contact form on site (PHP)
Free Updates for the existing content of the site (once site is designed and implemented)
1 Year – 24/7 Support (just email or call me anytime for any reason)
Submission of your URL to over 200 Search Engines quarterly

After one year, if you like to continue my services I just invoice you an additional $365 on the 1 year anniversary date.

**********

Now… The anniversary date has passed. I sent 3 invoices to the email address of the guy that started this agreement. I sent a 30 day notice, a 7 day notice and a 1 day notice. There was no reply to any of them.

I waited 10 days after the account was due to be renewed because that is what I say I will do in my Terms Of Service. And on this 10th day I filed a DMCA (copyright infringement) with the company that is hosting his site.

I did this because, again, I do not do templates. And in my TOS it says:

**********
All web site designs developed by and implemented by will remain the Intellectual Property of and domain names purchased by will not be transferred to the Customer if at any time either or the Customer cancel the Customers account, or the Customer violates any credit terms or other terms associated with this agreement and or their account.

**********
and

**********
Any artwork, images, or text supplied by and / or designed by on behalf of the customer and / or for use on the clients website, will remain the property of .
**********
Among other things.

I do not sell templates, I sell a service. If someone thinks they bought my designs, I’m sorry, but they didn’t, and I have gone out of my way to make this clear.

Anyway, today I get a call from someone else that works at the place I did the site for, actually the owner. He tells me that the person I was working with is no longer with his company, and the whole time he thought what they purchased was a template.

I explained to him what I just explained here and I told him that I would sell him the design outright and royalty free for $99. He talked me down to $75. Which is cool.

I just don’t like my work out there, and people hacking it up and making it look bad which makes me look bad, which is one reason why I hold the rights to my work. The other reason is, since I don’t do templates and every site is designed from scratch there is much more work involved, and if someone is done with their site, moves on to another company or whatever, then I am free to take that design with me and sell it to someone else who may have similar needs.

I have been doing webs now for over 10 years, and this is honestly the very first time I have been in this situation.

I kinda feel like a jerk, and although I had no intention of misleading anyone it appears that there was some confusion. But all in all I think the offer of buying my design for only $75 is a sweet offer to resolve the situation.

Am I being a jerk? And if I am, do you think it’s justified?

Let me know, I really want as many opinions as possible.

Thanks
Oh, and yesterday I emailed him a payment link for the $75 and he still has not paid.

telescope

John Boy asked:


And use them to fund some gov’t pet project.

From her Question on the main page – “Hillary Clinton is planning to use excess oil company profits to invest in alternative energy.”

With any good business that is to be profitable and successful, any increase in opperational costs is passed on to the consumer as an increase in price. It’s a “Business”, not a “Charity”. If they add more taxes to the oil industry, it will simply trickle back down to the consumers and the American taxpayer will be funding the “Alternative Energy Investments”.

“We will make it absolutely clear” that oil companies who simply boost gas-pump prices to offset the tax will be prosecuted, State Administration Secretary Mike Morgan told legislators who opened their review of Doyle’s 2007-’09 budget.”

Will all this legislation forces them to stop selling to us?

If it were me I would simply take my business elsewhere… it’s a bad policy and as unconstitutional as eminent domain.

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