By Robert Parker A copyright grants protection to the owner against any work which is “substantially similar” to the copyrighted work. This includes not only copying, but recreations of a copyrighted work as well. For instance, if you were to replicate the exact setting and elements of a particular photograph and recreate the picture using your own camera, you may be infringing on that photograph, even if you aren’t making an actual copy of the original. This is a powerful protection given to copyright owners, but it isn’t limitless. One of the limitations to this protection is known as the de ..read more

by Robert Parker As we noted in Part I of this series, one of the challenges for copyright owners who find their material posted online is finding the individuals who posted it. To combat this problem, the safe harbor provision requires service providers to have a system in place by which copyright owners can request that allegedly infringing material be taken down. It is up to service providers to determine the best way to accept such notices, bearing in mind that removal of content must be sufficiently expeditious. As an example, YouTube allows individuals to submit a formal DMCA notice, fil ..read more

We are partnering with RACC on another workshop! If you use our discount code "OVLA17", you can save $6 on the registration fee! This is for you if: You are an artist doing it your way. You make products by hand and sell them through various channels. You aren’t there yet and you’re ramping up for the big launch. You visualize the concept, produce it, and sell it. You’ve started operating your one-woman show, and what you could use now is a little business guidance and support. In this workshop we will discuss and breakdown the key elements of a creative business model through interactive acti ..read more

By default, the creator of an original work owns the copyright upon creation. And under Section 204 of the Copyright Act a transfer of copyright ownership is not valid unless it’s in writing. OVLA attorney Sean Clancy explains the critical writing requirement for copyright transfers in this linked article ..read more

By Billie Jo Risheim A troll in folklore is a giant or a dwarf that inhabits caves or hills.[i] Perhaps not so different than the traditional troll is the one that exists in the realm of intellectual property law—the copyright troll. Copyright trolls are typically an afterthought to the widely known patent troll; however, they have been quietly filling the federal dockets to the tune of about half of all copyright cases in 2014-2016.[ii] Like the trolls in folklore, copyright trolls seek tolls from all who pass by. Copyright trolls are an unfortunate byproduct of the Copyright Act; the Act cre ..read more

Protect Your Work OVLA joined PSU’s Student Legal Services to provide the 3-part webinar series “Protect Your Work”, which you can watch below. A big thanks to PSU for hosting and our volunteer attorneys for presenting the workshop! The Basics of Copyright with John Mansfield: Contract Basics with Sean Clancy: Forming a Business with Nic Mayne ..read more

OVLA believes that Black lives matter. We mourn and are outraged at the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black Americans who have been murdered or harmed by systemic racism and brutal law enforcement practices. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and those exercising their constitutional right to protest against racial injustice. We also know we can do better. We recognize the role that law has played in establishing and perpetuating systems of anti-Black racism. From constitutional restrictions on the ownership of property to redlining, O ..read more

OVLA is committed to safely continuing its mission during this time. To do so, we are temporarily taking the following steps: Our monthly legal clinic will continue. While the clinic session is generally in-person and one on one, we encourage that you and your volunteer lawyer have the session by phone or video conference. We can assist in arranging these meeting options. We are postponing all OVLA in-person workshops and events. We are currently exploring options to stream our workshops online in the meantime. Thank you for your understanding. Our mission and your safety are incredibly ..read more

Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts provides pro bono legal consultation to countless Oregon creatives. We recently sat down with Rachel Miller-Howard, a writer and publisher of Doxx Magazine, a digital outpost dedicated to women documentarians to share her experience with OVLA legal services. "I reached out to the OVLA after expressing legal concerns to a friend about a new project I was in the nascent stages of starting. I just wasn't sure if I could get into trouble for reposting other people's videos, and how I should go about crediting photographs. I wanted to make sure I wasn't c ..read more

Please join us on April 18, from 4-5pm, for a Design Week Portland panel discussion about artistic collaboration and the associated legal considerations. This panel will be moderated by Bryan Wasetis, interdisciplinary attorney at Aspect Law Group and board member of Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.   Panelist: Laura E. Hall Laura is a writer and game designer, and designs "escape the room" puzzle games (such as "60 Minutes to Escape in Portland"), and freelances for clients around the world. Laura has created rooms for the Portland Art Museum and the Alamo Drafthouse ..read more