Recently in Intellectual Property Category

As self-published e-books top best-seller lists, writer-entrepreneurs may be wondering: Should e-book authors who self-publish submit their books for a legal review?

If an author expects her book to get a decent amount of exposure, and the book contains material that isn't in the public domain, then consulting an attorney who knows a bit about publishing laws isn't a bad idea.

Here are five legal tips for those writing an e-book, self-published or otherwise:

What's the difference between a patent, a trademark and a copyright?

If you're new to the concepts and ideas in intellectual property law, they all may seem like the same thing to you.

But there are some differences to each one. And knowing which one you need can make all the difference.

With cloud storage becoming increasingly popular for businesses, many small new SaaS companies are popping up. But some people are setting up low-budget SaaS companies online, without fully addressing the legal issues involved.

Drafting an SaaS agreement can be tricky, since it's a complex agreement. But if your startup doesn't have the funds to hire a lawyer, you'd better be smart about how you draft one of these contracts.

Let's start at the very beginning: What is an SaaS?

Getting trademarked has never been so easy! You just need to say it, have someone hear it and it's yours!

Not quite. But a little know fact about trademarks is that a slogan doesn't need to be registered for you to have the rights to it, according to a recent Forbes piece.

It's like that old philosophical question -- if a tree falls and nobody's there to hear it, does it make a sound? Similarly, if you say a phrase and nobody's around to hear it, does it legally belong to you?

Patents often make the news in battles between big companies. But what we don't hear about is how important it is for any business to get a patent.

Just because you aren't a Fortune 500 company doesn't mean you aren't coming up with new and interesting ideas -- like how to streamline your business. When those ideas spur a new invention, you may be eligible for a patent.

The first step is to learn more about patents, and there's a lot of free information online. Here's a quick look at why getting a patent may be vital for your business:

While you may not find yourself in the middle of a global patent infringement battle like the Apple Samsung case, there are things you can learn from Apple (and Samsung's) litigation strategy.

Let's say your company developed a new technology and spent considerable fees in properly filing and registering the patents. As the technology gained popularity, you quickly notice that others -- including much larger competitors -- have developed similar technology.

Fresh from the news of Apple enforcing its patents against Samsung, you may be eager to sue all your competitors too. However, unless you have the war chest of Apple, you may need to think twice before jumping into developing your litigation strategy, reports Forbes.

If you've ever wondered how far you should go to protect your trademark, look no further than Ben & Jerry's suit against the maker of a line of x-rated movies.

The films are part of a pornographic series called 'Ben & Cherry's' that uses titles reminiscent of some popular Ben & Jerry's flavors. The lawsuit says that the DVD names and the series title will be confusing to consumers who are looking for Ben & Jerry's ice cream. They're also claiming that the films will tarnish Ben & Jerry's reputation.

The names aren't the only problem listed in the suit, reports ABC. The video packaging also allegedly mimics Ben and Jerry's which makes their case stronger.

Google is rolling out a new search algorithm that will change how rankings are calculated. That means some pages will see a different in how well they rank in searches.

The purpose of the change? To punish copyright infringers.

This is good news for copyright holders since it makes infringement less profitable. But the lack of clear standards about what is infringement could also punish innocent businesses and individuals.

Trademark infringement can get ugly but Jack Daniel's actually used it to their advantage. And they still managed to enforce their trademark.

The company sent a cease and desist letter to author Patrick Wensink whose new book's cover looked an awful lot like the iconic whiskey label. The letter wasn't mean and it didn't make any unnecessary demands on Wensink or his publisher. It didn't even have a whole lot of legal terms besides those needed go get the point across.

The letter was polite (even bordering on friendly) and at the end of the day Jack Daniel's ended up on top without having to spend a penny on a lawsuit.

Mitt Romney's campaign ad, which included a clip of the President singing an Al Green song, was removed from YouTube for violating copyright laws but later restored as a 'fair use.'

BMG Rights Management contacted YouTube about removing the video, claiming that it contained copyrighted material. YouTube immediately removed the video from their website.

YouTube restored the video several days later in response to an appeal letter by the Romney campaign. They asserted that the video was a 'fair use' and not a copyright violation under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. YouTube agreed.

The video contained headlines about President Obama rewarding donors and lobbyists along with a short clip of the President singing of few lines of Let's Stay Together.

So what about this ad makes it fair use?