The most common area of intellectually property law involved in Dean’s practice is Copyright. Copyright simply pit is the protection of the tangible expression of an idea, but not of the idea itself. The following are a small handful of useful links when trying to grasp the basics. The first place to start is the Library of Congress (the Copyright Office) website which has a wealth of information, and where you can file applications.

Songwriters and music publishers register their copyrighted songs with one of the performing rights organizations (PRO). These PROs in turn collect huge sums of money from the public performance of their members songs and then pays it out to them. In the United States you have a choice among 3 different PROs (in most other countries there is only one), ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.

If a song is no longer protected by copyright it is said to be in the Public Domain. Figuring out if it really is can be tricky, but here are some helpful places to start the search.

The other area of intellectual property Dean handles is Trademark. A Trademark protects the identity of the source of goods or services, but not the goods or services themselves (which would be the realm of copyright or patent). Trademark applications are more complex than copyright applications and should seldom be undertaken on your own. The best place to start again is at the Trademark Office. Check my Articles for other useful information.

Want to form a corporation or LLC? Not sure the difference? Just need to file a dba? Curious to know if a company is still legally allowed to do business, or how to sue them? Need more info about starting and operating a business? The following links are great places to start, at least in Los Angeles and California, but there are similar links for most areas of the country.

There are so many things which can be useful to know a bit more about when it comes to doing business in the entertainment industries. Most of the same issues related to any type of business apply, but there are also a lot of unique issues, often related to the different ways to earn and lose money. Can I use a famous person’s name or likeness? How much can I really make from my music streaming. Is that old domain really worth anything are only a few questions which people ask me all the time. The following links are, again, only a jumping off pint; when in doubt just Google it.