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Consignment or Rep: Doll Deal Gone South
Dear Rich: Did I make a consignment agreement? I was at a doll show selling manufactured porcelain dolls. The woman at the next table was selling her dolls which are handmade. I was impressed with her...
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My Brother Claims I Infringed
Dear Rich: My father spent several years writing his memoirs. He wound up with 200 pages of typewritten work. He and my mother put all their estate in a trust in 1994. He passed away in 2002. My mother...
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Who Owns My Radio Show?
Dear Rich: I invented, developed and have been broadcasting a unique radio show on an internet station for several months. I am/was a volunteer, I never signed a contract, never received any...
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Can Musician Terminate Management Contract?
Dear Rich: I have a contract with an artist who is now seeing some success. He decided out of nowhere that he wanted to redo our contract after he got success. I refused. So he had a lawyer tell me...
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Can I Video My Dedication to Public Domain?
Dear Rich: I was curious whether or not an author can declare their work as being in the public domain verbally, like say on video, as opposed to something documented and signed on paper? Does a...
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Does Netflix TOS Trump Copyright Law?
Dear Rich: You’ve written that classroom use of Netflix might get a copyright pass but I have a question about that section of the copyright law ( Section 110). The Netflix TOS reads: "The Netflix...
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Can I Make a 90's Blog Using TV Images?
Dear Rich: I've recently created a 90's blog, where I would basically like to make posts with reviews and commentary about various things from the 90's (TV shows, music, video games, etc). I'm...
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Wants to Control Use of Video and Photos of Workshops
Dear Rich: I work for an environmental non-profit and I have a question about how to handle photos and videos at our workshops. While presenting to schools, or out in the community we sometimes have...
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Nonprofit Wants to Translate Screenplay
Dear Rich: I'm the director of a small amateur nonprofit theatre company that puts on plays in Italian. We're planning our next production, and we want to adapt a movie screenplay into a stage play....
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Can I Make Audiobooks for Private Use?
Dear Rich: Is it legal to borrow a book from my local library, make my own homemade audiobook, return the book afterwards, and keep the audio files I produced? I only want to make audiobooks for my own...
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Reading Passages of Classic Literature in Movie
Dear Rich: There is a scene in the feature film I am currently making where a character turns on the radio and listens to the host read a small passage from classic literature (something like Romeo and...
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Can We Repost Super Bowl Ad?
Gerald Ford at Univ. of Michigan (1933)Dear Rich: Are we allowed to take a Super Bowl commercial from YouTube, add comments on the screen and then publish it on our website? If you’re copying and...
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Do Progressive Downloads Infringe Copyright?
Dear Rich: There are plenty of websites that provide pirated streaming tv shows and movies. These videos are not live streams, but they are known as "progressive" downloads. My question is: Are the...
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Wants to Claim Copyright and Sell Public Domain Photos
2014 Winner of Best Public Domain GifAnimal CategoryDear Rich: I have a souvenir photo book (images of public buildings, gardens, outdoor scenes) which I purchased over 30 years ago. It was published...
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Who Owns Gameplay in Video Game?
Dear Rich: If I screen capture while playing a video game like Call of Duty, who owns that? I know I don't own any rights to the video game itself but can I stop someone else from copying or showing my...
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Can We Copy Textbook Chapters?
Dear Rich: The Vice President of Academic Affairs of the two-year state technical college I work at told all Program Chairs it was ok to copy and attach "a chapter or two" of their course's textbook...
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Pre-roll Ads and Publicity Rights
Dear Rich: Our company posts news interviews online. Does the fact that we're using pre-roll ads require us to get waivers from our interview subjects? Whether you need to obtain a waiver/release...
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Can I Make "Night of the Living Dead" Action Figures?
Dear Rich: Night of the Living Dead (the original film by George A Romero) is in the public domain. However someone trademarked Night of the Living Dead for action figures. If I wanted to manufacture...
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Do We Need Formal Contract for Private School Permission?
Dear Rich: I work for a fully online private school and am seeking permission to use images, videos, and links within the course. Do I need to have a formal contract with a signature confirming that...
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Quoting Dialogue From Raising Arizona in Novel
Dear Rich: I'm self-publishing my novel and I'm trying to track down Circle Films for permission to use four lines from "Raising Arizona." (I did get permission from the Cather Foundation to quote "My...
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