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        <title>Legal Issues — Host Boards</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/</link>
        <pubDate>Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:58:21 +0000</pubDate>
        <language>en</language>
            <description>Legal Issues — Host Boards</description>
    <atom:link href="https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/categories/legal-issues/feed.rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/>
    <item>
        <title>Your Tech Provider Could Be Spying On You</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/5198/your-tech-provider-could-be-spying-on-you</link>
        <pubDate>Sun, 13 Feb 2022 12:02:03 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>Python</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">5198@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[<p>If you may become a politician or controversial person, and the owners of your tech provider don't share your political views, you may be in trouble.</p>

<p>Your domain registrar or host could spy on you to actively look for illegal activities as they did against President Donald Trump.</p>

<p>So if you're politically left, you should stick with left leaning tech companies like AWS, Google, or Digital Ocean, and if you're politically right leaning, you should use tech providers with sympathetic owners like <a href="https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/profile/Terrahost" rel="nofollow">@Terrahost</a>, Sibyl.li, (Rob monster), Rightforge.com, IncogNET.io and MXRoute. Liberals obviously have a significant advantage in vastly more tech companies who kowtow to the left.</p>

<p>To specifically quote the article concerning the ongoing investigation by United States Special Counsel John Durham:</p>

<p><em>Durham states that the internet company that Tech Executive-1 worked for "had come to access and maintain dedicated servers" for the Executive Office of the President as "part of a sensitive arrangement whereby it provided DNS resolution services to the EOP." "Tech Executive-1 and his associates exploited this arrangement by mining the EOP's DNS traffic and other data for the purpose of gathering derogatory information about Donald Trump," Durham states.</em></p>

<p>Lawyers for the Clinton campaign paid a technology company to "infiltrate" servers belonging to Trump Tower, and later the White House, in order to establish an "inference" and "narrative" to bring to government agencies linking Donald Trump to Russia, a filing from Special Counsel John Durham says.</p>

<p>This Fox article is here:<br />
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/clinton-campaign-paid-infiltrate-trump-tower-white-house-servers" rel="nofollow">https://www.foxnews.com/politics/clinton-campaign-paid-infiltrate-trump-tower-white-house-servers</a></p>

<p>While <a href="https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/profile/Jar" rel="nofollow">@Jar</a> worked at DigitalOcean.com, he caught his supervisor and co-workers actively looking for dirt inside the account of a conservative figure who made the mistake of trusting DigitalOcean with his data. Jar has the saved evidence of these shenanigans on disks to this day.</p>

<p>It was a Democrat Political PAC that funded the out-of-context video compilation of Joe Rogan using the N-word that almost knocked him off his Big Tech platform at Spotify.</p>

<p>When the Board overseeing former owner of Papa John's Pizza, John Schnatter, hired the wrong tech PR company to help "improve his image with PR training," they actively and successfully conspired to destroy his reputation because he was a conservative. John had a recording of Laundry Service executives (PR company) "plotting to damage" his reputation. John was removed from the company he founded because he forgot that many liberal ideologues run these companies.</p>

<p>Read more about John's story: <a href="https://adage.com/article/agency-news/papa-johns-founder-alleges-former-laundry-service-ceo-caught-tape-conspiring-send-him-out-pasture/2319051" rel="nofollow">https://adage.com/article/agency-news/papa-johns-founder-alleges-former-laundry-service-ceo-caught-tape-conspiring-send-him-out-pasture/2319051</a></p>

<p>The unfortunate lesson is you must be sure that the owners of the tech provider you use holds similar political views</p>
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    <item>
        <title>Shohost is a Data Theft Company</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/4344/shohost-is-a-data-theft-company</link>
        <pubDate>Tue, 13 Apr 2021 16:33:20 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>cloudmate</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">4344@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[<p>Shohost has been our Reseller(HostEvil) for about 3 Months and then left the Hostings and created their Own VPS Server to sell cPanel. They bought Reseller Hosting from us(CloudMate) on Our IP Address 138.201.80.43 in April 2021 the Name of Server unstable and hacked and so we helped them removing the Malwares and Migrating their Data to our Server but it seems like they have misused the Transfer and Purchased Reseller Hosting Intentionally to Hack the Server and Gain Data. They almost succeeded in the Attempt for changing root password and Hacking one of our Reseller's WHMCS but we prevented those Attacks. They planned a Total of 2914 Malwares. Unfortunately, We had to Suspend the Reseller when we came of Know of Data Theft and requested the Owner to Perform a Recovery and Password Change as soon as Possible. Next, They Moved away from our Servers after 8 Days requesting a Backup and refund. We provided a Full Backup but as per our 7-Day Return Policy, We did not issue a Refund and They wrote a Bad review about us about our Speeds which is totally fake. In Total, This Company is a Total Fraud, Unregistered and Screenshots and Other stuff are attached as proofs. We also do have Call Recordings which can be provided through our Email ankesh@cloudmate.in . We have also prepared to File a Legal Complaint against this matter and will proceed with it shortly. If Anyone does need proof, They can Submit their request to ankesh@cloudmate.in and Get a Complete thread of Proofs.</p>

<p>The whole thing was intented and Properly executed but they Still Don't know that we have 24X7 Server Administrators online to Monitor any Actions or Attacks. Now see the Level of Attacks and Intentions people.</p>

<p>Hacker's SSH Keys(Which he Added successfully and We removed it after 16 Minutes):<br />
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABgQC7Y1XHdluhC/l+sx9EhTzfO1HsY2rPORak/yIr1PVzoxWGQ1E73hE97Ylf7+KiCs+F+X2UtL1Gm/Y58E8eUC35taJinkHcZWQ9L$<br />
ganeshdhungana@Ganeshs-MacBook-Pro.local</p>

<p><img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/j7/vy84r54niglx.png" alt="" title="" /><br />
<img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/uo/frexh69to56v.png" alt="" title="" /><br />
<img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/mf/xcetmc3ebf22.png" alt="" title="" /><br />
<img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/o4/akw4wwt4tsmp.png" alt="" title="" /><br />
<img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/0w/y8k6kq1dvx9a.png" alt="" title="" /><br />
<img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/15/n987xrmesy7m.png" alt="" title="" /><br />
<img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/gw/3jbrljb8cggg.png" alt="" title="" /><br />
<img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/ve/2jd8z90pcbci.png" alt="" title="" /><br />
<img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/wu/cvyth370jiew.png" alt="" title="" /><br />
<img src="https://hostboards.com/uploads/editor/tc/qw86kl6ovycv.png" alt="" title="" /></p>
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    <item>
        <title>Be careful Not to Use Getty Images, they will Send a Demand Letter!</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3756/be-careful-not-to-use-getty-images-they-will-send-a-demand-letter</link>
        <pubDate>Fri, 24 Nov 2006 16:25:58 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>DeluxeNames</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3756@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[(Let me start this post by saying I'm not a lawyer so the advice I give should not be taken as from a lawyer.  I'm a person who is informed about legal issues as I'm studying to become a lawyer.)<br />
<br />
Most of you are familier with Getty Images, who have copywrites to one of the largest collections of digital images on the internet.<br />
<br />
Webmasters often search for photos with the Google image search.  Don't be fooled into thinking you can just use any of those images Google kicks up.  A good number of them are likely to be Getty images and if you use them, Getty is likely to send you a demand letter requiring a huge fine.  So if you've never received a demand letter form Getty, consider yourself lucky, and start using services like iStockPhoto.com that are inexpensive and have huge inventories of images.  Believe me, the small price you pay for services like this will save you tons of time, money, and agrivation if you were to accidently use one of Getty's images.<br />
<br />
These Getty demand letters are a real annoyence as sometimes, Getty will carry through on their demand letters to make examples of Webmasters who are repeat offenders.  In the UK, they will often sell the &quot;debt&quot; to a collection service, Moreton Smith who then bully/blackmail people into paying.  Collection agencies can ruin your credit and harrass you endlessly.<br />
<br />
How does Getty find you?  They have special search engines that comb the internet for their images.  They literally send out thousands of demand letters each year.<br />
<br />
Getty does indeed have laywers on staff, and they do indeed take big business to court for copywrite infringement, if they think it is financially worth it.  If they want to make an example out of us small time Webmasters, they sometimes do take us to court as well but not usually.  They usually let collection agencies do their dirty work.<br />
<br />
Their work is done by paralegals sending out thousands of notices like you got to intimidate you and scare you into paying them.<br />
<br />
In reality, it would cost them too much to engage a lawyer for most cases to take you to court or to take most of the thousands of people they contact to court. Like any business, Getty does a cost/benefit ****ysis before they go to court and they would clearly see they would loose money in going after you.<br />
<br />
If you have received a demand letter from Getty, seek legal consule.<br />
<br />
For more information, here are some Getty posts and a forum devoted to Getty's scare tactics:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fightinggetty.proboards104.com/index.cgi" rel="nofollow">http://fightinggetty.proboards104.com/index.cgi</a><br />
<a href="http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=550522" rel="nofollow">http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=550522</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390902&amp;page=1&amp;pp=25" rel="nofollow">http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390902&amp;page=1&amp;pp=25</a>]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>Move Domains Away from Namecheap to Epik</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/4455/move-domains-away-from-namecheap-to-epik</link>
        <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2021 09:38:29 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>DeluxeNames</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">4455@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[<p>Dear Domainers everywhere,</p>

<p>This week it has been made clear to me by events in the following thread at NamePros (industry's #1 Domain Forum) that your domains are most safe at a small Registry like Epik.com where you can still contact the owner, Rob Monster, directly; please read more here: <a href="https://www.namepros.com/threads/the-domain-jixhost-com-was-hijacked-and-stolen-to-another-registrar.1237711/page-3" rel="nofollow">https://www.namepros.com/threads/the-domain-jixhost-com-was-hijacked-and-stolen-to-another-registrar.1237711/page-3</a></p>

<p>Large Registries like Namecheap.com &amp; GoDaddy.com are too big, corporate, &amp; impersonal to help small domain investors at our time of need. They aren't able to bend rigid &amp; outdated policies to do the right thing based on the circumstances of a particular case like JixHost.com</p>

<p>Secondly, I'm reminded that if you have a domain issue, go directly to the best Domain Attorney, John Berryhill: <a href="https://JohnBerryhill.com/" rel="nofollow">https://JohnBerryhill.com/</a><br />
He's successfully represented me &amp; I highly recommend him to others.</p>

<p>I'm disappointed with Namecheap.com as I thought they would act with integrity and open up their own independent investigation instead of relying on GoDaddy.com who we already knew was too big to be helpful. But I thought the smaller &amp; more domainer-friendly Namecheap.com would help because they had a better reputation than terrible GoDaddy.</p>

<p>Turns out Namecheap.com is also too filled with red-tape to care or flex their policy based on the circumstances. I will be moving my ~thousand domains away from Namecheap.com to a Registry small enough to care &amp; with an owner I can message directly, <a href="https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/profile/RobMonster" rel="nofollow">@RobMonster</a> at www.Epik.com. If JixHost had been moved to Epik, you'd have your domain back the first week it was stolen.</p>

<p>Please, everyone with a voice, urge others to move their domains away from Namecheap for your own safety.</p>

<p>Sincerely,<br />
Bryant Jones <br />
Owner<br />
HostBoards.com <br />
DeluxeNames.com</p>
]]>
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    <item>
        <title>FBI arrests bomber planning AWS datacenter attack</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/4352/fbi-arrests-bomber-planning-aws-datacenter-attack</link>
        <pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2021 16:39:10 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>DeluxeNames</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">4352@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[<h2>FBI arrests bomber planning AWS datacenter attack</h2>

<p>Pendley was trying to buy explosives from an undercover FBI Agent which makes me wonder if this could have more of an entrapment by the FBI.  Did the Agent lead Pendley into this idea and would he have still pursued this idea without coaching from the Agent? Was Pendley mentally disturbed?</p>

<p>The FBI has arrested Pendley, a Texas native, for allegedly planning to kill 70% of the internet in a bomb attack targeting an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center on Smith Switch Road in Ashburn, Virginia.</p>

<p>Personally I doubt that blowing up this one datacenter would have taken down 70% of the internet.</p>

<p>According to the source, agents "found" that he was planning to use C-4 plastic explosives to attack prominent tech company's data centers in an attempt to 'kill of about 70% of the internet' (or was he coached into this by the Agent that befriended him?).</p>

<p>He met with an undercover FBI Agent on April 8th to get what he believed were explosive devices. If he is found guilty of planning to blow up Amazon's Virginia data center, Pendley faces up to 20 years in federal prison.</p>
]]>
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    <item>
        <title>Supreme Court - Google Slays Oracle Concerning Oracle Claim of Java Patents in Android Phones</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/4347/supreme-court-google-slays-oracle-concerning-oracle-claim-of-java-patents-in-android-phones</link>
        <pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2021 01:24:26 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>DeluxeNames</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">4347@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[<p>Oracle vs Google: No, the Supreme Court did not say APIs aren't copyrightable – and that's a good thing.  Anyone wanting to bring a similar case in the future will have to be very, very bold and very, very rich</p>

<h2>By Rupert Goodwins Mon 12 Apr 2021</h2>

<p>You won't be paying an Oracle tax on your next Android phone. After 10 years of Big Red claiming dibs on Android internals and Google telling them to GTFO, the legals have finally been settled by the US Supreme Court. Google has won.</p>

<p>The case was in many ways a classic troll. Way back when, Google thought Java SE would be a good platform to build its new Android phone around. That didn't work out, thank your favourite deity, so Google wrote its own platform with just enough Java structure to bring caffeinated programmers – of whom there were millions – along for the ride.</p>

<p>Everyone was happy until Oracle turned up. It fancied a new revenue line for the profit centre it called its legal department. Looking around, Oracle discovered and hauled away the dying Sun with – aha – intellectual property that could be weaponised. Most notably, Google's little shards of Java API. There were other things too, like patents, but they soon fell by the wayside. As the court case crept up the American legal system, it became widely understood to be about whether you can copyright APIs. Oracle said yes, and Google had infringed that copyright. Google said no, and anyway even if it had, the "fair use" aspect of copyright applied.</p>

<p>android_money_648<br />
Over a decade on, and millions in legal fees, Supreme Court rules for Google over Oracle in Java API legal war<br />
READ MORE<br />
For a reasonably obscure intersection of law and coding, this case assumed enormous importance. Rightly so. If APIs were copyrightable, IBM could have closed down the PC clone industry at birth. It and Microsoft in turn would be open to a case from earlier microcomputer makers and Digital Research, both of whom could point to amazing similarities between their APIs and those in the IBM BIOS and Microsoft's MS-DOS.</p>

<p>In fact, most of what we now think of as open, competitive computing could not have evolved. You wouldn't have been able to build an alternative component, hardware or software, that used the API of the thing it replaced – not without permission. Even using an API in an application might be problematic.</p>

<p>The entire industry has operated on the assumption that APIs aren't copyright. Does this mean that APIs can't be copyrighted? No. It means that no court has decided whether they can or cannot. And although Google asked the Supreme Court to finally declare for freedom, the court refused – saying instead that even if "for the sake of argument" APIs could be copyright, Google's defence of "fair use" was upheld. (You can and should read the court's decision [PDF], which explains all of this in admirably clear language.)</p>

<p>Why no decision on APIs?<br />
You may think this a missed opportunity to defuse a nuclear warhead at the heart of modern computing, and you'd be right. The court could easily have said that APIs did not qualify for copyright protection, and that would have been that. If Google had asked for relief on those grounds alone, perhaps it might even have happened. But Google did a belt-and-braces defence, and the Supremes thought the belt good enough.</p>

<p>The decision did make two points about the API copyright issue. It listed all the reasons under US copyright law why APIs might not qualify – you can't copyright process, or mechanism, or function, and these are all things APIs are. The court also said that as the world of technology was changing very quickly, it wasn't a good idea to make rules before they're really needed. This decision didn't need to be made for this case so it wasn't.</p>

<p>The industry has operated on the assumption that APIs can't be copyrighted and by now there are many decades of examples where free access to APIs have advanced technology<br />
The results are also twofold. The industry has operated on the assumption that APIs can't be copyrighted and by now there are many decades of examples where free access to APIs have advanced technology, activated markets, and encouraged tons of innovation: things that copyright law is designed to encourage, as the court decision noted more than once.</p>

<p>The other implication of leaving the nuclear weapon untouched is that it may not be just the bad guys who get to use it. If APIs had been copyright from the dawn of CPU time, free and open source as we know it would have been closed down. But now FOSS has uncharted oceans of APIs of its own that, if copyright is deemed applicable in the future, can be brought into the permissive licensing regime and protected alongside everything else. It would still be a very bad idea, but there is now a balance of power.</p>

<p>The Supreme Court has done a very fine job of understanding APIs and reached a wise decision about Google, but it knows enough not to claim it can see into the future.</p>

<p>In any case, the signals are clear enough. The unprotected API is a key part of the innovation that keeps technology advancing.</p>

<p>Oracle has lost its expensive, politically damaging, and thoroughly reprehensible gamble, further tarnishing its image as an unsavoury guest at the feast. And anyone in the future who wants to use API copyright to pull cash out of inventions it did not create and has no interest in furthering will have to be very, very bold and very, very rich to ignore the warnings that Oracle vs Google has left in the landscape. We're safe for a few years yet.</p>

<p>SOURCE: <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/12/oracle_google_case_opinion/" rel="nofollow">https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/12/oracle_google_case_opinion/</a></p>
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        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>.inc qustions</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3974/inc-qustions</link>
        <pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:16:30 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>Bill</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3974@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[Ok, im am curently workeing on a prodject, and would like the name to be .inc (for now, i will change to a full fleged corpration if the biusess gets big enough).<br />
<br />
Im 18 and not savvy when it comes to the law, i would like to know the steps involved, where to go, any prices ect....<br />
<br />
<br />
I have allredy asked the great Google and he just gave me a bunch of people trying to sell me the service for hundreds of dollars.... <img src="https://hostboards.com/resources/emoji/frowning.png" title=":(" alt=":(" height="20" /><br />
<br />
If it helps, i live in Arkansas, and the biz will be &quot;general for proffiet&quot;<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks in advance<br />
<br />
<br />
Jon]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>Have you heard the one about IP Law?</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3046/have-you-heard-the-one-about-ip-law</link>
        <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2006 20:52:10 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>MGDesigns</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3046@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[Article found by Katra <img src="https://hostboards.com/resources/emoji/lol.png" title=":D" alt=":D" height="20" /><br />
<br />
<a href="http://living.scotsman.com/performing.cfm?id=1126262006" rel="nofollow">http://living.scotsman.com/performing.cfm?id=1126262006</a>]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>Is it Time To Trademark?</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3038/is-it-time-to-trademark</link>
        <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2006 02:22:58 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>DeluxeNames</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3038@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[One of the most asked about questions when it comes to Webmaster related law is that of a Trademark.  Before you spend your money on a domain, here's where to check if there's already a trademark on that domain (You don't need to check all of the following sites, just the one where you live):<br />
<br />
Canada: <a href="http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cipo/trade...ch/tmSearch.do" rel="nofollow">http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cipo/trade...ch/tmSearch.do</a><br />
UK: <a href="http://www.patent.gov.uk/tm/dbase/" rel="nofollow">http://www.patent.gov.uk/tm/dbase/</a><br />
US: <a href="http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?...ate=vpkelj.1.1" rel="nofollow">http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?...ate=vpkelj.1.1</a><br />
<br />
And for Europe these are the two to check:<br />
Madrid protocol trademark search<br />
<a href="http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/search/m...earch-simp.jsp" rel="nofollow">http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/search/m...earch-simp.jsp</a><br />
<br />
and (best to check both always)<br />
<br />
Benelux trademark search<br />
<a href="http://register.bmb-bbm.org/bmbonline/intro/show.do" rel="nofollow">http://register.bmb-bbm.org/bmbonline/intro/show.do</a><br />
Community Trade Mark Database - To check Benelux<br />
<a href="http://oami.europa.eu/" rel="nofollow">http://oami.europa.eu/</a><br />
<br />
A little information about TradeMarks:<br />
<br />
Trademark is a complicated area of law, and we can't give you all the answers because lawyers would then hunt us down and kill us with pointy sticks. We can, however, provide you with the procedure for registering your very own federal trademark and explain some of the legal issues around doing so. The lawyers will allow us to do this, and they probably won't bother you, either, unless you infringe on one of their clients' trademarks. Then it's back to the pointy sticks.<br />
<br />
By the way, we warn you ahead of time that the trademark search (step 2) is by far the worst part of registering a trademark. Once the search is over, it's pretty much clear sailing. Don't give up just because the search seems daunting.<br />
<br />
Before we burst into song about trademark law (and it's awfully tempting), you should know about the three different types of protection that exist whenever you want to protect an idea you came up with:<br />
<br />
A Trademark&#8230;<br />
<br />
Protects a word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination of these things. Basically, you get something trademarked to protect your product's name, logos, and such ilk. Examples of trademarked items are the names &quot;Coke,&quot; &quot;Coca-cola,&quot; &quot;McDonald's,&quot; the McDonald's golden M logo, stuff like that. In a nutshell, you can only trademark a clever little word, catch phrase, or design, and use it to market your goods and services. Here's the technical legalese definition of a trademark:<br />
<br />
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) defines trademarks and service marks as follows:<br />
<br />
&quot;A TRADEMARK is either a word, phrase, symbol or design, or combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, which identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods or services of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product.&quot; Furthermore, &quot;a mark for goods appears on the product or on its packaging, while a service mark appears in advertising for the services.&quot;<br />
<br />
A Patent&#8230;<br />
<br />
Protects the physical characteristics of a new invention, or a new procedure. We won't get into the gory details. Not yet, anyway. SoYouWanna patent something is still in production...<br />
<br />
A Copyright&#8230;<br />
<br />
Protects an original expression (artistic or otherwise). Music, art, books, and website articles all get copyrighted.<br />
<br />
But wait, couldn't a lot of these things overlap? When does a phrase become long enough so that it no longer needs a trademark, but a copyright? Well&#8230; it can get mushy, but do your best. If your phrase or logo exists as a means for you to sell a product, then you're probably looking for a trademark.<br />
<br />
There are two systems of trademark law: common law and federal. In order to get common law trademark protection you have to use the trademark only within your state. This is for purely local business (you open a Mom &amp; Pop store in your backyard). However, unless your business will definitely be limited to one state and you don't plan to use the Internet, it is best to register your trademark for federal protection. Even if you don't think that you're ever going to expand out of state, you should still go for federal protection, because if you're ever going to purchase from or sell to out-of-state, that qualifies as interstate commerce. We'll jump into that barrel of monkeys later on in step 3. So go for the federal trademark. That is what this SYW explains how to do.<br />
<br />
Incidentally, when you use a trademark before it has been registered, you should always put a TM (for a trademark) or a SM (for a service mark) in small letters next to the trademark. You may not use the R in a circle design (which is reserved for federally registered trademarks) next to your trademark until after it has been registered, by which we mean after your application has been received, processed, and accepted, not just after you fill out the form.<br />
<br />
Wait, wait - what happens if you use the phrase that you're trying to get trademarked, but then find out that someone else is using it? Well, it depends. If you began using the phrase first, even before you went through the legal processes, you have dibs over the other person. Proving who used the phrase first can be difficult and costs lotsa money in court, so don't bother waiting. Our point: once when you come up with your golden idea, g'head and apply for a trademark.<br />
<br />
This article was found here:<br />
<a href="http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/trademark/trademark.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/trademark/trademark.html</a>]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>Universal Music Sues MySpace Over music copyrights But Signs Deal w/ YouTube.com</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3757/universal-music-sues-myspace-over-music-copyrights-but-signs-deal-w-youtube-com</link>
        <pubDate>Fri, 24 Nov 2006 16:35:42 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>DeluxeNames</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3757@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, said on Friday it filed a lawsuit against popular social networking site MySpace for infringing copyrights of thousands of its artists' works.<br />
<br />
Universal, owned by French media giant Vivendi (VIV.PA), filed the suit at the U.S. District Court Central District of California, Western Division.<br />
<br />
The lawsuit accuses MySpace of allowing users to upload videos illegally and taking part in the infringement by re-formatting the videos to be played back or sent to others.  It estimated maximum statutory damages for each copyrighted work at $150,000.<br />
<br />
In the case of YouTube, now owned by Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG - news), Universal Music reached a licensing agreement to give the site and its users access to thousands of music videos.<br />
<br />
My Take: Looks like YouTube took the easy/cheaper way out by paying Universal for a licensing agreement.  I think MySpace should have done the same.  What do you think?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061117/tc_nm/media_universal_myspace_dc" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061117/tc_nm/media_universal_myspace_dc</a>]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>Interested in Webmaster/Domain Related Law?</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/2974/interested-in-webmaster-domain-related-law</link>
        <pubDate>Fri, 04 Aug 2006 12:35:54 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>DeluxeNames</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">2974@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[One of the other Moderatros on this board, Moddy, and I both have it as our goal to become IP Lawyers (so we can defend you, our Webmaster friends <img src="https://hostboards.com/resources/emoji/smile.png" title=":)" alt=":)" height="20" /> )<br />
<br />
I just was curious how many others here have an interest in Webmaster/Domain related law?  Anymore hopeful IP lawyers out there?  If so what is your motivation for your interest?<br />
<br />
I was motivated by seeing my hero, John Berryhill (for whom this legal section was named) in action defending Webmasters and Domainers.  I think that is very noble of him and I want to do something similar.]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>Starbucks coffee leave a bitter taste?</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3592/starbucks-coffee-leave-a-bitter-taste</link>
        <pubDate>Mon, 30 Oct 2006 20:54:06 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>MGDesigns</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3592@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.okpatents.com/phosita/archives/2006/10/starbucks_v_starpreya_the_brandedbeverage_battle.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.okpatents.com/phosita/archives/2006/10/starbucks_v_starpreya_the_brandedbeverage_battle.html</a><br />
I don't see an infringment but in my opinion Starbucks are and always have been money hungry]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>UK Will Review its Intellectual Property Laws</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3688/uk-will-review-its-intellectual-property-laws</link>
        <pubDate>Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:44:46 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>DeluxeNames</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3688@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[The UK is awaiting the release of a report by the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, a task force charged with suggesting changes to the country's intellectual property laws. The formation of the commission has inspired a flurry of private books and reports on IP designed to influence debate on the subject. While many of these are exactly as interesting as you'd expect, a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research offers a fascinating look at the reasons behind intellectual property rights and suggests a new way forward for Britain: thinking about knowledge as a public resource first, and a private asset second. Is this idealistic, anti-business pinko blue-skying? The group says no.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061102-8133.html" rel="nofollow">http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061102-8133.html</a>]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>Visto VS Microsoft</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3591/visto-vs-microsoft</link>
        <pubDate>Mon, 30 Oct 2006 20:48:12 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>MGDesigns</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3591@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://whohastimeforthis.blogspot.com/2005/12/truth-behind-vistos-lawsuit-against.html" rel="nofollow">http://whohastimeforthis.blogspot.com/2005/12/truth-behind-vistos-lawsuit-against.html</a><br />
<br />
I found this quite interesting despite the age of it:D]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>Worth it?</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3565/worth-it</link>
        <pubDate>Sun, 29 Oct 2006 15:09:47 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>MGDesigns</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3565@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[Are there better (free) sites or would it be worth it to subscribe? Not that I can find a price anywhere <img src="https://hostboards.com/resources/emoji/frowning.png" title=":(" alt=":(" height="20" />  but it is Sunday and my head is elsewhere lol<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ipworldonline.com/ipwo/static_resource.do?methodToCall=getDocumentResource&amp;return_page=resource&amp;display_name=ipwo_Subscribe" rel="nofollow">http://www.ipworldonline.com/ipwo/static_resource.do?methodToCall=getDocumentResource&amp;return_page=resource&amp;display_name=ipwo_Subscribe</a>]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>YouTube &amp; Google likely to face law suits...</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3564/youtube-google-likely-to-face-law-suits</link>
        <pubDate>Sun, 29 Oct 2006 14:52:28 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>MGDesigns</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3564@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[You can read about it:-<br />
<a href="http://www.out-law.com/page-7388" rel="nofollow">http://www.out-law.com/page-7388</a>]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>WIPO Broadcasting Treaty</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3390/wipo-broadcasting-treaty</link>
        <pubDate>Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:32:30 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>MGDesigns</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3390@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[<i>This was taken from Tutorial Writers Inc (special thanks to bodhi-creations for passing it on)</i><br />
<br />
There's an entry in an LJ community about a *planned law that would give providers, etc. copyright to YOUR creative work for 50 years*! This means web pages, stories you have written, *ANYTHING* published on the Internet.<br />
<br />
*BACKGROUND:* The World Intellectual Property Organization has drafted a proposed &quot;Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations.&quot; For many countries (including the United States) the treaty, if adopted, will create an entirely new type of intellectual property right. Under the treaty, broadcasting organizations obtain new legal rights to control uses of content that they broadcast-rights that are separate from and in addition to<br />
any existing copyright rights in the content. Adopting countries can choose to extend these new rights to &quot;webcast&quot; content in addition to traditional broadcast content.<br />
<br />
If adopted, the WIPO treaty will give broadcasters 50 years of copyright-like control over the content of their broadcasts, even when they have no copyright in what they show. A TV channel broadcasting your Creative Commons-licensed movie could legally demand that no one record or redistribute it?and sue anyone who does. And TV companies could use their new rights to go after TiVo or MythTV for daring to let you skip advertisements or record programs in DRM-free formats.<br />
<br />
Anything posted to LJ and it's communities, and should the Internet expansion be included, would give LJ *50-year copyright-like rights over YOUR CREATIVE WORK*. Even if you post it on your own web space, your webhost would have the same sorts of rights, unless you own your own web space. And even if you are on your own server space that you own and house and run and everything, your Internet service provider could possibly lay claim to your work.<br />
<br />
Even Intel is protesting this treaty. To read the whole thing and to find out what you can do about it, go here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://community.livejournal.com/veronicamarsfic/1352553.html?thread=13702505" rel="nofollow">http://community.livejournal.com/veronicamarsfic/1352553.html?thread=13702505</a><br />
<br />
Or Here:<br />
<a href="http://www.eff.org/IP/WIPO/broadcasting_treaty/" rel="nofollow">http://www.eff.org/IP/WIPO/broadcasting_treaty/</a><br />
<br />
To Protest this:<br />
<a href="https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr011=kftdaz9nm1.app13b&amp;cmd=display&amp;page=UserAction&amp;id=163" rel="nofollow">https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr011=kftdaz9nm1.app13b&amp;cmd=display&amp;page=UserAction&amp;id=163</a>]]>
        </description>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title>Cease &amp; Desist</title>
        <link>https://hostboards.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3136/cease-desist</link>
        <pubDate>Sat, 26 Aug 2006 09:04:57 +0000</pubDate>
        <category>Legal Issues</category>
        <dc:creator>MGDesigns</dc:creator>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">3136@/index.php?p=/discussions</guid>
        <description><![CDATA[<b>Have any of you ever received a dreaded C&amp;D letter? Really?</b><br />
<br />
<i>What were your first reactions?</i><br />
<i>Did you comply with the letter or ignore it?</i><br />
<i>What was the reason(s) for being sent the C&amp;D?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Have you ever sent a Cease and Desist letter?</b><br />
<br />
<i>Did it end there?</i><br />
<b>or</b><br />
<i>Was further action necessary?</i>]]>
        </description>
    </item>
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