Blog

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust?
Phantoms and Their Copyright Legacies

Are you part of a collaborative writer’s group? Do you have an editor, either a friend or a professional? Did you or your partner put away the works you jointly created to mellow for a while in a drawer? Did you then lose track of your creative partner until you ran across an obituary while doing that Google search for him or her? Or has your creative partner died unexpectedly? In short, do you like to plan for unexpected events? More

The Truth, the Whole Truth,
and Nothing but the Truth…Sort of

If you are writing your memoirs, how can you get into trouble? It’s your memory of the events that counts, right? Well, not so fast.

You may be writing that amusing family legend – you know, the one about your silly aunt who stole money from her mother’s purse a week before her senior prom? And who then used that money to buy a 1965 Mustang from her boyfriend’s best friend who acquired it under Mysterious Circumstances? And showed up at the prom with axle grease on her dress because she couldn’t drive a stick shift? More

Copyright – the Tale of the Dragon?

In the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina lies the Tail of the Dragon, a world famous stretch of road with 318 curves over 11 miles. Below is the Tale of the Copyright Dragon, a creature with at least as many twists and curves as the Smoky Mountain Dragon. More

Your Original Research, Interviews, and Releases

You are conducting original research for a fiction or nonfiction work. Part of your research involves interviewing real people about their life situations and you intend to use their stories and, possibly, direct quotes from these interviews. More

Bad, Worse and Horrible:
The First Refusal Clause

“First refusal” (“FR”) clauses give the publisher the right to publish your future works under certain conditions. Sometimes what is really an “option” is called a “first refusal”, which can be confusing. These clauses generally come in three flavors: bad, worse and horrible. The good news is that often you can negotiate a better deal for yourself here. More

10 Common Mistakes by Professional Problem Solvers

Whether you are a department head, supervisor, HR director, attorney, or member of senior staff, sooner or later you will probably be asked to intervene formally or informally in a workplace problem. Some people call this alternative dispute resolution, or mediation, or facilitation. Whatever you call it, it’s all problem solving. Here are my top 10 problem-solving mistakes to avoid. I can personally guarantee that each and every one of these mistakes can send you, and your process, over the falls without a barrel! More

Dissonant Noise:
An Explosion of 10 Urban Myths About Student Musicians and Fair Use

Some musicians write only music or lyrics. Some musicians compose both lyrics and music. Sometimes the same musicians also perform the work. And sometimes not. Sometimes the musician sells or licenses all or some of his or her copyright interests to a third party. Confusing? Welcome to music copyright law. More

Artist Educators and Student Copyright Problems

Many artists also teach art skills classes, either privately or through their local art leagues or both.  Recently, a nationally known, terrific artist-artist educator contacted me about a problem which had arisen with one of her best art students. More

Mediating Guardianship Disputes

Many times, when family members cannot come to an agreement regarding guardianship involving a parent, a sibling, a child, or another relative, they think the only solution is to choose up sides, hire an attorney, and go to court. That’s not true.  Mediation is a good vehicle for resolving guardianship issues. More

How Good Is Your Mediation GPS?

Many people think that mediators spend a lot of time helping them make informed decisions. I don’t think that’s accurate. More

Predatory and Unscrupulous Internet Art Gallery Practices

Many artists believe that the words “creative” and “good business practices” cannot exist in the same sentence. Some believe that all Internet art galleries are good, because, after all, they may claim to be the “artist’s friend.” Indeed, many of these galleries are both good and helpful to artists. Unfortunately, however, some are predatory and unscrupulous. It is important for artists to know what they are signing up for. More

Starting a Home-based Creative Arts Business in Florida

There is a wealth of information available to a creative artist who wants to set up his/her creative arts business the right way and from “scratch.” The information below is intended to get you started! More

Nothing contained on this page should be construed as providing legal advice or creating an attorney-client relationship. All information herein is intended as educational only. For advice specific to your situation, please contact an attorney of your choice.