What Happens to Your Intellectual Property After You Die?

Every day someone is trying to protect their intellectual property rights. But what happens to these rights when you die? Do they simply cease to exist? Are they passed on? Can you leave your IP rights to a specific person? Well, the answers to these questions depend on two things. First, it depends on what type of intellectual property rights the deceased person had. Second, it depends upon whether the deceased IP owner specifically said who would receive the right. Continue reading “What Happens to Your Intellectual Property After You Die?”

Battle of Breweries – Trademark Style

One might think that if a company is well established, its intellectual property would be de facto protected. But that is not the case. Two of America’s most iconic companies, easily recognizable and hard to confuse, are currently in a battle over trademarks. These two companies are none other than Anheuser-Busch and Yuengling, two of America’s oldest breweries. Yuengling was founded in 1829 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Anheuser-Busch, on the other hand was founded in the late 1850s, in St. Louis, Missouri.  But recently these two giants of the industry have been warring over trademark rights. Continue reading “Battle of Breweries – Trademark Style”

What Artists Need to Know About Moral Rights

From the outside the art world seems beautiful and luxurious, creative, and carefree. While this is true, it is also full of tense litigation over rightful ownership, issues of authenticity, and copyright violations. Copyright protection is important to artists. Most people believe that copyright is important because it can prevent others from literally copying the artist’s works without permission. While this is true, there are another reasons why copyright protection is important. Continue reading “What Artists Need to Know About Moral Rights”

Dancing into Intellectual Property Law

I unknowingly have been interested in intellectual property law, specifically copyright law, since I attended dance classes as a child. When I was about 10, I began to wonder why certain songs were chosen and others were not for our annual productions. Why could we perform to Michael Jackson songs while wearing white, sparkly gloves, but we were not allowed to dance to Disney songs from “The Lion King.” Continue reading “Dancing into Intellectual Property Law”