Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York
I am in the process of researching a book on Fisher-Price Toys. My deceased father worked there and has many work related photos, documents, prototypes and information from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Who owns this material? Is it permissible to use this without permission of the company, which is now owned by Mattel? Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated; thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
It would require a crystal ball in order for anyone to offer anything helpful without understanding what material we are talking about here. There is just no way around it, you will have to have this analyzed by counsel before publishing in order to know whether you are exposing yourself to any claims. I would guess that much if not all is probably going to be ok to use, but of course it is not possible to conclude that.
If you would like to discuss further over a free phone consult, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.
Our firm is now referred by the American Bar Association (see under the New York section):
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/delivery_legal_services/resources/programs_to_help_those_with_moderate_income.html
Kind regards,
Frank
www.LanternLegal.com
866-871-8655
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