Intellectual Property Basics

(THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE - MERERLY a RESPRESENTATION of THE BASICS of IP LAW)

Most people just do NOT get intellectual property but the BASICS are not that hard to understand. And the main areas are Copyright, Trademark, Patents and Trade Secrets.


I’ll touch on Patents just to get them out of the way – Patents are governed by the USPTO – Patent and Trademark office. If you’ve come up with a new design (plants, mechanical, etc, etc) and that design is useful, non-obvious and UNIQUE then you can get a PATENT – but it’s COSTLY and you’ve got ONE YEAR to file for a provisional Patent (to buy a little time) and for your FULL on PATENT which could take YEARS to be granted. So if you’ve got a great new idea that you’ve build and want to market – get your ducks in a row and HIRE a GREAT PATENT ATTORNEY unless you think you can do it yourself – if so, good luck! Einstein was a Patent Clerk…enough said? Patents are designed to protect the OWNER of the Patent but only for a LIMITED TIME – 20 years, so that other companies can put them out and prevent a Monopoly – and of course, the 20 years is for the owner to be able to recoup their R & D ( research and development). So patents protect the owners for a time and then the consumer to be able to buy that design for a much better price and Patents are governed by FEDERAL LAW.

Copyright is probably the most common of all intellectual property rights – and these rights can get a bit complicated as one can get a Copyright immediately but it has no teeth. Suffice it to say that one is granted a “Statutory Copyright” when one creates a “work” and puts it out there for others to view, touch, etc. To keep this discussion as brief as possible I’ll stick to music or websites. You’ll often see song with a © notice or even a website with a © but does that mean that a copyright has been actually filed? NO! It’s easy enough to find out – go to the Library of Congress.Gov – and you can EASILY find out what copyrights have been filed. If the copyright was NOT filed – all that means is that the ORIGINAL OWNER (if you can prove you created the work) has a “Statutory Copyright” and the only POWER that invokes is injunctive relief – or “stop using my work!” – Not much help – right? So it would be wise to file your copyrights so that people can’t take part of your code (from you website) or part of your song (a sample) or just take the whole thing and use it as their own. Plus the owner can get damages for infringement along with attorney’s fees, etc – and all works come with a “BUNDLE OF RIGHTS” but that again is TOO MUCH for this blog – See “The Truth about the Music Business” for more information. But you’ll have to buy the BOOK! Copyright is also governed by FEDERAL LAW but Copyright is designed solely to protect the CREATOR of the work! Not like Patents that are a hybrid or Trademark that protects the CONSUMER!

So, now we’ll talk about Trademark which is governed by FEDERAL LAW and STATE LAW as many states have enacted similar Statutes as a lot of companies just work in ONE STATE or surrounding states and therefore want to only protect their rights in a smaller area. Trademark rights unlike ALL other IP RIGHTS are NOT designed to protect the OWNER of the mark – but the CONSUMER – in regards to the origin of the goods and/or services. In short, when you as a consumer see that BRAND (LOGO) or Name – then you know that you can trust it – (as least that’s the goal!) But TM rights are indeed ALL POWERFUL as if somebody infringes on your mark – and creates confusion in the market place then the DAMAGES can be HUGE – of course, you can always put TM next to your name which shows an intention to trademark your name or that you are in the PROCESS of getting a TRADEMARK but until you actually have the mark REGISTERED and on file with the USPTO – you can only get injunctive relief. Get a REGISTERD MARK and you get injunctive relief, you get Statutory Damages, attorneys fees and in the worst case scenario for an infringer – the owner of the mark can take ALL of your profits from the illegal use of that Mark less what you can PROVE it cost you to make those profits. But in short, an owner of a mark can basically put an infringer OUT OF BUSINESS for GOOD!

The Last is TRADE SECRETS and this is governed by STATE LAW- this just means that if you have internal processes or ways of doing things, ideas, concepts, etc that are UNIQUE to YOUR business – you need to protect them – but you can’t FILE TRADE SECRETS with any agency – you just have to make sure that if you disseminate these secrets within or even outside of your company – you MUST be sure to put something on those communiqués that “THIS IS A TRADE SECRET’ and any type of reasonable damages you think you would be entitled to should someone STEAL your SECRETS of YOUR TRADE!

Just remember – your better of FILING for protection and NOT just going about your business without paying for the proper protection as you’ll end up with no better than “injunctive relief” or in other words, you can get a court to say – STOP DOING THAT!

AGAIN THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE nor is it INTENDED TO BE!
YOU SHOULD CONTACT an attorney if you would like more info or if you need any HELP with these issues, however, you are more than Welcome to buy my BOOK!

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MUSIC BUSINESS - Steve Moore, B.A., J.D., Author


SM @ MSO

The Black Eyed Peas and The Half-Time Show...A total Disappointment!

I'm actually a pretty decent fan of the Black Eyed Peas. I like their studio stuff and a few of their videos - and I like the "Concept" of the band - and how they each have a unique personality and make that all work together as a whole. It's sad that they haven't really had more hits - but welcome the music business.

HOWEVER, I'm sorry to say that LAST NIGHT'S performance was well - JUST AWFUL! In fact, it was a reminder of how the proliferation of software DAW's like Pro Tools and Post-Editing tools for Video that are now so cheap that almost anyone can get in on the action with very little money- and if you get REALLY good at these APPS you really don't have to have MUCH TALENT AT ALL! In fact, PRO TOOLS has on their main adverts that you don't need any music talent at all - just ONE FINGER and with a LOT of practice, forethought and about 1000 hours of studio time and YOU TOO can be a STAR!

Well it was pretty obvious after seeing the LIVE - that they are USING all the studio tricks that are necessary to make them come off like they can actually BRING IT - and they surely didn't BRING IT LIVE - as least not IMHO. One would think that since they used the OBVIOUS Auto-Tune sound which has gotten to be SO OVERUSED that it's a JOKE that they could have used a BANK of Auto-Tunes and other pitch correction HW devices (like so many if not ALL of the major acts out there are using) that they could have come off like they indeed have some concept of PITCH Control.

Granted it was ALL LIVE and I'm sure SUPER, SUPER hard to pull off the set up in a short time - as that was obvious when they had MIC issues and Mix issues as their voices were not mixed well at least not during the first few minutes. But when I started to hear pure PITCH issues - I thought they had more command over their voices than I heard last night. Sure FERGIE can sing - but she's NOT even close to as good as some of the "other" singers of her time that have come before her - whether from IDOL or from the YouTube phenom or those that has risen through the ranks to get Major Deals and have created careers the OLD FASHIONED WAY – but you can’t deny, she’s certainly easy on the eyes and very talented, but I was SHOCKED at the notes she missed. And again, it was obvious they were using Auto-Tune in the OVERDONE way as per many other artists but couldn’t they have put some signal processing to correct some of those blatant bad notes? Who knows, I’m sure they were being mixed from somewhere WAY far away from the stadium – and I’m sure there was a MS (millisecond) or so of time delay to allow for the sync up of Video and Audio – but again, I’m sure that it was a massive undertaking for all involved – but with today’s technology, why couldn’t they PULL IT OFF? After all it’s the SUPER BOWL! But in my humble opinion, playing that gig is probably going to HURT the BEP’s More that it helped their careers – and the fact that it was done so POORLY from an Audio and PITCH point of view just PROVES that they are better off in the studio and hence, I don’t think I’d EVER buy a ticket to see them live. But what do I know? Not much – but I know what “I LIKE” and I did NOT like that performance. Get back to the studio and create a hit song - if you want to revive your career - as last nights performance did more harm than good!

DD & MSO

Down to Four - no THREE MAJOR RECORD LABELS

Well I said it in 2001 or so when I started High Cotton Records - the day of the Major Record labels are numbered.  Well we're losing another MAJOR this week - EMI.  What does this mean to the average consumer - not much really other than there's one less player that can try to develop bands, fund their entire promotion, marketing and distribution (as it NRC's - or Normal Retail Channels even matter).  And one less company to pay big radio huge dollars for ADS - yes, on the inside music companies and radio stations refer to "songs" as ADS - as somebody is paying to get the newest music out there.

But for those of us that live in middle America and/or Small Town USA - we're not going to notice as we're still going to have those local stations that play the SAME songs all the time and less and less companies are able to pay to get NEW music out there - so you're going to have to look elsewhere- the only real problem is WHERE - there's so many choices to find music and even MORE music to choose from today than ever before. 

We're never going to stop seeing the top 5% of acts that will still be on radio, TV, touring, etc - and we'll see more and more blow up on YouTube.  Just suffice it to say the Music Business although in a major INCOME decline as CD sales tanked last year even worse than years before but also ONLINE SALES took a HUGE DIVE as well - as there's just too many ways to get what you want to hear for FREE so for those artists or songwriters out there thinking they'll be cashing huge BMI/ASCAP checks - think again. Get with Sound Exchange and start to focus on Mobile Media - if you can hit THAT market - folks will find you on your others sites or get intrigued enough to hit the iTunes store.

The moral of this story - do it yourself - but do NOT think you don't have to put in the time - the reason why music was so good in the earlier days was that people WORKED at it!  Thousands of hours honing their craft - the only difference today is that you have to hone your craft and THEN know how to get it all out there yourself - or find these smaller and faster/forward thinking small and nimble companies that can help you get your music out! But it all depends on GREAT SONGS and TOURING - if you have GREAT SONGS - the message will go viral and you'll take off - and keep MOST of your money instead of giving MOST of it to the MAJORS where they want a 360 deal - where they get a large piece of the entire pie!

SM @ MSO

Netflix and the Long Tail is it getting shorter?

Long Tail Marketing – the Future! Not any more. And that was the real trick as Netflix used to say one could get over 30,000 title and 10,000 “STREAMING” movies over the internet as part of your service – but nobody had an internet ready TV of Blu-Ray player.


But all that’s changed, more and more people are moving from their computers to their internet ready devices and now Netflix is complaining about Hollywood asking TOO much money for streams and of course, in reaction to ALL of this they have now reduced the number of streaming titles to something you can almost search through in less than an hour.

Are Joost, Hulu and other streaming services along with others that are now offering streaming movies hurting Netflix? You BET! Are they hurting them bad? Not really as many people may have bought the Blu-Ray players that hook up to your TV and are configured with your wireless router assuming people can sort that out – or if they don’t have an SSID (secured router such that the neighbors can piggy back along) or even some have bought internet ready TV’s but most people are not THAT tech savvy and don’t know that they can run a simple DVI/HDMI out and hook that up direct to most NEWER TV – or in the worst case, they can run a simple S-Video out of their existing Video Card from the back of their computer – but what about the AUDIO? Simple enough; just take a splitter for 16mm pin and run a wire from your sound card direct to the audio input of your TV unless of course you watch TV or MOVIES from your computer. And that was the case with Netflix a long time ago, as you had to KNOW how to get both Audio and Video to your TV – if you didn’t want to watch from your laptop or your computer.

As more and more content is available online and as your TV merges into your iPad, or other Devices along with internet ready TV devices – having just the major Brand options on your TV won’t mean much in the coming years as more and more companies are going to be offering streaming services and the company that merges your computer to your TV the FASTEST with NO RESTRTAINTS are going to way ahead of the pack and as more and more CONTENT is streamed, Hollywood is going to be faced with the same decision as the music business.

And let us not forget that Comcast has bought out NBC – so they’ll be getting in on the Content Game as they at Comcast are already cutting back on your ISP Baud Rates – mine has dropped down to at least 10 Kpbs down instead of my 28 Kpbs that I once had. Is it because of Bit Torrent – NO – it’s because of Netflix and other streaming services like Pandora! I guess you CAN’T have it ALL like they say….

SM @ MSO

Looking for a ONE STOP PLACE for Branding, A/V, Websites, etc?

Then look no further...let us hook you up with "The Service Station"

PROMO VIDEO

Click on LINK  - I think you'll be VERY IMPRESSED!!

Contact Steve Moore for more info...

SM @ MSO
musicsquareone@gmail.com

STREAMING RADIO and the FUTURE

Well it's just gotten so if you can't find what you want - FREE - then you are not looking very hard.

Now I'm not a huge proponent of FREE DOWNLOADS, even though my company along with Mike Lawson did the very FIRST Internet download EVER  *(and it was LEGAL) via CompuServer before the WWW even existed.

Be that as it may, there's a LOT happening in the STREAMING markets - and it looks like SPOTIFY will be moving to America - of course, there's plenty of other places to go - Mr. "KVETCH" prefers the whole AOL thing but I'm just NOT a fan of AOL/TIME WARNER since they bought out CompuServe and were SO PERVASIVE during the 90's and early 2000's - I've got too many friends using AOL interface for E-mail etc and if they've got a computer issue - it's usually AOL that's the problem - even if you UNINSTALL AOL it still leaves a TON of files all over your computer that you can't get rid of UNLESS you reformat...

But I digress...

I've got Satellite XM/Sirius in my car and the Internet - but I like some variety and don't like to pay for Satellite on my PC/MAC - so while I'm in the car, I usually listen to the Coffeehouse - Acoustic Covers, etc - but while I'm working - I really like Pandora - I've created almost 50 stations and can listen to almost any Genre, song, artist, you name it- but as with all things...I have to deal with the odd commercial now and again, as they become more pervasive - I'll just pay for it - let's just hope we don't get an ISP TAX for CONTENT - as that may WORK well for the Internet Service Providers and in some way for STREAMING SERVICES - but that will NOT BODE well for the CONTENT PROVIDERS - as what METRIC will they use to PAY the ARTIST, SONGWRITERS or even pay the session players, their meager $0.0000000001 cents per play.  It's gotten just a LITTLE bit ridiculous but what can you expect when almost every musician or their brother has a home studio and crank out music and then POST almost anywhere and EVERYWHERE -

Hence the reason I like Pandora - (even though it does have an ARBITRON type algorithm to pick other songs) - but I can choose enough channels or create more to focus in on what I like. 

But I also query, how do they keep up with people that have two computers side by side - and use ST AUDIO OUT - into STEREO AUDIO IN  and just make their OWN copies of what's being played.  Well there's NOT much anyone can do!  But I do NOT have a problem paying for subscription services as opposed to buying song from iTunes - as once I've listened to a song a few times - I really don't care to revisit it anytime soon. But that's the future - all things available at all times - so get used to it - and learn how to build your own websites, get your brand out there - and work those social networks, because IF your MUSIC IS GOOD ENOUGH the people will COME!!

Royalties may not be what they used to be - nor is there much value in Sync Rights - but I love what Pomplomoose is doing - a simple set up with Pro Tools, a couple of Hi-Def cams and Sony Vegas and they've got their own label - and not even a very good website - but they are doing well and I"m happy for them - it's a brave new world - see be ready for change and go with the flow - as there's never been a better time to try to break out on your own - and with only FOUR MAJOR LABELS left - and EMI about to close the BIG THREE left standing haven't changed - so why not change along with the times!

Keep chasing your dreams and don't wait on success to knock on your door - go out and knock the doors down! 

SM @ MSO

MIDEM – THE International Music Conference in Cannes France

You can't afford to MISS THIS!!

I think my first trip to Cannes (pronounced CAN not CAHN) was in January of 1991 or 92. I had a friend of mine that was staying at my house in Nashville for an extended period of time as it was a good fit for the both of us. His name: Ralph Murphy. Ralph is currently VP of ASCAP Nashville and had been to Midem since – well before I had gotten out of high school. Ralph and I had a deal that he would introduce me to everyone he knew as I was new in Nashville and even though I had a Law Degree with a focus on International Law – I didn’t have much experience on the international scene either and if you are looking to break into work on the international level in the music business then MIDEM is the place to do it! So we planned our trip to Cannes and off we went.


It’s held at the end of January every year and is the most incredible trade show you could ever attend. Imagine if you will, people from all over the world showing up in the same place and all having their first of the year budgets ready to spend. You will find that you will end up meeting more people and making more deals that you could in MONTHS of working the phones and corresponding or even attending any other event in the music business. It’s like a feeding frenzy and be prepared to not get much sleep as I closed more deals after MIDNIGHT than I did all day as that’s when things slow down and you get a chance to sit and visit with people for an extended period of time.

Just BE PREPARED if you go – ship as much of your accoutrement ahead of time and have it waiting at the Hotel as you do NOT want to be lugging around a ton of CD’s or Promo Items, etc as it’s a long trip and also pack an extra change of clothes in your shipment as my first trip there – the airlines lost my luggage so I was without my suits for a couple of days – but that’s a whole other story. Also, there are plenty of shuttles so do NOT stay on the main strip if you want to save some money! I usually stayed at Cannes Beach Residence and could literally have several of my friends stay in my Beach Suite as it had two bedrooms, a couch, a bed under the couch and you could get MORE beds if you like. Want you privacy? Don’t worry about it – you won’t be in your hotel room very much as there’s just TOO much going on and you don’t want to waste a second.

The most important thing is to pay for floor access – you don’t need a booth (unless that’s your thing) but you get there early, grab a couple of espressos and hit the floor! Bring comfortable shoes as you’re going to be doing a TON of walking and that’s what you do – walk from one end of the place to the next which is sort of laid out like a baseball field – you hit one side and then the other and every 10 feet or so, you’ll hit a booth with plenty of people to talk to! So have your business cards ready – I found that I could literally not just pitch my clients for international deals but that there were PLENTY of people trying to work with somebody from Nashville so I would end up getting enough work to keep me busy for 6 months after the show.

Go to as many seminars that are of interest and plan your day from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. as that’s the kind of days your going to face – remember people are coming from ALL time zones so there’s going to be people up and out to mingle with 24/7. I could go on and on – but I could literally write another book about this show, the stories and experience I had but the MOST important thing I would like my readers to get out of this Blog is that if you don’t go – you’ll never know and it is one of the most amazing experiences you’ll ever have in your life – I made that trip many, many times and am working my way back to being able to go more often as well as perhaps hitting the multi-media show that’s held in March before the international film festival in May which are all held at the same place! The Palais De Festival…and don’t think you can’t afford it – you can’t afford NOT to go! And if you do it right – you WILL MAKE MONEY! So if you can, get your passport ready, book your hotel and flights way in advance, get a game plan so you don’t waste any time and JUST GO! It will change your life forever! For more information check out: http://www.midem.com/

Happy, yet safe travels and go take on the world!

SM @ MSO