Authors in the Round..NEW Radio show JOIN US March 1

Authors in the Round

March 1, 2015

7PM-9PM

Fennell, Gracen, and Mariel

Join us for a lively discussion with these talented authors. They will share bits of their latest novels, their journey to bestsellers, what makes them tick and anything else that comes up. Come to the fireside room of Murray Grove to meet them or listen/watch online and ask your questions in the chatroom. Light fare will be available. Your host for this adventure into the world of writing is Karen Kenney Smith, author and President of Three Worlds Press

Location: Murray Grove Retreat and Renewal Center

431 US Hwy 9 (and Church Lane), Lanoka Harbor, NJ 08734

Questions call 40footholestudio.com 609-618-1278

or

LIVESTREAM VIDEO by 40footholestudio for WORDS from "In The Hole"
click this link at show time. https://new.livestream.com/accounts/3269343/events/3832542
we do ask that you still use our FB chatroom, if possible, http://www.facebook.com/40footholestudio/app_181184391902159 to partake in the conversations with the Authors

Audio only (if you are not video compatible) Listen here: http://page.cloudradionetwork.com/40foot/

Another fine 40footholestudio.com Production

Guest Post: Why you can't title your book "Coca-Cola" An Intro to Trademarks

Please welcome my guest, John A. Bermingham, Attormey at Law. John and I met through a local business networking group. In addition to being a specialist in entertainment and contractual law, he is a avid reader and writer with designs on being the next Grisham.  
Recent discussions in PubWrite and in the social media circles over the cease and desist filed against an indie author by a black-light acrobatics group (of recent notoriety on a reality show) prompted me to ask John to share some thoughts on trademarks. 
He will be making periodic appearances here to discuss matter of interest and importance in the evolving publishing world.


So take it away, Counselor!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Time to be creative, time to inspire, and time to be original!  You get your glass of wine, find your stimulating view, sit by the window pane, light the candles, and look to begin another adventure with your favorite literary characters.  However, as you begin to sit down and write your novel, this little guy with a briefcase and glasses jumps up into your window and yells, “make sure to protect yourself, legally.”  You question, why do lawyers need to be involved in everything?  Was Shakespeare wrong when he penned “first thing we do is kill all the lawyers” as a compliment?

As an artist you may question the need to protect yourself legally. What does that mean?”  Most writers might be aware that they must copyright an original piece of work to prevent infringement and flat out stealing, but how can an author be sued for trademark infringement?”  What does a trademark protect against?

The Supreme Court ruled in 1995 in the case of Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co, U.S. Supreme Court (1995), that "trademark law prevents others from copying a source-identifying mark, it 'reduces the customer's costs of shopping and making purchasing decisions,' for it quickly and easily assures a potential customer that this item -- the item with this mark -- is made by the same producer as other similarly marked items that he or she liked (or disliked) in the past.  At the same time, the law helps assure a producer that it (and not an imitating competitor) will reap the financial, reputation-related rewards associated with a desirable product." 

Ok so what does that really mean?  Legally it means that you cannot title your book, for example, “Coca-Cola” or even “Coke” as the Coca-Cola® Company has that trademarked.  Notice the ® or a ™ after the name - these are both considered trademarks and both legally protect the one who has the original trademark.  The ® means the trademark is registered while the ™ means it is in the process of being registered.  Even the shape of a Coca-Cola® glass bottle is trademarked because once you see the bottle you know the product inside the bottle is Coca-Cola®.   

Copyrights and trademarks can often be confused.  A copyright is granted as soon as the piece of work is created, while a trademark might take time for recognition before it is actually trademarked.  Furthermore, as copyrights eventually end after 70 years plus the life of the author, a trademark can be renewed indefinitely. 

In the literary world, if a purchaser looks at your book title and might identify it with a trademarked product, believing both could be produced by the same company or individual, there can be an infringement. 

Just think of finally having the title of your book, the one you thought about night after night, and subsequently getting your cover art for the book – then receiving a cease and desist order from the one who holds the trademark for the same or even a similar mark!  Legal awareness must be considered as soon as you create something.  According to the Trademark Dilution Act of 1995, the owner of a trademark can stop another from using its trademark if there is a resemblance, similarity, or the title of your book might harm the trademark owner of its full value of the trademark. “Unlike copyrights that deal with the marketplace of expressive ideas, trademarks deal with the marketplace of goods and services” (Jassin, 2012).

Nevertheless, keep the legal issues in mind when creating your work.  Laws are involved in everything we do and wherever we go.  You have the right to have your work protected and after all your hard work and getting your creative juices down on paper, it would be a shame to see someone else get the credit you so rightly deserve.

Keep writing!

John A. Bermingham, Esq.

John A. Bermingham is an Attorney at Law who specializes in entertainment law, contractual transactions, and intellectual property.  He can be reached at (732) 500-2081 or johnabermingham@aol.com. 

Additionally, Facebook friend me at www.facebook.com/people/John-Bermingham/172801692

Here is a great website to give you information on trademarks and copyrights: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/trade_defin.jsp.

Reference

Jassin, L.J.(2012). CopyLaw.com. Retrieved from 

http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/trademrk.html

Selling Books in the Amazon (Age).

As readers and writers we live in a period more exciting than a 13^th sign, a Mayan end-time, or a Zombie apocalypse—the expansion of publishing channels.  I have been for my entire writing life in sales.  I was an Investment Banker on Wall Street, the owner of a gourmet shop, a commercial banker and a teacher (try convincing high school students that learning Geometry is a good investment of their time and then tell me that’s not a tough sell.)  So, in addition to the craft of writing, I am a student of the business of publishing and, more importantly, selling books.  Writing a book that does not sell is, in my mind, akin to keeping a journal.

In college, I was a Biology major with a particular interest in evolution and physical anthropology.  Like mathematics, these areas of science are more about patterns and progressions.  Perhaps because my brain is wired a certain way, I like to watch, study and sometimes comment on patterns and change in other areas of interest.  The book industry is in the midst of something bordering on catastrophic evolution, as compared to the slower Darwinian type. Borders has hired re-structuring lawyers, small publishing houses and e-publishing platforms are expanding rapidly.  Amazon is a (or is it the) major player in book sales with over a gazillion titles.  Gazillion is a technical mathematic term meaning more than I can wrap my head around. Amazon also has its own e-publishing platform. Will we see the return of the small bookstore and what will it look like?

At the end of the day, the issue is how many books will I sell (someday) or how many will you?  And how will we do that?  One of us may write the great American Novel or just a really good read, but we need to stand out from the crowd.  It is not just the agent’s slush pile that matters anymore; it is Amazon’s slush pile. 

We are responsible for our own brand.  How do we create it and promote it to reader market?  The goal is to reach people who may never have heard of us and convince them to read our book.   What will the marketing channels of the future look like? Will there be any point in signing books in Barnes and Noble or Borders if foot traffic declines?  This may sound exaggerated now, but if current trends continue the book selling industry will be a very different animal before too long.

So as we sit in the Storytellers’ Grove like our ancestors who sat around the fire, please share your wisdom, ideas and thoughts.

For further interesting thoughts on the subject click on one of my favorite blogs Pimp My Novel to your right and read the Jan 13 blog called “A Lesson Brand Management”.

For new members of the blogosphere, click the tiny pencil to share your thoughts.

A Zombie New Year

Maybe its this horrid chest cold I have that makes me think about zombies.  They seem to be everywhere, just like the common cold.  The question is "Why?"--- the zombies, I mean.  It's a myth without legs.  Zombies have a fairly limited mythology.  Which some may see as limiting, but I see as a semi-blank slate.  Since the 60's they have become rotting, shuffling (okay they can run now) things that not even a mother could love.  While I could imagine a New Year's Eve smooch with Eric or Bill or Lestat or any number of vamps, weres and shapeshifters, the image of the usual zombie doesn't have me puckering up.  Has anyone read or written anything that elevates the zombie from prop or target practice?

Snow and Frankenstein

Today I left the house, trudging several blocks, not miles as it shall become in a later version, to the main road to catch a ride to work.  We had been shut in for a mere 48 hours, our street had still not seen a plow and my car was imprisoned in the driveway.  The writer in me began to imagine life a century or more ago, when people could be snowed in for entire winters with no other company but themselves.  Is that why we still jam supermarkets stocking up on milk, bread and eggs? Today our isolation is interrupted by tv, movies, cellphones, Facebook, and other distractions. 

 I then recalled the story behind the origins of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.  The novel was birthed during what she described as a “wet, ungenial summer” where rain kept them confined to the house for days at a time.  It was during these long hours where they read to each other, talked and imagined that she first envisioned Frankenstein.  Was it the confinement or the company that fueled her imagination?

I’d like to believe that I could adapt to such circumstances. In fact, I occasionally yearn for the less cluttered life, for time alone my thoughts, especially as it pertains to my writing.  Ideas often come at the oddest moments, flashes and fragments.  To give them form and life, I try to retreat to a quieter place, sometimes alone, sometimes with just the electronics shut off, computer excluded.  Visions of me yelling “It’s alive!”  play on my mental movie screen.   

I have heard and read where others can write in Starbucks or other high traffic locations. I know there is no right way but I always learn about myself by learning from others.  When an idea starts to grab you, when it becomes more that a spark, what works for you? How and where do you find your creative space?  Is it an exterior thing or an interior thing?  How formed is your idea before you thrash it out with others or does the conversation come first?  Do you have your inner circle, like Mary Shelley, to share your imaginings with? 

At least I can say that the December 2010 blizzard gave birth to this blog. 

It's ALIVE!

Have I created a monster?