Archive for December, 2007

Intellectual Property Resources

One of the issues that comes up in Alaska frequently is the issue about whether something can be copyrighted or not, particularly as it relates to traditional knowledge. Can you obtain a copyright for your beautiful parka if you have used a design that indicates that it was made in Point Hope? If a basket is woven in a pattern unique to Hooper Bay, can you create a basket like that and prohibit someone else from using the design?

The short answer is no. Traditional patterns that have been used as time immemorial are considered to be part of the public domain, and cannot be copyrighted.  You can only obtain copyright for what is your original design or creation.

Some of the articles that deal with this issue can be found on the attached link.

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New Additions on the Blogroll

I’ve added a link to the Alaska statutes, including the 2007 statutes for easy reference.  For those that are looking for wills and probates, it is section 13.  The post references for trademarks and copyrights are scattered throughout, so the easiest way to locate all of them is to scroll down to the post that  I gave at a food conference that has them all in one spot.

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A Short Overview of the Probate Process

Probate is a difficult and awful time for the interested persons, even under the best of circumstances. You’ve just lost a loved one, you’re grieving, and then here’s a lawyer telling you that you need an attorney to get through the process, it’ll probably take up to a year (or more, depending on the facts that surrounded the decedent’s estate) and you’re being hounded with the medical bills from the last illness. There is no good way to navigate through the process, but it can be helpful walking into any attorney’s office, knowing what to expect.

a) Expect that probate will take several months, even for an expedited one. There is the opening of the estate ( if the estate is small enough, you may not need to do this, but if it’s over $25, 000 in Alaska, be prepared to open an estate).

b) A personal representative must be appointed.

c) An inventory must be done – this includes rounding up all of the assets and the debts of the decedent, so that you have an idea of what the estate is truly worth, and how to divide the assets properly. In Alaska, the inventory must be done within 90 days of the appointment of the personal representative.

d) Notice must be given to heirs, devisees, and all known creditors. If you know of a creditor, it is wise to inform them of the probate proceeding to avoid a suit to collect by a creditor that should have been paid, and was a known creditor. There is case law from the Supreme Court on this issue.

e) Publication must occur – a newspaper must be contacted and publish so that creditors can come forward.

f) A final distribution petition must be filed with the court and the court must approve it.

g) The personal representative must petition to close the estate.

h) If there is property out of state, an ancillary probate proceeding must also be initiated to deal with the properties.

i) During the probate process, there are the logistics of making sure that the estate assets are being preserved while the probate process is opened. This includes paying taxes on properties, maintaining insurance on vehicles, boats, and planes, and taking steps to make sure that the estate assets are not wasted.

These are the basics of an estate- probate proceedings can often be incredibly intricate, costly and time consuming, not to mention overwhelming when someone is struggling with the grief of losing a loved one.

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Trademark Searches and Trademark Insurance

One of the things that I find helpful to discuss with clients is the need to have trademark insurance. I bring up this issue not because I wish to stress out clients, but because I think it’s important that a client be aware that there can be liability associated with their mark if for some reason their mark is found to have infringed on someone else’s mark. This is also a predominant reason why I encourage clients to have a professional search done by a company such as Thompson. The search can be costly at the outset, but in the long run, $500-$3000 (depending on the type of the search- whether the search is merely the name of the product, the search includes a phrase or the search includes a logo), it’s a small outlay to avoid litigation, when you figure that you have to have $50,000 in hand just to start litigation, and expect the cost to go up from there.

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