A Lawyer's Guide to the Galaxy Podcast

Certified geeks and IP lawyers Ben Siders and Kirk Damman are back for Season 2 of "A Lawyer's Guide to the Galaxy." In a world where original screenplays are a lost art, the hosts discuss the ins and outs of reboots and sequels and the legal issues that lie within. "Reboot Universe" by rofreg is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by...

In Episode 28, we discuss commercial speech and copyright with an NBA2k lawsuit involving the reproduction of a player’s tattoo in the video game, followed by a discussion of body modification more generally, and close with a more philosophical discussion of how IP laws are created to respond to changes in technology. PHOTO ATTRIBUTION: "VAB Tattoo Festival - 2016" by Tobyotter is licensed with CC...

In this week's episode, Ben Siders and Kirk Damman discuss themed events that go one step further from cosplay. Stay tuned as they discuss the legal issues one may run into with hosting private costume parties and the consequences of social media's exposure. "That's no Gingerbread House!" by jurvetson is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/lic...

BEWARE! SOLO SPOILERS AT THE END OF EPISODE! Join St. Louis-based IP attorneys Kirk Damman and Ben Siders, as they discuss IP rights in culture - what elements in culture are given IP protection and how western IP rights fits in with nonwestern cultures. Stay tuned till the end to hear Kirk & Ben's recap on their Solo predications! "Neanderthal Cave art Le Moustiar" by SKI tripper is licensed with...

St. Louis-based patent lawyers Kirk Damman and Ben Siders geek out about patent law, and discuss a number of strange patents, including an in-depth consideration of an attempt to patent "Godly powers," and design patents on vehicles from Star Wars.

Join St. Louis-area IP attorneys Ben Siders and Kirk Damman for a discussion of trademark shenanigans. Your hosts discuss the Grumpy Cat coffee lawsuit, and on-going litigation over people hiring themselves out to portray Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars characters without authorization. Also, Kirk reviews Deadpool 2.

In Episode 23, we discuss the "Monkey Selfie" case and what the court's decision may mean for "AI Rights" - can robots sue and be sued? What happens to a photo that has no copyright owner? Also, we offer up our Han Solo movie predictions at the end.

In Episode 22, we discuss a real world case where graffiti artists sprayed a building, but the owner painted over it and was sued for destroying works of visual art. Who won? Also, an architect tried to have a copycat home demolished. Did it work? The answers might surprise you. We also discuss whether you can build your own Hobbit hole, and talk about a Star Wars lawsuit involving the card game "...

In the final episode of our three-part series on copyright law, we dig into specific cases about unauthorized works, including unauthorized works based on The Catcher in the Rye, Gone with the Wind, Rocky, Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss, and others. Some are fair uses, and some aren't. What does this mean for Mickey Mouse when his copyright expires? "All the Characters Part 2!" by AntMan...

In Part 2 of our 3-part series on character copyright, we focus on copyright term, and examine how the copyright duration rules have changed over the last 100 years, and the popular belief that big entertainment media companies are to blame. But is it really that simple? As definitive works of American culture begin to enter the public domain, what should we expect? Also, stayed tuned for our Blac...

In Episode 19, we discuss character copyright and fan fiction, and explore the confusing and uncertain theory of this doctrine and how it impacts copyright term. We also compare and contrast Star Trek: Discovery with The Orville, discuss the divergence between the Game of Thrones books and TV series, and more. PHOTO ATTRIBUTION: "All the Characters Part 2!" by AntMan3001 is licensed with CC BY-SA...

In this episode, special guest Charla Claypool joins us to discuss the line between RNG and gambling, including the World of Warcraft auction house, Hearthstone cards, freemium game models, trivia nights, and more. PHOTO ATTRIBUTION: "Dice" by Gurney5 is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The title kind of gives it away.

We go over our Star Wars Episode 8 predictions and show how even something as simple as a movie prediction can be hard to interpret.

IP issues abound in file sharing technologies, which have legitimate uses that are often overlooked in the face of consumer infringement. We go through some prior solutions to the problem of consumer piracy - legal, technological, and practical - and talk about why computer-based piracy is different and presents unique challenges.

Ben and Kirk dive into various listener questions and try to answer them. Photo Attribution: Title: Vintage "U.S. Mail City Collection" mail bag at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. Author: Marcin Wichary License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vintage_mail_bag_at_the_Postal_...

We watch the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special and tell you about it. You're welcome. Then we tell you when we will never be rid of it. This podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Star Wars Holiday Special, or anybody involved in making it. Nor vice versa.

Ben and Kirk discuss various Internet rumors flying around about what will happen in Episode 8, and give each a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

Ben and Kirk discuss IP ownership of urban legends that have complex or unknown authorship, and take down common Internet mythology about how intellectual property rights work. Art Attribution: Title: Depiction of the fictional monster "Slender Man" Author: LuxAmber License: CC-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en) Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%A2%D0...

Ben and Kirk tackle a listener question about how copyright law interacts with fan-produced artwork. Art Attribution: Title: Excerpt from The Fall of Turgon's Tower Author: TTThom License: CC-BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/deed.en)

Are you cloning or are you copying? Image Credit: Dolly the sheep, stuffed.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_(sheep)#/media/File:Dolly_face_closeup.jpg) Author: Toni Barros (São Paulo, Brasil) Licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

What qualifies as a force majeure? The eclipse image can be found on Wikimedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_21,_2017#/media/File:Total_Solar_Eclipse_8-21-17.jpg) and is copyrighted by Michael Adler (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Msadler13) and licensed under CC-BY-SA 4 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). Our use and this podcast are not in any way...

Is it legal to cosplay characters you don't own?

What can be said and written in a fictional language?

What are the rules for making unofficial products based on something someone else has created? PHOTO ATTRIBUTION "The Village in Minecraft" by post-apocalyptic research institute is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/