March 03, 2020

Repost: Yes Trademark Fair Use Exists!

March 03, 2020/ Greg Kanaan

How you reference an existing brand will dictate whether you become liable for trademark infringement or public disparagement of the brand, but there are carve-outs in trademark law that allow you to fairly reference an existing trademark without being liable for infringement. Yes you heard me right; trademark fair use exists!

February 18, 2020

You Made a Collage, But That Doesn't Give You Rights In the Underlying Work

February 18, 2020/ Greg Kanaan

The longer I practice law, the more I recognize certain “seasons” in my work; sometimes I’ll have a period where all my clients are filmmakers. Perhaps six months will go by where all my work revolves around trademarks in some way. Maybe I’ll have ten people in a row ask me about indemnity clauses. Lately I’ve been in a season where clients are visual or graphic artists producing collages. And they all want to know the same thing: can they use the work of others in their collages?

February 11, 2020

Are You an Employee or an Independent Contractor? The Answer May Surprise You

February 11, 2020/ Greg Kanaan

Do you know if you’re an employee or an independent contractor? It seems like something you should automatically know when you’re hired, but the question comes up more often than you’d think. The confusion often arises when the terms of hire or the expectations from the employer are ambiguous or *shudder* not written down. And there are real consequences to not knowing whether you’re an employee or a contractor: it can affect whether you are eligible for employee-sponsored insurance, whether your employment is temporary, and for artists, whether or not you own rights in the work you’re hired to create.

January 22, 2020

The Work For Hire Doctrine - A Primer For Freelancers

January 22, 2020/ Greg Kanaan

I've never actually explained the Work For Hire doctrine in any meaningful way. I've only tiptoed around it, and that's just ridiculous when you consider the fact that artists generally aren't independently wealthy and need to work for a living. Since most artists make their living by creating their work on someone else's dime, that means they're relying on the Work For Hire doctrine even when they don't realize it.

January 07, 2020

Ask Greg: What's the Difference Between Selling and Licensing Your Work?

January 07, 2020/ Greg Kanaan

Recently I held a webinar on contracts during which I made passing reference to the difference between selling and licensing one's work. Afterwards, one of the attendees emailed me asking "so what actually IS the difference between selling your work and licensing it?" It's one of those questions that on the surface feels like it should have an obvious answer but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it's kind of like home equity or taxes (or really anything to do with money)... it's something that as an adult you vaguely understand, but you're honestly not sure and you've gone too long to admit it.

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