Final Project: Reasoning of the Law

In some of the questions, I tried my best to make sure that I understood what different kinds of attorneys handled what specific cases.  For example, patent attorneys have different backgrounds for different kinds of cases ranging anywhere from songs, music, products, or even engineering of the publications.  ”Music publishers acquire the ownership of song copyrights when the songwriter transfers copyright ownership in exchange for payments or an ongoing royalty” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 294) One of the important highlights from the interview, that seemed intriguing was the consequences of one that does commit infringement. “An infringer who commits one or more infringements during a 180-day period for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain can be fined and imprisoned for one to five years depending upon the value of the infringements.” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 244)  What I found ironic was any one who is involved in the act is also prosecuted, but if someone didn’t know that copying wasn’t permitted would not endure any prosecutions. ”The government will also prosecute anyone who knowingly and willfully aids in a criminal infringement.  The government will not prosecute innocent infringers, that is, persons who had a good-faith reason to believe that copying was permitted, although those persons can still be subject to a civil law suit.” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 244)  These consequences can lead to what is known as damages to be owed. ”Also called compensatory damages, this consists of the dollar amount of any demonstrable loss the owner suffered as a result of the infringing activity.  This loss may be from lost sales, lost licensing revenue, or any other provable financial loss directly attributable to the infringement.” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 245)  In the end these infringement lawsuits due have the set backs and their way of backfiring on the plaintiff. “Any money made by the infringer as a result of the infringement.  These damages are only awarded if they exceed the amount of profits lost by the copyright owner (actual damages) as a result of the infringement.” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 310)   Rut found a way to answer all my questions in a matter of what steps I can take to better understand how I can protect something that could create in the future.  She also the knowledge she gained from prior cases that she had taken.