The Surfer's Life Artist and Battles of the (Personal) Brand

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The Surfer's Life Artist and Battles of the (Personal) Brand

Jimmy Buffett received a welcome gift on New Year's Eve: a hand-painted surfboard from SoCal's "Surf Life Artist" Nelson Ruger. Nelson had been a Broadway designer, and had worked for Apple, and even designed theme parks, but he had a vision of how his life as an artist was meant to be: bringing a little Aloha into the lives of those who appreciated his work. And here he got the opportunity to bring Aloha to Margaritaville.

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7 Legal Trends for Artists and Entrepreneurs from 2015

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7 Legal Trends for Artists and Entrepreneurs from 2015

The end of a year is a time to reflect on the changes in our lives, and that holds true for the life of American law, which often struggles to keep up with technology. From the arrival of new forms of, and new uses for, social media (iTunes App Store favorites Periscope and Meerkat, with Facebook bringing the competition) to the envelope-pushing of artists and photographers, law related to art and entrepreneurship is in as much a state of flux as it has ever been.

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The Gift of Gratitude, or "In Defense of Facebook Part 2"

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The Gift of Gratitude, or "In Defense of Facebook Part 2"

There's a popular belief in the startup world that a small business would be wise to launch an enterprise that is "narrow and deep" rather than "broad and shallow." In other words, if you are building, let's say, an app that tells you every time a fresh batch of bagels is available in one of New York's gazillion bagel shops (piping hot NY bagels are an art form), you don't want to start off in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx all at once.

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Hey, Creative People, Contracts are Good for You!

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Hey, Creative People, Contracts are Good for You!

Creative people--entrepreneurs, artists, performers, innovators--so often feel themselves gagging when it comes down to signing contracts. And it's not surprising; what's creative or spontaneous or fun about contracts? Huh, absolutely nothing. But unlike war (Good God, y'all), contracts are good for a whole lot of reasons.

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The Great Jewelry Design Ripoff

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The Great Jewelry Design Ripoff

Jewelry design has become a popular entrepreneurial endeavor for artisans who have found a customer base hungry to display a love of creativity. Ironically, American law often seems to find many forms of jewelry design not particularly creative enough, as evidenced by a restrictive approach by the U.S. Copyright Office and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as federal courts. 

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Etsy Liars, Instagram Thieves, and the Art of Law

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Etsy Liars, Instagram Thieves, and the Art of Law

When I was a kid, I was proud of my illustration skills. In the days before Photoshop, I believed art was verisimilitude. Then I went to art school, met painters and sculptors with far more talent than I, and discovered the importance of ideas in art. It would be many years before I would realize that voice and "personal brand"--as obnoxious a term as we've coined in this 21st century--matter as much in the world of artists as ideas and talent. 

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New York's Creepiest Photography Breaks No Law... But Artists Shouldn't Celebrate Yet

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New York's Creepiest Photography Breaks No Law... But Artists Shouldn't Celebrate Yet

Photographer Arne Svenson had a Nikon super-telephoto lens. He liked to use that lens to take pictures of his New York City neighbors (including unclothed minors) in their apartments and turn the prints into an art exhibit almost as controversial as Mapplethorpe's in his heyday. And the First Department of New York's Appellate Division stated last week that Svenson's photography show broke no New York law and violated no regulation when he did just that. 

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I Tech, Therefore I Am: The TI-994A, Enter Magazine, and Other Too-Forgotten Things

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I Tech, Therefore I Am: The TI-994A, Enter Magazine, and Other Too-Forgotten Things

I was giddy. As a little boy, I had learned how to code on a Timex Sinclair we brought home from the library in 1980, and then learned actual programs on the Texas Instruments 994A. And here it was, 1983, and the TI was selling for $50, just in time for the holidays. Our family was going to get its very own computer!

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Dr. Startup, or: How I Learned to Stop Complaining and Love the Micropayment

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Dr. Startup, or: How I Learned to Stop Complaining and Love the Micropayment

Did the Internet and technology level the playing field for small-time artists, illustrators, musicians, or filmmakers? On the one hand, it is easier than ever before to become a web celebrity than ever before, and for the creator of creative content to monetize that content.

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Can Infringement on Etsy, CafePress, or Ebay be Considered "Fair Use?"

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Sure, you know that someone registered the trademark to that logo you mock on those t-shirts you sell on CafePress. Or you've crafted a functional sculpture from food packaging that sells like hotcakes on ebay. Maybe you've printed a few lines from a famous song onto a mug and gave it the tag "Beyonce" in your Etsy store. But you can do it, right? It's fair use, right?

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Why Do Entertainment Stars Like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift Go After Small Businesses for IP Infringement?

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Why Do Entertainment Stars Like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift Go After Small Businesses for IP Infringement?

The short answer? Because they can. You may have heard that Etsy sellers have been sent "Cease and Desist" letters for incorporating Taylor Swift's lyrics, or that an entrepreneur sculpting a 3-D likeness of the "Left Shark" from Katy Perry's Super Bowl performance has been accused of copyright infringement. But, really, why go after the "little guy?"

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Your Artist Management Contract: 9 Clauses to Navigate

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Your Artist Management Contract: 9 Clauses to Navigate

When you're an independent musician, you may feel immune to the pressures and stresses of commercial representation. But, as soon as those management sharks start swimming, you may feel as though you are live bait. While having a knowledgeable music lawyer is very helpful, here are nine of the clauses you are going to see in most artist management contracts and how you can confidently work your way through the terms.

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