Hot Legal Issues for Marketers Summer 2016

It’s August, and brands are heating up their summer campaigns and preparing for fall, Marketers tend to jump on prominent news stories and seek relevance by reacting to them. In so doing, they may run afoul of trademark laws or regulatory compliance issues. The season also brings retail challenges, as bricks and mortar stores try to sell off as much inventory as possible. Price claims in advertising also have legal consequences. Here are some “hot” legal advertising topics.

Food Law: Advertising & Marketing Concerns for Food Entrepreneurs

From food subscription services to mobile food trucks, food is on the go, liberated from traditional kitchens. Food law has grown with this thriving industry. For food entrepreneurs launching or growing their businesses, here are ten advertising and marketing law issues to consider.

SURTEX Attendees: Legal Tips for Art Licensing Deals

If it’s May in New York, it’s time for SURTEX. If you are an artist who licenses your art, you should be planning a trip to New York for the self-proclaimed “marketplace for original art and design.” The SURTEX show can be daunting for newcomers due to its size and scope. While your focus now may be primarily on creating art and figuring out how to transport it to New York, here are some last minute legal tips as you enter the art licensing arena.

Legal Problems for Franchisors in Social Media

Social media content moves swiftly and sometimes even the best marketing teams make mistakes. Those mistakes can come back to bite a franchisor, hurting its reputation and even causing legal issues.

Fair Use is an Exception to Copyright Law

I am frequently asked by clients if they can make use of someone else’s intellectual property. The myths abound. Here are three: Just because it’s an educational use doesn’t mean it’s a fair use (although it helps). Just because something lives in the public eye doesn’t mean it’s not protected by copyright or other intellectual property laws. (Consider the Hollywood Sign which is protected by trademark law.) Just because you’ve taken less than 10% of a work doesn’t mean you aren’t infringing on the copyright for that work

Copyright owners also operate under misconceptions. The most common mistake is believing that when a third party cannot prove fair use, its use of a copyrighted work will be considered infringing.

Artists’ Intellectual Property Builds Art Licensing Business

Artists focus on their creativity, their technique, and their product. If, however, you are looking to license your art, you should be equally focused on protecting your intellectual property. Your copyrights and trademarks are the lifeblood of your art licensing business and the foundations for all your branding initiatives. In this blog post, I answer some common questions artists ask about copyrights, trademarks, and branding.