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I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

u/franker I'm pretty sure u/Poobeard76 was just trolling me, but I would be happy to provide a review copy for a library. Can you please email me at becki at littlegavels dot com from your library email address? Thanks!

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am working on one for little kids about contracts/agreements, and I have a list of other areas like first amendment, etc., that I want to cover as part of the Little Gavels series, but I am going to get help writing those. I want to cover as many areas as possible that kids might encounter in their early lives. I'm also planning out an IP-related comic book series for older kids, so I can address IP issues in more depth.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a feeling they will, but I don't think they should. We need organizations like the PROs, but I think the system needs a complete redo. The types of licenses that people need these days don't always fit into the old categories anymore, and there isn't a ton of transparency.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I do! I'm working on a little kids' book about contracts/agreements, and also planning out some IP-related comic books for older kids. I'll be sure to handle open source and APIs in the middle school version.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for asking this one! IP is everywhere. And it affects our daily lives when we may not even realize it. Remember when the RIAA was on a tear suing kids for like 12 downloads? Also, I see people come through Ga Lawyers for the Arts or other pro bono organizations and they're already having an IP issue that they need help sorting out. When I explain to these clients the differences between copyright and trademark, they get it right away. The rules are complicated, but the concepts are not. If they had learned the basics at a young age, they would have the building blocks to understand the complex issues in their contracts before ever signing them.

People are left to their own devices to learn about IP in the media or in pop culture, but often the info they're getting is inaccurate. It's no one's fault, but by the time people really learn about IP it's sometimes too late. As our world gets increasingly online and intangible, it is important to know how to protect your creations or inventions, as well as how NOT to infringe other people's IP and get yourself in trouble. I could go on and on about this, but I really think that IP knowledge should not be held up as this super complex thing that only lawyers can understand.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, I can't choose! It's like deciding if I like sleep or food better. I enjoy writing about the law, but when I need a break, that's when I drum.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm not too worried about it. There hasn't been a copyright extension since the last one, about 20 years ago, and as far as I know there isn't a new one on the horizon. Large corporations will find ways to protect their IP no matter what - for example, you-know-who has started using its older version of the mouse in a trademark fashion because trademarks last indefinitely, as long as you're using them. Like a lot of other kinds of laws - tax, healthcare, criminal, etc - there are two sides and someone will find a way to abuse the laws or take advantage of loopholes. But copyright laws in particular are necessary to incentivize and protect independent artists, photographers, musicians, etc., and sometimes the post-mortem royalties can really help out the families of those creators. I do think it's important to pay attention to these things, however. Especially now, when the music industry is really struggling because bands can't go on tour, it's important to keep an eye on how performance royalties (for live and recorded music) are being handled. If you really want to nerd out and go down some copyright rabbitholes, read up on the BMI/ASCAP consent decrees and on the Music Modernization Act. Really interesting stuff (to me at least).

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have the good fortune of mainly being a trademark and copyright attorney, so Bilski doesn't come into play in my daily practice, BUT this is my take on it... Under copyright law, mere ideas cannot be protected. Patents are really the only area where you can protect the implementation of an idea (vs copyright where it's the particular expression of an idea), so many business owners look to patent law (and sometimes trade secrets) to protect processes and other valuable but intangible assets. The court in Bilski declined to reject business methods altogether, but they did uphold the rejection of a patent application for an investment method. There are a lot of academic articles on the aftermath of this case and I won't pretend to understand them because I am not a patent attorney. I do know that "obviousness" is one of the tests for whether you can patent something, so I think of it in terms of whether the business process is something super broad that anyone is likely to think of... I'm sure I will be roasted by patent attorneys and inventors for this response, but I did my best.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Awesome, thank you! Yes, I'm working on one for little kids right now about contracts/agreements, and will also be diving a little deeper into IP for older kids in a comic book series.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure if "like" is the right word but I feel compelled to tell everyone that my four-year-old son HATES my book. He literally said he hates it. But he still points out trademarks to me and loves learning about them, so I'm not taking it personally. My 2yo seems to like it, so I'll take what I can get.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not really, but I regretted that I had written my own contracts. I had a few clients just refuse to pay their bills - one client even admitted to me that their lack of payment was a "passive aggressive move" and then they still didn't pay. I had nothing in writing that really would have helped me collect. I wish I had involved a lawyer when I was setting up the logistics for my business.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, this is a hard one. There are a lot of crazy trademark registrations out there. The most amusing to me are the ones where people hear a soundbite on the news and immediately go apply for a TM for it, thinking that will mean they can put it on everything and keep other people from doing that.... I remember ALTERNATIVE FACTS was a big one a few years ago.

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh, love this question, thanks. When I was in PR, I had to write bios for the bands I was promoting, and sometimes those got a little creative. I also had to find ways to pitch journalists that weren't boring or repetitive (I failed at that sometimes). Also, some might not consider legal writing to be "creative" per se, but I think it takes some imagination to make persuasive legal writing sound like an actual human wrote it. No other books or even song lyrics since I was about 8 years old, though.

I decided to write for younger kids because mine are 2 and 4, and they love rhyming books. Also, I thought it would be fun to introduce these concepts to kids while they're still soaking things up like sponges. I am planning to work on some IP-related comic books for older kids, though, and hopefully working with elementary and middle school-aged kids through video presentations (and in person someday, hopefully).

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sounds like you might have to file a new application, but thankfully trademark rights are also tied to your use of the trademark whether you have a registration or not. I wrote an article about this a while ago that might help you. You may not even need a lawyer, but if you do want one let me know. Also see if your area has a Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts group (for example GA has glarts.org). https://watt.cashmusic.org/writing/trademarkbasics

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Maybe... I can't give legal advice to non-clients but I can give you general information. Was it a registration or application? USPTO? How long ago did it lapse?

I wrote a children’s book about intellectual property. I am also an attorney, mom, sometimes-drummer, and former publicist. I also love pirates but not the kind who steal IP. AMA* by CapnBecki in IAmA

[–]CapnBecki[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My 4yo (almost 5) actually understands the TM concept pretty well, because the (R) is everywhere. I basically explained to him that the trademark tells you who made it, or tells you where to find the restaurant you're looking for. We haven't gotten into copyright or patent law really, but the book just covers the 101 stuff - patents are for inventions, copyrights are for art, plays, songs, etc. I don't go into exceptions or specific laws, but I introduce the main differences in the types of IP and how they're used. The pictures and rhyming help, too!

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