Los Angeles, CA Copyright Dispute Attorney

Intellectual property represents a person’s ideas and intellect. Though it’s intangible, the law still considers it a product. As such, it requires protection from unauthorized use. Throughout Southern California, many business owners have experienced an intellectual property dispute. Copyright infringement is one of the most common types of intellectual property disputes. This is when a person’s copyrighted work is used, distributed, displayed, performed, or reproduced without the copyright owner’s permission. Likewise, if someone’s copyrighted property is turned into derivative work, it could also be copyright infringement.

Once you have created and monetized your work, seeing your copyright infringed upon is both frustrating and costly. If copyright infringement has affected you, you have the right to pursue legal action against the infringing party. If you’re currently dealing with a dispute pertaining to copyrights, patents, or trademarks, reach out to Myers Law Group to seek the aid of an experienced Los Angeles copyright lawyer.

Fortunately, laws are in place to ensure your ideas are protected. To protect your intellectual property rights, contact the lawyers at Myers Law Group. We’re a team of highly experienced copyright attorneys in Los Angeles. It’s our goal to see clients’ property rights protected and their returns maximized. Meanwhile, downside risks will be kept to a minimum.

If your copyright has been unlawfully reproduced, you’ll need to consult with a copyright or intellectual property lawyer.

Some copyright attorneys focus on the application process, helping businesses and individuals register their work with the appropriate agency. On the other hand, some intellectual property lawyers concentrate on licensure and copyright infringement disputes.

Copyright disputes come in many forms, although some are more common than others.

Unfortunately, the convenience of the internet has made illegally reproducing copyrighted material easy. These violations are not limited to written works. Though copyright initially meant written intellectual property, the digital world has expanded those ideas. Media such as images, videos, music, HTML code, graphics, and data can be misused or stolen.

Some instances of CA copyright crimes are obvious. The infringing party might redistribute a published work, word for word, with little to no modifications. When this occurs, the courts in Southern California have little sympathy for those violating others’ intellectual property rights.

While the internet benefits creators in selling or displaying their materials, it’s also opened new pathways for copyright infringement to occur. As such, it’s imperative to register your copyright before publishing or distributing your work on the internet or otherwise.

Before pursuing copyright protection, make sure that your work qualifies. For a creative work to qualify for copyright registration, it must meet the following criteria:

• The party attempting to register has authored or created the work
• The work is original
• The work is fixed to some form of tangible medium

After producing original work in California, protect it against intellectual property theft by registering it. You aren’t required to register your work with the United States Copyright Office to possess intellectual property rights over it. However, to claim it as yours, you should. In addition, before you can pursue any copyright litigation, you must have registered the work as your own. If the work is not registered, you cannot take action in copyright violation claims.

Registering a copyright in California can be completed through an online application process. However, even simple errors could be detrimental to the success of the application and copyright registration. If an application is filed incorrectly and your rights are later infringed upon, the mistake could prevent the enforcement of your rights as the property owner.

Before filing a copyright application, contact an experienced intellectual property attorney to help you navigate the process.

If you’re seeking to deter other parties from infringing on your intellectual property rights, it’s a good idea to register with the U.S. Copyright Office. If infringement occurs, resolving the situation will be considerably easier.

According to the Copyright Act of 1976, once a work has been registered, its owner is the only party that can:

• Create reproductions or copy the work
• Create derivative works from the original
• Publicly distribute copies of the work
• Publicly display or perform the work

If another party performs any of these actions after you’ve registered your copyright, you can pursue legal action against them. In those cases, you should first reach out to a Los Angeles copyright lawyer for assistance.

As soon as your intellectual property rights are violated, there are a few important steps you’ll need to take.

Oftentimes, this process begins by sending a Cease and Desist letter. In this letter, the party infringing on your copyright will be informed of their actions and provided with details explaining the violation. The Cease and Desist letter will also request that they stop their actions by a particular date. In minor instances of copyright infringement, the Cease and Desist letter will be both the beginning and end of the process, especially if the infringement has caused minimal damage to the property’s owner.

In other cases, the Cease and Desist letter will be sent and received, but the copyright infringement will continue to occur. You’ll then need to demonstrate that the other party’s work is “substantially similar” to your own. If a jury or judge determines that the work is substantially similar, it will be considered a violation of copyright.

A common defense of copyright claims pertains to fair use. Fair use could include commentary content, research, news reporting, or criticism. If the defending party has made a fair use claim, the court will determine whether their creation fits into one of the aforementioned categories. The character and purpose of the work will need to be closely examined. A determination will be made whether the work was created for commercial purposes, how much of it was taken from the original work, and the impact that it has had or will have on the market.

If you’re unable to reach an agreement with the opposing party, the next step is to pursue a copyright claim against them in federal court.

Compared to most other states, California’s federal courts are more familiar with copyright claims. This is due to the state’s larger population, as well as the substantial volume of copyrighted creations, including TV programming and movies.

Once you’ve filed a copyright claim or lawsuit in California, you can expect to go through the following steps:

1. Filing the ComplaintYou’ll begin the process by filing a copyright complaint. Once the complaint has been filed, the defendant will be given up to 21 days to respond.
2. DiscoveryAll parties involved in the dispute will meet with their legal representatives. Both parties involved in the claim will submit their discovery requests. These requests can pertain to interrogatories, admission, deposition notices, and/or document requests. Discovery is the process of disclosing all pertinent information for a case. Both sides have the right to cross-reference each other’s evidence prior to litigation.
3. MotionsOnce the discovery period has been completed, any parties involved in the claim may file motions. These motions will then receive summary judgment.
4. Court TrialIt’s relatively rare that a copyright claim will reach the litigation stage before being resolved. However, in some cases, the parties will be unable to resolve the dispute. Copyright dispute trials typically last just three to five days, giving both sides sufficient time to present their cases.

To calculate the exact monetary damages, the court will examine specific details of the infringement based on both parties’ claims.

Sometimes, the damages being claimed will be straightforward during copyright cases. In instances where the damages are more complex or are difficult to prove, it’s possible for the plaintiff to seek statutory damages.

If the work’s owner receives statutory damages, the size of their reward can vary. While some infringed works may allow the owner to collect $750, others will entail a monetary reward of $30,000 or more. For statutory damages to be granted, however, the work must have been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

It’s impossible to calculate the winnings of a copyright infringement lawsuit without knowing the details of the case.

Surprisingly, copyright and copyright registration aren’t synonymous terms. The distinction is important to understand, especially if you’re pursuing legal action relating to intellectual property infringement.

If you’ve created a work, then you own the copyright over the work. This is true from the moment that the work is first produced, whether it’s an image, video, song, or another type of qualifying creation.

Alternatively, a copyright registration takes deliberate action by the work’s owner. The creator must submit an application with the U.S. Copyright Office, as described above.

If you’re pursuing legal action against an infringing party, having a copyright registration allows you to claim statutory damages. In cases of intellectual property theft, statutory damages are often far more lucrative than non-statutory damages.

Not everyone is able to recognize copyright infringement, but, in layman’s terms, it’s copying or stealing an idea. Even if the work hasn’t been perfectly reproduced or copied, it’s still possible that infringement has occurred. The fundamental requirement is that a substantial similarity can be found between the original work and the other party’s work.

Some examples of copyright infringement are as follows:

• An illustrator’s original sketches or drawings were reproduced without permission in a commercial publication, such as a book or magazine.
• A photographer’s work has been published in a catalog or on a commercial seller’s website without the creator’s consent.
• Original clothing, jewelry, or toy designs were reproduced by a competing company.
• Someone’s source code was stolen and integrated into another party’s video game.

If your copyrighted work has been reproduced or stolen without your consent, then it’s in your best interest to hire a copyright attorney.

When you’re unable to prove that your rights were infringed upon, you will be unable to collect compensation or have the infringing work destroyed. A copyright lawyer understands the ins and outs of the relevant laws, as well as typical court procedures. This level of experience can be invaluable to a copyright infringement claim; it could be the difference between not receiving an award at all or successfully proving that your rights were violated.

The team of legal professionals at Myers Law Group are experts in corporate and intellectual property law — it’s our specialty. We pride ourselves in providing cost-effective and timely services to our clients, should their intellectual property rights ever be violated. Additionally, Myers Law Group has experience handling cases from several legal areas, including:

• Business Litigation
• Intellectual Property
• Internet Law
• Misappropriation
• Business Contracts, Formation, and Governance
• Entertainment Law

Our combined legal experience spans over 80 years. To learn more about the Myers Law team, simply take a look at our biographies.

As the creator of intellectual property, we understand that you want your assets to be protected. We’ll work quickly and efficiently to see that your rights are protected, whether we’re dealing with business assets, entertainment media, or other forms of intellectual property.

If you need help copyrighting your intellectual property, contact our office. Likewise, if you find your work has been illegally reproduced, contact our office. Don’t wait to pursue legal action against an infringing party. Instead, keep your copyrighted works safe by getting in touch with Myers Law Group. We serve intellectual property owners throughout the Los Angeles, CA area. To schedule a consultation with us, fill out the contact form on our site, or call our toll-free number.

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