Copyright infringement on bit torrent websites

We run an indie record company and are having trouble keeping up with all the bit torrent sites online which pirate anything and everything and put it out there for free download. Some have responded to our requests for removal, others are beyond rude and just laugh at us and send really snotty emails to let us know how stupid we are for even trying. I know there must be biggies like the RIAA or MPAA or someone trying to put these nasty pricks out of business but I see very little that I can do as a small business owner. The two really killing me right now are in Canada & Sweden and delight in crowing that they do not have to abide by DCMA rules. One has me jumping through flaming hoops to provide exacting info on the infriging content complete with my search terms used to find them on his own site accompanied by a formal DCMA complaint via email & post to a US address using a forwarding service. A little research has coughed up the NET Act but I don't see how this applies outside the US. What real course of action do I have against these folks internationally? Some have membership fees but many do not, leaving me to wonder why they do it. I think for the sheer heck of it as they are mostly rude and very childish. Weird. -Sam

7 Star Replica Handbags

I personally own 10 or so 7 Star Replica Handbags. Bags such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Fendi. These Handbags are a mirror image of the real one and quite expensive.

My mother owns a gift shop/Tea Room in Arizona and I was wondering if I could sell them in her store??

Thanks!

land survey

we are working on buying our lot in a small park we had a survey done and the survey showed we are into neighbor driveway over 7 ft and back line is half of his car port what do we do

Idea for a website

Let's say that I have an IDEA or a plan for a website that I want to pitch to companies. How do I go about ensuring that they're not going to say ''no'', turn around and take my idea. The idea is general, but at the same time there is nothing on it's scale of vastness. So I guess I'm asking two questions. Can my idea be copyrighted? If not, what would be my plan of action to ensure I wouldn't be kicked out the door and stolen of my pitch?

chinese web site pirating software

I run a software company, and I discovered a chinese website/bulletin board that is pirating some of my software as well as TONS of other software. Their main page reads like a who's who of software. The domain name is registered to some guy in China. Is there anything I can do to get the site shut down? I don't want to spend a lot of money on this -- should I contact the FBI? If not who?

Intellectual Property

I would like to use a city's skyline on a tshirt, do I have the legal right to do so?

Copyright infringement

My company uses commercial off the shelf (COTS) parts in some products we make (screws, fittings and the like). We have a responsibility to be able to ''capture'' the configuration of the product. I would like to photo copy the catalog that is used to define the COTS parts we need for the sole purpose of identifying the COTS parts and to facilitate buying them in the future. Because I wish to photocopy only small portions of the catalog, clearly identify the owner of the catalog (I am not trying to resell these COTS part as my own), and it has no commercial affect on the ''market'' for catalogs (read: No one is suffering damages and the owner of the catalog benefits by product sales) I feel this fall squarely in the area of ''fair use''. I believe this provides the owner of the copyrighted work with exactly what his intent of publishing a catalog is... sales of his product by him to me. Our corporate lawers think differently. It has a copyright mark, therefore we need permission. Sounds simple until you read the release statement they came up with! No one will sign it as it requires the owner to give up all rights to his entire catalog. Am I all wet here?

competitive intangibles

How do you protect your ideas within an organization if you submit a proposal which recieves no compensation and is deem useless then later adopted in whole or in part to the sole advantage of the organization?

trademark protection

Is it possible for a word like ''hallowed'' to be trademarked or would it receive trade dress?

film acting copyright

As an actor, I am trying to put together a reel- a slideshow of shots from the acting work I've done. This reel will serve as a part of my performing resume. I worked as an extra in a major motion picture, and was in a couple of wonderful shots next to very well known faces. Could I have problems under copyright laws if I use those shots in my reel?

Intellectual Prop.

Is it possible for someone to patent a video game or copyright a video game

Copying a music CD

Is it illegal to copy a music CD on your computer, and then give it to a friend. - Pam

copyright

Are Restaurant menus copywritten, that is, can i reproduce them if i want to without having to worry about legal repercussions?

software patent infringement question

If I sell software that has a feature which could be used to combine certain stock market data in a way that is patented, could I be sued by the patent holder? There are many legitimate ways to combine stock market data which are not patented so would I need to somehow ''block'' the patented methods?

I guess in a more general way, can the provider of software that has many uses that do not violate the patent be sued because malicious users could use it in a way that violates the patent?

Case dismissal with prejudice

Court wants to dismiss a case with prejudice. What does that mean

Using other people's quotes

How does one legally profit off of the use of other people's quotes, like the quotation books available for sale? Specifically, how does one legally use someone's quote on a item for sale? If the person is alive does their permission have to be obtained? What if the person is dead? What if the quote is anonymous?

photograhpy

Would a Release of Claims cover models try to sue for photos?

Intellectual property and outsourcing?

What legal avenues for protecting intellectual property are available to US companies who are outsourcing software to countries like China, India, Russia and the Ukraine?

Right now I have standard NDA and licensing agreements with my US based contractors, which have some enforcement and damages clauses but how do these hold up with in other countries? What do I need to do to protect my source code from appearing out on the internet somewhere?

Art Contest

I want to have an art contest among middle school aged children in order to obtain a logo for my business. I plan on paying $100 to the winner and using the logo on printed business material. How should I go about obtaining full rights to the logo once a winner is chosen? Are there any other legal do's and don't's I should be aware of?

Horse Purchase Gone Bad

I agreed to purchase a horse from a woman via e-mail. We agreed on the purchase price of 3,500, and a one week trial to make sure the horse was what I wanted. I picked the horse up 3 days ago. The woman contacted me today and said she has changed her mind and would like to have the horse returned. I offered her the full purchase price in form of a check to be delivered today and she still refused. Is the e-mail correspondance a legally binding contract? Can I sue to force the sale as they do in real estate? Can I legally move the horse to keep her from picking it up?