Bought a Beat? Check the License
Buying or downloading a beat does not tell you everything you may do with it. Read the license that came with the exact purchase and identify any material incorporated into the beat. The Copyright Office’s guide to samples, interpolations and beat stores explains why...
Copyright Registration and Royalty Collection Are Different Tasks
Registering a song with a royalty organisation does not replace registering a copyright claim with the U.S. Copyright Office. The systems have different roles, and one does not automatically complete the others. The Mechanical Licensing Collective, or The MLC, handles...
One Song, Two Copyright Works: What Musicians Should Know
A musical composition and a recording of it are separate copyright works. Owning or registering one does not automatically give you ownership or registration of the other. The composition is the underlying music and any lyrics. The sound recording is a particular...
Jack Daniel’s: Trademarks and Parody
A product can make a joke and still raise a trademark question. Calling a design a parody does not automatically end an infringement dispute. In Jack Daniel’s Properties v. VIP Products, decided June 8, 2023, the Supreme Court considered a dog toy that borrowed the...
Warhol and Goldsmith: Fair Use
Changing the appearance or message of an image does not automatically settle fair use. The particular use being challenged can be central to the analysis. The Supreme Court’s May 18, 2023 decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith addressed the first fair-use...
AI Copyright and the Thaler Decision
A court decision about a work naming a machine as its sole author does not answer every copyright question involving an AI tool. The specific application and issue matter. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, decided March 18, 2025, the D.C. Circuit affirmed refusal of a...
Georgia HOA Rules: Check Official Updates
An article about a new HOA law, a proposed agency rule and an open registration portal describe different things. Check the official source and its date before assuming a new procedure is available today. Georgia’s Secretary of State has published an HOA FAQ and a...
Finding Your Georgia HOA Records
Your HOA’s corporate record and the documents governing your property are not the same record. Looking in both places can help you identify the organisation and understand which documents you still need. The Georgia Secretary of State provides a business search for...
HOA Dues: What to Check
If an HOA charge does not make sense to you, start by gathering the documents behind it. A clear record helps separate a question about authority from a question about notice, calculations or payments. Georgia Consumer Ed’s guidance points homeowners to their...
