Services
AQUILINO LAW is a single member firm which provides legal services in the areas of intellectual property and general business law and contracting.
Our Services
We provide a wide array of legal services. Click on a description title for more details.
COPYRIGHT LAW
Whether you are looking to protect, enforce, defend or litigate. We\’ve got you covered.
TRADEMARKS
We can help you register your trademarks, enforce your rights, get your domain name back from cybersquatters, and pursue or defend unfair competition claims.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & ENTERTAINMENT LAW
License your IP to or from others. Sell or acquire IP. We also help in all areas of Art Law & Entertainment Law.
BUSINESS & CONTRACT LAW
We offer general counsel services to businesses, including contract drafting & negotiating, marketing review, employment matters, & business disputes.
COPYRIGHTS
Copyright Enforcement
We are passionate about helping copyright owners protect their creations. We understand that your creations – your paintings, illustrations, graphics, photographs, songs, books – are your babies, your passion, and your livelihood. It can be hard enough to earn a good living selling your artistic expression without having someone else steal your intellectual property. We understand that feeling robbed in this way can be an emotional experience, something most people cannot appreciate. We are here to be your advocate, your champion, your white knight against copyright infringement, so that you can continue to focus on your art and your business. Leave it to us to obtain an appropriate remedy for the misappropriation of your copyrights. We are also sensitive to the budgets of creative businesses and offer several different payment options. Click here to learn more about how we can help you in this fight.
Copyright Registration & Protection
The first line of defense against copyright infringement is having your copyright registrations in place. The US Copyright Office charges $35 or $55 (depending on owner) for registration of a published work. If your works are unpublished, you can register up to 10 unpublished works for $55 (more for photographs). We can advise you on how to properly register your copyrights, or register them for you at a low cost. We can also work to provide you with registration strategies if you have a lot of unregistered works. Click here to learn more about how we can help protect your copyrights.
Copyright Defense
Although our primary copyright clientele consists of creators of intellectual property, we also represent clients who have been accused of copyright infringement. Just like we advise our clients not to pursue cases that are not really infringements, we also defend clients when they have been wrongly accused of an infringement. And sometimes a person or company just makes a mistake and has inadvertently infringed a copyright. In those cases, we counsel clients in how best to address the issue and resolve it in a fair and reasonable manner for all parties involved without racking up legal fees. Of course, we are available to help you prevent committing copyright infringements in the first place. We can advise on strategies and methods to make sure your company isn’t doing anything that is risking liability for infringement. If you have been accused of copyright infringement, click here to learn more about how we can help you in your defense.
Copyright Litigation
We work with local counsel to litigate copyright cases for our clients when necessary. Moreover, if you are an attorney or law firm that is in need of an attorney with vast copyright experience, we also consult and work with other firms on their copyright cases. We have litigation experience drafting motions, opening/closing arguments, and general case strategy. If you are a law firm in need of an attorney with over 17 years of copyright law experience, click here to learn more about how we can assist your firm
Trademark Registration
We offer cost effective trademark registration services. If you have a company name, brand, logo or slogan that identifies your company, goods or services, we can help you obtain federal protection of your trademark. We will also advise you on likelihood of success of obtaining registration for your mark, in order to save you time and money. Click here to learn more about how we can help protect your trademarks and service marks.
Trademark Enforcement
Trademark infringement often occurs when a competitor is misusing your trademark in advertising in a manner that constitutes unfair competition. We can advise you if they have gone too far in their use of your trademark, or a confusingly similar trademark. If their use is actionable, we can help your business get an appropriate remedy. Click here to discuss whether your competitor has misused your trademark.
Domain names
If someone is using wrongly using your trademark as a domain name, we can help. The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy is a process for the resolution of disputes regarding the registration of internet domain names. We can advise you as to whether you have a case, and if so, we’ll work with you to seek a remedy. Click here if you have a cyber squatter using your trademark.
Unfair Competition
Competition can sometimes go too far. A company\’s false claims can unfairly take customers away that may have otherwise gone to you. We can help you resolve disputes involving unfair competition, false advertising, and other misrepresentations. We are here to help if you have been caught on the wrong side of a claim, as well. Click here to reach out about your unfair competition issue.
TRADEMARKS
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY &
ENTERTAINMENT LAW
Licensing
We not only help you to protect and enforce your intellectual property rights, we also help you license your intellectual property. Licensing your artworks, writings, songs, brands, or other intellectual property asset is the proper way to retain your asset while also earning money for its use by third-party licensees. There are many pitfalls to watch out for, though. We can help with your licensing agreements and licensing strategies – whether you need to draft your own license, review a third-party’s license agreement, negotiate fair and favorable terms, or enforce a breach of your license agreement, we’ve got you covered. While we work primarily with licensors, we also leverage that experience in assisting licensees who want to obtain a license of intellectual property from a copyright or trademark owner. Click here to learn more about how we can help your business in the world of licensing.
Intellectual Property Acquisitions
IP acquisitions and assignments can be tricky. Whether you are hiring a freelancer, commissioning artwork, or acquiring a company\’s assets, we can help you properly document the acquisition and record the assignment. Work Made for Hire, for example has a specific meaning that most companies get wrong. A lot of businesses contract with an independent contractor and think they are acquiring the IP when in fact the ownership remains with the creator. We will help you avoid costly mistakes that may result in you not owning the IP. Click here if you are looking to commission or acquire some intellectual property.
Art Law
Artist and licensors have a host of issues to consider, including, but not limited to, copyright, trademark and unfair competition, artists\’ rights, art fraud, creation of \”multiples,\” and rights of privacy and publicity. For example, we can advise you before you license a work that may violate a third party’s copyright, trademark, rights of privacy and/or rights of publicity. There are a lot of misconceptions out there about what you can and can’t do with someone else’s intellectual property. Click here if you have concerns that you may be violating a law or another person’s rights with your art.
Music Law
We also work with musicians who need to navigate the world of split sheets, band contracts, co-writer contract, rights transfers, record deals, producer & remix agreements, distribution contracts, guest performance contracts, and management and agency contracts. Other legal issues that can present themselves may involve libel and slander, royalties, compulsory cover licenses, and copyright Infringement. Click here if you are a musician that is ready to obtain legal representation to make sure you are doing things the right way.
Contracts & Business Agreements
We love contracts. A good contract is the best defense against something going wrong in the future. Limitations of liability, indemnification, confidentiality, representations and warranties are all critical to a solid agreement. We can help your business draft, review, negotiate and enforce almost any kind of contract. Let us assist your business with its reseller agreements, service bureau agreements, vendor agreements, sales agreements, consulting agreements, master services agreements, statements of work, employment agreement, service bureau agreements, operating agreements, non-disclosure agreements, sweepstakes rules, model releases, representation agreements, license agreements, and more! A great contract will make the difference between a quick dispute resolution and a lengthy and expensive one. Click here to discuss how we can help your business with its next contract.
General Business Counsel
Our principal attorney has over fourteen years working as corporate counsel for both private and public companies. Besides assistance in contracting, let us assist your business with its marketing and promotional material review, employment issues, compliance matters, collections practices and data privacy. Liability pitfalls can pop-up anywhere with regulations governing everything your business does, such as the Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts and Practices, CAN-SPAM rules, Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules and a host of employment. Our principal attorney can come on site or advise you from afar. Whether you need your first temporary in-house counsel, or you just need to fill in some gaps for an understaffed legal department, we are here to help. Monthly retainer arrangements are available. Click here to discuss how we can help your business with its general legal needs.
Business & Contract Disputes
Business disputes usually arise out of a contract or lack of a contract. We represent all types of businesses in contract dispute matters. Whether your licensee is breaching your license agreement, or there is a dispute about the interpretation of a contract provision, we can help. Our attorney’s extensive experience in drafting and negotiating contracts provides a high level of insight into the resolution of contract disputes. We will counsel your business on your likelihood of success so you can decide how and when to settle or whether to take it to court. Click here to discuss how we can help your business resolve a dispute.