Monday, November 19, 2007

The US Copyright Office On Line!!!

Newsflash! Newsflash! Newsflash!


The US Copyright Office is considering going on line. Our firm is a beta-test firm!

We of course are excited and apprehensive at the same time. The filing of trademarks was revolutionalized when the US Patent & Trademark Office allowed trademarks to be filed on line. The on line filing features also lead to enhanced features such as reviewing files on line and the like.

The US Copyright Office is testing the option at the moment. It is only for single use filing. This means at this time collections must still be filed via regular mail. There also appears to be a cost reduction for filing on line.

Rumors have been swirling around for quite some time that the US Copyright Office hopes to eventually have a visual database. This would be a monumental task that would be made much easier if filings were completed on line.

I am INCREDIBLY optimistic AND cautious at the same time! This may make the filing of copyrights much easier and encourage more filings. However, it may also encourage false filings or ineligible filings. It may also make archiving procedures incredibly difficut for law firms and others should the US Copyright Office one day be unable to locate a specimen. As well, it will also be difficult to tell what the real specimen is for a multipage document...is one to scan all 500 pages in of a book???

We hold strong hope! We have already started the process and we will report more later. Our poll for the month deals with the topic. Please vote - your vote is anonymous!

Finally, we are pleased to announce a new addition to our office staff. Princess Marguerite Brunnehilde Browning-Smith will be the new office pet - inspecting packages, greeting clients, and the like. She has not had to work for 14 years while her brother came to the office. However, we sadly report that this past week her Shar Pei brother Bufford passed away unexpectedly. Our office is lonely without him. Marguerite has agreed to try and take up the task. Here's how her first day went:

It's never a dull moment around here! We appreciate your comments. We were inundated with many private comments after our last blog and we appreciate them all. Most were incredibly supportive. What was funny was some people tried to attack us - when we actually were advocating for everyone to be fair and that some people may have a legitimate gripe. Geezzz...we wish people would read or ask questions!

Surprisingly, we had many anonymous comments as well. Please note - if you post anonymously we read your comments, but we delete them. Anonymous posts do not give us an opportunity or others the opportunity to respond. Furthermore, they are usually inaccurate or misleading. We are happy to post comments - good or bad. However, we ask you to use your name.

Don't forget to vote in our on line poll...it should be fun!
Have fun this holiday season!
Don't forget to create with your head and your heart!
Tammy

1 comment:

Robin Beam said...

Dear Ms. Tammy:

On behalf of Miss Marguerite, of whom I am representing, I believe that she is missing the appropriate accoutrement for her proper position of associate to the firm. Desk, private line, internet access and of course, all the catnip, treats and kibble on request. We look forward to your response.

Very truly yours, Mr. B.T. Reindeer (Bufford the Reindeer)

The Fine Print!

Since there may be legal discussions going on...there must be a disclaimer!

This blog is for educational and information purposes only. It does not constitute the practice of law. The attorney who writes this blog is only licensed in the State of Ohio and Michigan. There is NO attorney-client relationship of any type. You must sign appropriate documenation and have appropriate new client counseling to be a client of Browning-Smith, P.C. Each and every situation is different and all readers must seek his or her own legal counsel. The information on this blog is not guaranteed for any purposes nor is it to be relied on.