Intellectual property thieves can’t hide
Editor’s note: Michael Keyes is a Spokane attorney concentrating on intellectual property litigation. He works at the Spokane office of K&L Gates.
As an intellectual property litigator, I represent all sorts of individuals and companies, from the high-tech to the low-tech, protecting the rights they have in their work. Like pretty much everyone else these days, I use the Internet profusely in my work. Below are some of the Web sites (all free and open to the public), that I use often:
“ www.copyright.gov is the homepage for the U.S. Copyright Office. Available here is a wealth of information about the law regarding copyrights. One can search the database to see what works have been registered, learn how to register a work, learn what aspects of a work are eligible for legal protection, and much more.
“ The corresponding site for patents and trademarks is www.uspto.gov, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Here you can search through patents and trademarks, as well as learn all about the law surrounding the ownership interests in both.
Many cases I deal with involve the Internet directly. Often infringement occurs on the Internet, or an online work is infringed. For instance, it is easy for someone to come along and copy your Web site, or perhaps post an infringing photograph, writing, or musical work on their own site.
“ One of the best ways to find out who is behind a website is to use the “whois” lookup available at www.network solutions.com/whois, by entering the domain name you want to look up in the search field. Running this search will tell you who the network administrator for a Web site is, as well as information about the site itself.
Even if the person behind the site puts up a false name, you can still track down the owner of the ISP number from the whois lookup information and find out who the real person “renting” that number is. Or, you can find out who owns the ISP number and contact that person for information about who is using it. Alternatively, information is also available from the whois lookup regarding the registration of the domain name; another way to find out who is operating a Web site.
“ A way to track the history of a Web site is through the “Way Back Machine” located at www.archive.org. Using this feature will tell you when a site first “went live” on the Internet and was accessible by the public. It will also provide you to links of all the different versions of the site that have appeared online. You can also access archives of all sorts of images, audio, text, and music at www.archive.org.
“ www.findlaw.com is a good place to start out if you are looking for a legal definition or would like to learn a bit about the law in an easy-to-understand format. Findlaw has articles that don’t use a lot of “legal jargon” and can point you in the right direction. It also contains a lawyer directory.
“ When I’m involved in a case centering on a specific technology, or just want to learn about off-the-wall information, I check out www.howstuffworks.com, which is pretty self-explanatory. You can find out anything from how to create your own podcast to how to remove crayon stains.
“ Speaking of the kids, there is a kid-version of this type of website at www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/ mysteries/. This “everyday mystery” site run by the Library of Congress answers all those everyday questions that a parent might run into. Such as, “Who invented Christmas lights?” and “Why is the ocean blue?” It’s a great way to keep your kids thinking that you are the smartest father around.