Robinson Law Offices P.C. provides experienced and affordable intellectual property and copyright attorneys that have obtained copyrights for Musicians, Authors, Producers, and Companies all over the United States. Artists such as songwriters, authors, media producers, and business entrepreneurs often need to protect their creative ideas.

Robinson Law Offices P.C. is a partnership of skilled media and entertainment attorneys who have broad experience with “intellectual property law“. We provide creative solutions to protect your work with legal tools like Music, Book, or Media Copyrights and Business Trademarks. Our Intellectual Property Attorneys are committed to protecting your unique creative work from piracy and exploitation and to the success of your dreams.

Copyrights

A “Copyright” protects the tangible expression of an idea (the way it is expressed), such as a writer’s ideas expressed in a book, a musician’s performance expressed in a recording, etc. As the author of “original works of authorship”, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, you have protection under Title 17 of the United States Code (“Copyright Act“).

You have the exclusive right to reproduce copies of the work, display or perform the work publicly, and prepare derivative works based on the original. It is illegal for anyone to violate these exclusive rights without your permission.

I am often asked Can I just mail the song lyrics that I’ve written to myself and keep the postmarked envelope as proof that I own the copyright? (This is sometimes casually referred to as a poor man’s copyright). That is NOT copyright. It is merely evidence that at a certain date, you had possession of the song or copyrightable material.

The only valid way to protect copyright is to register it with the Library of Congress. You don’t need to mail anything to yourself. You already have a copyright in the song you’ve written simply by creating it. The moment you take your pen off the page and the last line is written, you have a copyright in the completed work.

However, the important thing now is to protect your work so that others do not exploit it without your permission, or without paying you money. So if you plan to make widespread use of that song, by assigning it to a music publisher, recording it, or performing it, whether you or anyone else, you want to take steps to protect your copyright in that song.

Why do you need copyright protection? Because you hope your song becomes a huge hit, gets platinum record sales, and hours of airplay. This translates into royalties to you, the copyright owner, and these can be very lucrative. I know a songwriter that had the good fortune to have one of his songs recorded by Elvis Presley over 30 years ago and he is still receiving royalty checks today. You don’t want to miss out on payments just because you failed to take steps to demonstrate that you are the lawful owner (and entitled to the money) if some other person tries to profit from your creative work.

Literary agents, authors, and book publishers also need to protect their written creative works in the same manner and for the same reasons. Plagiarism is always bad, especially when you lose substantial money because of it. Illegal copies of books, videos, and other pirated forms of media have cost true owners millions of dollars worldwide, even though piracy is a federal crime. Registering your copyrights will give protection and afford certain statutory damages to you that you cannot otherwise obtain unless you have registered your copyrighted work in a proper and timely manner.

Robinson Law Offices P.C. has represented authors, book publishers, songwriters, record companies, music publishers, graphic artists, and architects in registering and maintaining their copyrights. Contact us for a free initial copyright consultation.

Trademarks

Robinson Law Offices P.C. provides experienced and affordable trademark attorneys that have registered trademarks for Entertainment, Media Executives, Business Professionals, and Companies in Oklahoma and across the United States with:

– Conducting a trademark search to determine eligibility for registration
– Processing all trademark application documents
– Representation and guidance with the Patent & Trademark Office Examining attorneys
– Seeking registration of your mark so that it receives the fullest protection available under the law
– Complete legal representation, not just filling out forms, data entry, and emailing

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION AND REPRESENTATION BY ATTORNEYS

When you choose Robinson Law Offices P.C. for your trademark services you are choosing experienced trademark lawyers who are also affordable. We are NOT one of the many trademark processing “paper mills” you find on the Internet that collects your money for merely sending you forms. We are NOT an internet firm that just fills out basic paperwork for you. For an affordable fee, you will get our help until you receive your trademark.

Robinson Law Offices P.C. is committed to helping you successfully apply for your trademark and to represent you throughout the application process, which can typically take many months to complete. Many firms charge you to simply fill out the forms and then you are expected to handle the rest of the application process on your own once the application is sent in.

The real work of registering a trademark just begins with the application. You need an experienced trademark attorney who will follow your application all the way through each of the steps, including response to action items from the examining attorney, notice of publication for the opposition, and final registration of the mark. Get the experience of ROBINSON LAW PC on your side.

TRADEMARKS PROTECT YOUR UNIQUE BRAND

A “Trademark” (or Service mark ) generally protects some distinguishing mark (words and/or logo design) as it is used in connection with the marketing of goods and services. You want your products or services to “stand out” from others. You need to distinguish yourself from the competition, with a unique mark that the public remembers and asks for by name. You will protect your investment by preventing others who seek to mislead your customers into buying their cheaper and inferior quality items.

TRADEMARKS PROVIDE INTANGIBLE BUSINESS BENEFITS

There are also intangible benefits to developing a well-recognized trademark early on, such as goodwill and prestige. For example, you would be proud to say you are a recording artist with Sony/BMG Music or Capitol Records, but you may not be very vocal about having a record deal with WannaBe records. Why is that? Because, you know that, unlike WannaBe records, people have heard of big names like Sony or Capitol and they know those names stand for a level of quality and success identified by each company’s unique trademark. As your success grows the value of your trademark will grow.

Contact us today for a free trademark consultation! Robinson Law Offices P.C. offers a free initial consultation and reasonable fees.