California and Federal Securities Exemption Information For Low-Budget Movies & Films

I previously posted a link about California securities exemptions for films seeking public investments less than $1,000,000 (i.e., getting a third party investor to invest in your movie). Here are some additional links to help ensure your production is compliant.

FEDERAL

If you are looking for information about the Securities Exchange Commission (Federal) exemption, then you should perhaps consult Regulation D, Rule 504. This exemption allows you to seek certain investors and investments without the need for the standard SEC filing requirements. The SEC now allows you to file this Form D online at:

Federal Online Filing Information, Form D

CALIFORNIA

California has similar securities exemptions. The most relevant exemption for low budget productions may be found at Corporations Code 25102(f). California requires a notice to be filed and this notice may be filed online.

Click here to file the California 25102(f) notice online

HOW TO BECOME A LICENSED NBA AGENT?

If you ever wanted to represent NBA players, check out this site for the information on getting certified as an agent:

Agent application -- NBA Agent Application

TEN WORST PATENTS EVER!

10 WORST PATENTS - According to Cracked.com

COLD BOOT ATTACKS ON ENCRYPTION KEYS (Don't get hacked!)

Encryption software may not be foolproof if someone has access to your computer at the proper time.

...Contrary to popular assumption, DRAMs used in most modern computers retain their contents for seconds to minutes after power is lost, even at operating temperatures and even if removed from a motherboard. Although DRAMs become less reliable when they are not refreshed, they are not immediately erased, and their contents persist sufficiently for malicious (or forensic) acquisition of usable full-system memory images. For the rest of the abstract, click here.

2007 STATE-BY-STATE TAX INCENTIVES FOR THE MOTION PICTURE/FILM INDUSTRY (Including FEDERAL)

(Current as of October 2, 2007)

If you are an up & coming filmmaker who is interested in looking for the state that provides the best tax incentives, you may be interested in checking out this MPAA.org report that summarizes each states' respective incentives:

http://www.filmusa.org/incentive-summaries/

HOUSE CONSIDERS INCREASE IN PENALTIES FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

HOUSE CONSIDERS A STEEP INCREASE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

(Source: California State Bar -- IP Section: www.calbar.ca.gov/ipsection)

H.R. 4279, Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007, or “PRO-IP,” which is pending in the House of Representatives, creates an intellectual property division within the Department of Justice and an intellectual property office within the Executive Office of the President.

PRO-IP would also increase statutory damages in copyright cases by letting copyright holders recover individually for each work in a copyrighted compilation. For example, each song on a CD could be counted as a separate infringement for the purpose of calculating statutory damages.

Pro-IP was introduced to the House on December 5, 2007 and presented to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property on December 13, 2007. At that hearing, consumer rights group Public Knowledge argued that statutory damages already impose disproportionate penalties for infringement and pointed out that copyright owners can already get actual damages in those cases where statutory damages are not enough. A Department of Justice attorney said she was concerned that a new executive office of IP enforcement would undermine DOJ independence.

On the other hand, the bipartisan committee sponsoring PRO-IP said it will stem what one representative called the “tsunami” of counterfeiting and piracy. The bill is supported by some labor unions and industry groups. It would also, of course, be a boon to plaintiffs’ lawyers, who can collect exponentially more damages on behalf of their clients, and an additional hammer over the heads of alleged infringers.

For some additional information:

Text of the bill is at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.4279

Bill tracking:http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h4279/show

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Press Release:http://judiciary.house.gov/newscenter.aspx?A=887

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Hearing Page with Webcast:http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings.aspx?ID=191

webcast: http://judiciary.edgeboss.net/real/judiciary/courts/courts121307.smi

Some Commentary:Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy: http://www.pr-inside.com/announcement-from-the-coalition-against-r351401.htm

Jim Hoffa, Teamsters, testimony in favor of PRO-IP: http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20071213/DC0983113122007-1.html

LA Times Editorial: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-ip23dec23,0,1049654.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail

Arts Technica Commentary: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080129-statutory-damages-not-high-enough.htmlhttp://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080205-white-paper-pro-ip-acts-damage-increases-are-dangerous.html

EFF Commentary: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/12/pro-ip-act-increase-infringement-penalties-and-drastically-expand-government-enforhttp://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/01/update-pro-ip-act-roundtable-statutory-damages

HACKERS PLAN TO HACK MYSPACE.COM

A team of computer hackers plan to hack myspace.com over the next month.

But two hackers going by the names of Mondo Armando and Müstaschio promise to begin disclosing security vulnerabilities in MySpace, News Corp.'s popular social networking site, every day next month. Read the rest HERE.

Isn't myspace.com already full of bugs and hacks? So what will be the difference this month?

TURKEY COURT BANS YOUTUBE.COM

If you are in Turkey and want to check out the latest and greatest YouTube videos, you may see the following message when you log onto the site:

"Access to www.youtube.com site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2007/384 dated 06.03.2007 of Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court".

Click here for the rest of the story.

HIP-HOP IS DEAD?

Nas says "hip-hop is dead" on one of his recent hooks and now the San Jose Mercury News says the same thing.

Recording executives are more interested in turning a quick buck than nurturing rap culture -- and they are behind the apparent demise of hip-hop music.

I have been a hip-hop head since 1988, but listening to mainstream radio these days makes me feel that hip-hop is dying. It cannot be a good thing that I prefer listening to old tracks from the mid-90s over anything being produced today. Maybe hip-hop is dead! Or perhaps it will be like Mark Twain and the reports of its death will have been greatly exaggerated.

THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA!?!

Captain America has undertaken his last mission — at least for now. The venerable superhero is killed in the issue of his namesake comic that hit stands Wednesday, the Daily News reported.

For the rest of the story, click HERE

TRADEMARK DILUTION REVISION ACT OF 2006

Trademark dilution has been a part of U.S. federal trademark law since 1996. In order for a plaintiff to prevail under previous case law, the plaintiff needed to show that its mark was actually diluted by defendant's mark in question. Under the new law that was signed into law in October, 2006, the trademark statute is revised, so that the plaintiff now only needs to show that defendant's mark will likely cause dilution of plaintiff's mark.

Under the new law and standard, it is now easier for a plaintiff to prevail in dilution actions, because it is easier to show to likely dilution as opposed to actual dilution.

For the full text of the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006, click HERE.

CAN THE MAKER OF LEGAL SELF-HELP SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR PRACTICING LAW?

The Internet age has created many digital entrepreneurs. Many of these entrepreneurs run their businesses through computers and different software packages that can do everything under the sun. As a result, many attorneys and non-attorneys have been creating self-help websites that allow the users to create, download and print custom legal forms. It can be a lucrative business especially for an attorney with an extensive library of original forms/contracts.

However, times may be the changing. In a recent decision, the 9th Circuit recently ruled that a legal software vendor engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.

The suit, Frankfort Digital Services v. Kistler (In re: Reynoso), arose out of a bankruptcy proceeding, during which the petitioner paid to use browser-based software that prepared his bankruptcy petition based on information he provided. For the full article, click here.

The Court also found that the software vendor advertised itself as having/offering expertise in the law. If any practitioner provides these types of legal services over the Internet, he/she will need to examine his/her actions to ensure that they are within the boundaries of the law.

Could this court ruling also be applicable to brick and mortar document preparation operations such as We The People?

GOOGLE PATENT SEARCH (Only $Free.99!)

Have you seen those cartoon-looking commercials that come on mid-day during the "Jerry Springer" and/or Maury shows where they show some prehistoric dude accidentally inventing the wheel. Some guy in a suit then comes on screen and offers to protect your invention. Has anyone ever called one of these companies? Just curious.

Anyway if you ever wanted to search the database of United States patents, then you should check out GOOGLE PATENTS.

The datebase of Google Patents covers the entire collection of patents made available by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)—from patents issued in the 1790s through those issued in the middle of 2006. Unfortunately, the database does not include patent applications, international patents, or U.S. patents issued over the last few months, but Google says that it will expand coverage in the future.

THE GREAT YOUTUBE COPYRIGHT DEBATE!

One perspective on the YouTube copyright debate:

KAZAA LITIGATION IN AUSTRALIA (Interview with Michael Williams)

Michael Williams is a partner in the prestigious Sydney technology law firm, Gilbert + Tobin. Mr. Williams was a key player in the infamous Kazaa case, recently fought in the Federal Court of Australia. In this below interview, Mr. Williams describes the high drama of the Anton Piller orders (which enabled Michael's client and its 65-strong team to capture computers from 13 locations, simultaneously, all over Australia).

COPYRIGHT ROYALTY BOARD INCREASES ROYALTIES FOR WEBCASTERS

I was an online DJ from 1998-2003 through Live365.com. Back in the old days, streaming music over the Internet was relatively inexpensive. Since that time, many new webcasters have jumped into the mix. That may all change due to a ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board which increases the royalty payments these webcasters have to pay to record labels and artists.

The new rates, which are retroactive to last year, were decided on Friday by the Copyright Royalty Board, a panel of three copyright judges, and made public Tuesday on the board's Web site, COPYRIGHT ROYALTY BOARD DECISION. For the rest of the article, click HERE

Will this ruling eliminate small webcasters from the marketplace?

U.S. GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO GRANT TRADEMARK PROTECTION TO "OBAMA BIN LADEN" MARK

The government rejected Alexandre Batlle's attempt to trademark an unusual name to sell T-shirts. The mark in question? "Obama bin Laden."

Batlle's trademark application was rejected because it made false connections between Osama bin Laden and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, and contained "immoral or scandalous matter," according to Karen Bush, a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office lawyer. For the rest of the story, click HERE

Isn't Barrack Obama's middle name Hussein? So does that mean we won't see the knockoff Saddam Hussein Obama shirts? Also, I didn't realize that the Bushes controlled the USPTO too.

SONY SETTLES LAWSUIT OVER VIBRATION TECHNOLOGY FOR ITS PLAYSTATION JOYSTICKS

It appears that the vibration technology which has caused a many lost lives on challenging video games will make a return in the PS2.

Sony Corp. and Immersion Corp. said they have settled their long-simmering patent dispute over the vibration technology that shakes video game controllers, and will work together to bring the so-called "rumble" function back to PlayStation products.

The rest of the article can be read at:

http://fsnews.findlaw.com/articles/ap/o/51/03-02-2007/1f050011b83e7ed2.html

This technology cost me a sick Civic Si in Need for Speed Underground 2. I remember racing against some Lexus IS 300s and coming around the corner at 145 mph. My car hit the wall and the joystick started vibrating like it was about to explode. I dropped the controller which then caused my beautiful Si to explode.

HOW TO BECOME A LICENSED NFL PLAYER AGENT?

If you ever wanted to represent NFL players, check out this site for the information on getting certified. With right mix of player-clients, you may be the next Jerry Maguire.

http://www.nflplayers.com/About-Us/FAQs/Agent-Certification-FAQs/

CALIFORNIA SECURITIES EXEMPTIONS FOR FILM INVESTORS UNDER CORPORATIONS CODE SECTION 25102(f)

If you are seeking out investors in California to invest in your independent film project, please do not run afoul of the federal and state securities laws. If your investment opportunity is considered a "security," then you must be in compliance and your security must be registered. If you are giving an investor an interest in your film with the right to receive a backend, then that interest will likely be a "security."

Under the law, a security must be registered unless it falls under an exemption to registration. Registration can be a lengthy and detailed process. Fortunately, there are several exemptions wherein the security does not have to be registered. One exemption that I have used for independent films is the exemption under California corporations code 25102(f). This exemption is limited to no more than 35 investors with whom you have a pre-existing business or personal relationship.

This exception should be considered when a filmmaker desires to raise money from investors in California. Please see below for further details.

http://www.corp.ca.gov/LOEN/pdf/25102f.pdf