Week 8 BOC: Progress in getting a lawyer

What I've done so far to find  a lawyer for my final project in  my Contracts, Negotiations and Copyright course is ask people close to me if they know any lawyers who would be willing to have an interview with a student who needs advice on intellectual property. My mother knows someone who is studying the law, and is working for an attorney, but I don't feel like that really meets the qualifications for what I'm being asked to do, so I've decided I will work on my questions and make sure they're the best I can ask before calling the law firm that caught my attention the most after looking through various law firms and lawyers last week. The law firm is called Reynolds and Associates, and an old friend used to work for them and is related to them, so I have a good feeling that they are very kind and would be willing to help a student with legal advice. And if that doesn't work out, I will call the other lawyers and see if any of them are kind enough to help me. After I'm done with my interview I will start working on the rest of the project, for I want to finish it as soon as possible so I won't have to stress out too much during finals.

Week 7 EOC

I will admit hearing about the final project for Contracts, Negotiations and Copyrights gave me a lot to think about, but I feel that if I plan the assignment well, it can help me succeed and get the grade I want. What I plan on doing is first asking my close family if they know any lawyers to see if I have a great opportunity in which not only I can do my assignment, but also do it more comfortably knowing the lawyer I'm interviewing is also a friend of my family. But if that doesn't work, I don't have to worry too much for I have already made a local lawyers that may be able to help me, and a kind class mate directed me to a website where I could find more. When I was looking through Lawyers.com I made sure to get the names of lawyers who aren't very "big" and probably not as busy as others. I like to call them "indie lawyers". They would most likely appreciate the attention and would gladly help me out. Before I make the calls, I will create a list of professional questions to ask the lawyer in order to get very informative answers that can help me in the future. These questions will obviously focus more on situations that may happen throughout my photography career so that if something does happen, I will know what to do; I will be prepared.

Week 6 EOC

When I watched the 2008 documentary Illicit: The Dark Trade by National Geographic, I saw many things that I didn't know about. I already knew about piracy -illegally downloading songs, movies, etc. - and I knew about fake purses and glasses, specially after I saw a huge market selling that stuff in Los Angeles, but I didn't know much about the other things pirates do like make fake money, and I didn't know that the fake products they sell were sold so much all around the world. It's an interesting, informative, documentary but it also gives off the feeling of fear. It gives the viewer a message: don't pirate or we can come get you. But then again, I shouldn't really worry about that because I myself don't like to buy fakes. I don't like the feeling of owning a fake product, even if it's cheaper. I want to have the real thing. I want to know the product I paid for works. And for things like fake glasses, which I rarely wear, I just don't want a fake pair. I have downloaded music from the internet, or YouTube to MP3 converters, but I also care about the artists I listen to and I support the by buying their CDs, and going to see them live. I love buying CDs as a matter of fact. I love having the physical album with me, and being able to open the booklets inside, or putting the album on my wall as art. I love collecting albums. I also enjoy going to concerts - a lot. Going to concerts is a hobby to me, a hobby which I do very often. Not only am I having a great time surrounded by fans, but I'm also showing the artist(s) that I support him, her, or them.

Week 5 EOC: Patent Trolls

­In 2010 a man named Raymond E. Stauffer went shopping at a Brooks Brothers store at a New Jersey mall, probably unaware that he would be the start of something important. Being a patent lawyer, Mr. Stauffer noticed that the bow ties at the Brooks Brothers store were labeled with old patent numbers. According to the Wall Street Journal report, "He sued Brooks Brothers Inc. in federal court, claiming it broke the law by marking its adjustable bow ties with patents that expired in the 1950s." This was a very smart thing for him to do. Not only is he making things right, he's also making some dough by doing it. A Justice Department spokesman agrees: "We do think that these suits have directed industry attention to the need to adopt procedures to assure that patent markings are accurate and to remove the numbers of expired patents from products," says Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman. "This should result in more accurate information on products and their packaging, which would be beneficial to consumers." So while it's great that Stauffer made money from this, it's even better that he's also helping people by scaring companies into checking their products for expired patents. Numerous attorneys who represent manufacturers of consumer products said that "They are checking the status of patents and scrambling to review the product lines on shelves to be sure labeling is up-to-date. And they are contacting suppliers to make sure their patents are valid." Some of the companies that have gotten in trouble with expired patents include: Procter & Gamble, Bayer Healthcare LLC, Cisco Systems, Scientific-Atlanta, Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc., 3M Co., DirecTV, and Medtronic Inc. With big names like these it's no wonder why other companies became worried. I'm sure that because of this event, companies are a lot more conscious now and make sure their patents are all good.


Quotes and info from: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7041074526395473149#editor/target=post;postID=6884052116167269648

Week 4 EOC: Death Match Jeopardy

On July 31, 2012 I took part in a Jeopardy game in class with the purpose of learning, while having fun. I had to contribute to the game in several ways; by studying, playing, and making my own game. To be able to play, I really had to study many definitions from the book, Patent, Copyright, and Trademark by Richard Stim so that I would know the answers. I also had to search for, and study words in order to create my own game. This really helped me learn and understand words more than I would if I were just studying. On the day of class when I got to play other student's games I saw that playing Jeopardy can be very educational - and fun. I loved the competition; it made me want to look through the book for the answer even more, therefore making me want to learn. While making my own game was also a learning experience, playing other student's games was better because I had seen, and learned words that I hadn't to my own game, making this game an even better learning experience. I think this idea of having students create a Jeopardy game and then play each others games to learn should be used in other classes because it really is helpful, and by making the experience fun, and competitive, it makes the student want to gain more knowledge to win the game, at the same time preparing him or her for exams. After the games on Tuesday, I still need to study more to be sure I can pass the exam, but at least I will already know many of the definitions and that really can be of great help.