What should I look for in a Publishing Contract? By: Hilary Metz, Esq.

Publishing contracts means something different if you are an author versus a song writer. For a writer, being presented with their first potential book deal is one of the most exciting, stressful, and confusing times in their career. Too often writers get frustrated once the actual contract negotiation begins, and not until they have tried to negotiate on their own behalf do they then seek legal counsel. It is important that writers, and artists in general do not rush to sign however, as the impact of the first publishing deal can be long lasting, sometimes even once the term of that contract is over. Writers need to be cautious and think about several key negotiation points that will inevitably be in their contracts in some way, shape, or form, such as: 1. Who owns the copyrights? It is pertinent that the copyrights remain in your name. You attorney will discuss the time frames for making sure the work(s) are registered as it relates to the publication date. 2. What amount of royalti
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Should I sign a Work for Hire Agreement? By: Hilary Metz, Esq.

Understanding when you are producing work under a work for hire agreement or when you should be requiring someone to sign a work for hire agreement is essential to knowing what if any interests you have in the copyrights of work you create. For employees, generally, what you create is owned by your employer, not you. This is what is termed as “works made for hire”. Knowing some basics about work for hire agreements can also assist you in negotiating your employment conditions. It is possible that even if you create something in and during the course of your employment that you may be able to retain some rights to those works. Works that you create outside of your employment remain yours, not the employers. For example: if you work in the capacity of a writer, but after work and on the weekends are a painter you employer will not be able to claim any ownership in the copyrights of those paintings. For people working freelance, including, but not limited to: artists, painters, write
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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SOUND RECORDING AND A MUSICAL COMPOSITION?

For the purposes of copyrighting your work you should know what it means when someone says musical composition versus sound recording. According to the United States Copyright Office at http://www.copyright.gov/register/pa-sr.html “A Musical Composition consists of music, including any accompanying words, and is normally registered as a work of performing arts. The author of a musical composition is generally the composer and the lyricist, if any. A musical composition may be in the form of a notated copy (for example, sheet music) or in the form of a phonorecord (for example, cassette tape, LP, or CD). A Sound Recording results from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds. The author of a sound recording is the performer(s) whose performance is fixed, or the record producer who processes the sounds and fixes them in the final recording, or both.” Therefore, as stated on the website, the copyright in a sound recording is not the same as, or a substitute for
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DOES MY COMPANY NEED TO DO A TRADEMARK SEARCH?

Many times business owners and entrepreneurs spend a lot of time to come up with what they believe is a clever and catchy name for their company.  These business owners have, more often than not, spend quite a deal of money and resources on marketing and promoting their brand, before considering whether their name and brand are one that could be trademarked. Below is a short, non-exclusive list for reasons why you should work with a trademark attorney at the outset of developing your brand, versus when your company has already gained traction and notoriety. Your company likely has at least one name or logo that you use for advertising and marketing that you hope distinguishes it from others that you would like to protect and prevent others from using. You own your domain name; that is NOT the same as a trademark. This mistaken belief has gone on long enough, it’s time to fix it. Registering a particular name with the secretary of state as your business name is not a valid claim on
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Snapchat drops 'stalking' feature - Telegraph.co.uk

Telegraph.co.ukSnapchat drops stalking featureTelegraph.co.ukSnapchat dropped a feature which listed the three people most often messaged by each user, but the company was forced to announce within hours that it would be reinstated after uproar from paranoid partners who said “Best Friends” helped them ensure
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FTC fines TracFone $40 million for throttling 'unlimited' data plans | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Mark Sullivan

Beginning today, consumers who had a Straight Talk, Net10, Simple Mobile, or Telcel America unlimited plan before January 2015 can file a claim for a refund, the FTC says.
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Miami Herald Makeovers made a big impact for some small businesses in 2014

YAYA WINES In September, SCORE worked with YaYa LeGrand, owner of YaYa Wines in North Miami. The SCORE team was made of professionals with experience in marketing, wine buying and the law, all areas where LeGrand needed help. Hillary Metz, an intellectual property and trademark attorney at Mills Metz Law and Nora Adler, a former wine buyer with over 20 years of experience in marketing, advised LeGrand to do three things to take her business to next level: First, LeGrand had to protect her brand. Metz recommended that LeGrand immediately begin using her federally registered trademark on the wine bottles. Next, Adler recommended that LeGrand partner with a reputable distributor to gain entry into major chain supermarkets. Adler also encouraged LeGrand to foster relationships with wine buyers and store managers to boost sales. “SCORE really made a difference in the way I do business,” LeGrand said. “I thought I had a lot of areas of my business covered, but I didn’t know what I d
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