Archive for category Lawyers

When Silence Is Golden

“It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt.” ― attributed to Mark Twain There’s a little known fact that legitimate attorneys turn down more potential cases than the public knows. Lawyers figure that it is better to encourage as many phone or in person consultations for many potential […]

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“99% of all Lawyers Give the Rest a Bad Name” – Steven Wright

If you get a letter from a lawyer, again, DO NOT ANSWER IT YOURSELF. See a trusted local lawyer. Here the client almost paid $5,000 for nothing other than to fill the pockets of some lawyers preying on the uninformed.

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Never Trust And Always Verify

Apologies to Mr. Reagan, but in the world of copyright authors ought trust nobody but themselves when it comes to registering their work. We get – on average – two inquiries per week which are variations of the following scenario: An author or contributor of photos or illustrations contained in (usually) a book, have entered into an […]

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Watch Our Last B&H Event Space Presentation

Here are links, via Vimeo or Facebook, of our last B&H presentation “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Lawyer” It was mostly about lawyers for creative people. And if there are any questions, you can leave them here for us to answer. Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/698268146 Facebook: https://fb.watch/cOFOO2AKRn/    

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We’re At It Again May 4th 5:00-6:00pm ET

Another free B&H Event Place Q&A&Q session on May 4th at 5:00pm ET. Did we remember to say FREE!?? We’ll be going over whatever questions come in, but if they don’t, we’ll go over some lawyer issues.  Good and bad. What to look for hiring a lawyer, what to ask, what do lawyers look for […]

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It’s Never Too Late –  Copyright Registration of Older Photos

Photos taken decades ago, infringed say two years ago BUT never registered CAN be registered now and the creator, estate, widow/widower etc can sue and collect money damages and put an end to the infringing uses. NEVER assume that it is too late to do anything without first speaking with an experience Copyright litigator. By […]

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The Whole Magillah – Instagram’s Sub-License

There have been some issues lately that seems to get everyone’s drawers in a knot, above and beyond politics. For photographers it’s court cases that generate headlines, but don’t really tell the whole story. In some court cases the story changes 180 degrees and while the first iteration burns up social media sites, the second […]

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Trademarks, Copyrights and Photographing Buildings

A little while ago, we got a question from one of the readers to this blog, Matthew, who asked: “Hello Jack and Ed, one of my bucket list life goals is to see the 1894, 1915, and 1939-40 World’s Fairs of San Francisco digitally reconstructed, so one could explore these bygone historical spaces virtually. Ideally, these […]

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Vagueness is the Kingdom of the Devil

“Vagueness is the kingdom of the devil and it is as such on purpose.” … Lamine Pearlheart There is a Legal concept “Void for Vagueness” which means in plain English that if an average citizen can’t understand what is written, it’s unenforceable. Being vague or noncommittal is a very useful social skill. “I see…” or […]

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Pandemic Predators

During these extraordinary times criminals and fraudsters have been arrested for selling fake cures, testing kits, and counterfeit ineffective personal protection equipment like masks and gowns.  The photo industry is being confronted by a different brand of predators who while not putting lives at risk, are nevertheless seeking to take money from creatives’ pockets. It is plainly […]

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