Week 10 EOC: Lawyer jokes

• ·         A lawyer boarded an airplane in New Orleans with a box of frozen crabs and asked a blonde stewardess to take care of them for him.She took the box and promised to put it in the crew's refrigerator. He advised her that he was holding her personally responsible for them staying frozen, mentioning in a very haughty manner that he was a lawyer, and proceeded to rant at her about what would happen if she let them thaw out.Needless to say, she was annoyed by his behavior. Shortly before landing in New York, she used the intercom to announce to the entire cabin, "Would the lawyer who gave me the crabs in New Orleans, please raise your hand." Not one hand went up . . . . so she took them home and ate them.

• ·         Many years ago, a junior partner in a firm was sent to a far-away state to represent a long-term client accused of robbery. After days of trial, the case was won, the client acquitted and released. Excited about his success, the attorney telegraphed the firm: "Justice prevailed." The senior partner replied in haste: "Appeal immediately."

• ·         Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, an honest lawyer and an old drunk are walking down the street together when they simultaneously spot a hundred dollar bill. Who gets it? The old drunk, of course, the other three are mythological creatures.

• ·         "You're a high-priced lawyer! If I give you $500, will you answer two questions for me?" "Absolutely! What's the second question?"

• ·         Lawyer’s creed – a man is innocent until proven broke.

• ·         What can a goose do, a duck can’t, and a lawyer should? Stick his bill up his rear.

• ·         What do lawyers and sperm cells have in common? One in every million becomes a human being.

Week 9 EOC: Wall Street Journal opinion

The fact that Obama is choosing to favor certain laws is absurd just because he is the president doesn’t give him the power to pick and choose what’s right and wrong when it comes to the government. They sent out a memorandum where he did this very thing. ” Justice warns that it will intervene if it discovers that marijuana is flowing to children or being trafficked to states where it is still illegal, though under federal law it is still illegal in all states. The memo tells prosecutors to ignore even "large-scale, for-profit enterprises," which are usually targets for taxation”. The Wall Street Journal. The fact that the president is not stepping up and enforcing the controlled substances act of 1970 “All states are explicitly barred from regulating the possession, use, distribution and sale of pot and narcotics under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970.” The Wall Street Journal Under federal law, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning the U.S. government does not recognize a valid use of marijuana at any time. Even for medical purposes but there are a few states that have legalized medical marijuana the press release that happen last week doesn’t mention anything about how it will respond to states that have legalized medical marijuana, nor does it say anything about allowing residents in either Washington and Colorado state to use marijuana for either recreational or medical purposes. “Though the Justice Department says it has no plans to legalize marijuana, the government entity said that marijuana will remain illegal under the Controlled Substances Act” Mintpress News. To me that just seems backwards on one hand they look away when it comes to some states that already legalize medical marijuana then the other hand the federal prosecutors will continue to aggressively enforce this statute.

Your Own Argument and Opinions

I agree with the copyright laws almost totally, it makes protecting your wok very easy without being too restricting. The point that I found to be particularly disturbing however is the fact that a copyright has a time limitation, and if you or someone from you family estate is not around to renew it, at some point in time a person could benefit from it without being in violation of copyright law. “The Statute of Anne, it provided copyright protection for 14 years, which could be extended by another 14 years if the copyright owner was still alive when the first term expired” (Beatty, 507) Though since the time of Queen Ann, this period has been extended, “Today, a copyright is valid until 70 years after the death of the work's last living author or, in the case of works owned by a corporation, the copyright lasts 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Once a copyright expires, anyone may use the material. Mark Twain died in 1910, so anyone may now publish Tom Sawyer without permission and without paying a copyright fee” (Beatty, 507) the fact that a person could still publish or benefit from my work at any point is egregious. No matter how long it is, the fact that I was the originator of the work will never change, so I believe that that copyright protection for one’s work should be infinite and the should be no need for renewal, especially since according to copyright law an initial registration is not necessary for copyright protection. It then makes no sense to place any sort of time limitation on that protection. I think that I would join the fight with many other artists and creators in order to have that part of the Copyright Act changed, repealed or amended to protect the artist and their works infinitely. I want to know that even in death, no one could claim rights to, take credit for, or benefit from the work that I dedicated my life to without having to suffer some sort of consequences.

Rule of law

Copyright law can be very confusing for someone who doesn’t understand the nuances of the law; however the laws were created in a straight forward manner that will protect the creator of any form of media.  “The holder of a copyright owns the particular expression of an idea, but not the underlying idea or method of operation.” (Beatty, 506) No matter the form of media, be it music, a novel or a photograph, once the media is created, it is automatically copywritten and owned by its creator. The creator is then protected from someone else using and benefiting from their work without permission or payment.  “A work is copyrighted automatically once it is in tangible form. For example, when a songwriter puts notes on paper, the work is copyrighted without further ado.” (Beatty 506) When a photographer takes a photograph, he or she owns the copyright to the photograph, except when the photograph was done for hire. A photographer has full copyright protection once he presses the shutter according to copyright statute first set forth in England by Queen Ann in 1710. America adopted these statutes, however it is not necessary in the United States to register with the copyright office unless filing a suit for infringement, “Registration with the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is necessary only if the holder wishes to bring suit to enforce the copyright” (Beatty, 506) although it is encouraged that you use the copyright symbol or a watermark because the symbol is recognized internationally. “Lawyers still recommend using the copyright symbol because other countries recognize it. Also, the penalties for intentional copyright infringement are heavier than for unintentional violations, and the presence of a copyright notice is evidence that the infringer's actions were intentional.” (Beatty, 506) The copy right act MDCA provides financial reparations for a person that intentionally infringes on a person’s work digitally.

Reasoning of the Law

When it comes to copyright in general, one must first understand what a copyright violation is. “Anyone who uses copyrighted material without permission is violating the Copyright Act. To prove a violation, the plaintiff must present evidence that the work was original”.(Beatty,507) These laws were first adopted by America from statues set forth by Queen Ann in the 18th Century. “More than 300 years ago, on April 10, 1710, Queen Anne of England approved the first copyright statute. Called the Statute of Anne, it provided copyright protection for 14 years.” (Beatty, 506) In your particular case, copyright has had a grand evolution. Unlike photographers of the past, with the birth of the internet and the digital age of photography, stricter and more detailed laws had to be set forth for your protection. “One of the major challenges for legal institutions in regulating copyrights is simply that modern intellectual property is so easy to copy.” (Beatty 508) The photographers of today still have the protection of the original copyright laws of the United States  but they have the added security while publishing their media on the internet through digital means from people stealing their work, or deleting their copyright information digitally. “Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which provides that: It is illegal to delete copyright information, such as the name of the author or the title of the article.” (Beatty,509) The DMCA is the best case law in the last century as far as digital protection it provides several protections. “It is illegal to distribute tools and technologies used to circumvent encryption devices. If you help others to copy that software program, you have violated the statute” (Bailey,509) Also, if you encrypt your work and someone circumvents that digitally, it is still a violation of the MDCA. “It is illegal to distribute tools and technologies used to circumvent encryption devices. If you help others to copy that software program, you have violated the statute.” (Beatty, 509) For your line of work, the MDCA should be your first point of reference.

The Questions

All of my questions are concerned with the nuances of copyrights. “The holder of a copyright owns the particular expression of an idea, but not the underlying idea or method of operation.” (Beatty 505) As a photographer who plans to go into business for himself, copyright laws and their protections are essential to the success of my business.  “A work is copyrighted automatically once it is in tangible form. For example, when a songwriter puts notes on paper, the work is copyrighted without further ado. But if she whistles a happy tune without writing it down, the song is not copyrighted, and anyone else can use it without permission.”(Beatty 505) The legal questions that plagued me the most were those that concerned whether or not I had copyright protection because my work is an image and not written work, “Unlike patents, the ideas underlying copyrighted material need not be novel. For example, three movies—Like Father Like Son, Vice Versa, and Freaky Friday—are about a parent and child who switch bodies. The movies all have the same plot, but there is no copyright violation because their expressions of the basic idea are different.”(Beatty 505), whether or not I needed to copyright every single picture I took,  “Registration with the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is necessary only if the holder wishes to bring suit to enforce the copyright.”(Beatty 505) and in what situations I could file a claim of copyright infringement on a person using my images without my permission. “Anyone who uses copyrighted material without permission is violating the Copyright Act. To prove a violation, the plaintiff must present evidence that the work was original and that either: The infringer actually copied the work; or The infringer had access to the original and the two works are substantially similar”. (Beatty 507) My conversation with Attorney Hunter led me to some interesting answers.

Legal Authority

The person I interviewed was William D. Hunter of Hunter and Associates. He is a defense attorney specializing in criminal and corporate law. A lawyer has abilities when it comes to the interpretation of law that people who are not used to thinking in an interpretive manner do not. “We teach the reader— over and over—how to approach a question: to start with the overarching principle, examine the fine point raised in the question, apply the analysis that courts use, and deduce the right answer. This skill is second nature to lawyers but not to students.”(Beatty xx) I made contact and found William D. Hunter because he is my girlfriend’s uncle and she worked in his legal office for two summers. Not only is Mr. Hunter an attorney but also he is well versed in the areas of litigation and ADR with extensive copyright and criminal law experience. “Litigation refers to lawsuits, the process of filing claims in court, trying the case, and living with the court's ruling. Alternative dispute resolution is any other formal or informal process used to settle disputes without resorting to a trial.”(Beatty 35) When Studying the law or legal questions expert help is essential and though judges do hear precedent and make decisions, lawyers are usually better versed on the actual nuances of the laws. “Lawyers have a different perspective—their primary goal is to protect their clients by avoiding litigation, now and in the future.”(Beatty 207) I knew that Mr. Hunter was a good choice for the project because in his experience he had mediated more successful than unsuccessful deals for clients. “Your lawyer's goal should not be to annihilate the other side. In the end, the contract will be more beneficial to everyone if the parties' relationship is harmonious.”(Beatty 208) Mr. Hunter’s firm but harmonious negotiation style has fettered many lucrative deals and long-lasting business relationships for his clients and their partners.