Moritz Legal Information Blog

Oscar Pistorius has been charged with murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.  With the Pistorius case making international news, and the shooting taking place in South Africa, you might be interested in some resources on South African law: South Africa: Guide to Law Online at the Law Library of Congress . At our own library, you can find materials on South African law in our catalog by doing a subject search (such as Law - South Africa) or doing a keyword search.  Here are some examples of what you might find: Introduction to the Law of South Africa Dignity, Freedom and the Post-Apartheid Legal Order: The Critical Jurisprudence of Laurie Ackermann Essays on Law and Social Practice in South Africa Traditional African Religions in South Africa Law You can also find legal periodicals such as the South Africa Law Journal and Acta Juridica . Keyword searches can also you to chapters or articles that are part of a larger work. For example, World Criminal Justice Systems

I'm a sucker for a good copyright law story, as you may have surmised based on previous blog posts. I think it's because regardless of your chosen field of law, it's an area that touches your life on a regular basis. I have yet to need a divorce or criminal attorney, but I often second-guess the legal ramifications of my online actions when it comes to downloading images and music. So here's another story about copyright law : Amoeba Records, a music store in Los Angeles and elsewhere that allows trade-ins and sells vintage vinyl, has begun digitizing old songs and whole albums, then selling them on their Vinyl Vaults page on their website. You may be morally opposed to this activity as the original musicians and rights holders are unlikely to see a dime from the endeavor. On the other hand, you may see it as a fortuitous way for unknowns to finally get the spotlight they deserve. As an attorney, however, you're obligated to comply with the law on downloadin

Ever wanted a life-sized action figure of yourself or your favorite professor? 3-D printing may be the answer to your prayers. Old laws, however, nonetheless apply to new technologies as copyright claims are becoming the norm for folks printing 3-D busts of iconic, copyright protected characters such as Yoda . NPR has more on this developing legal arena. Other possible legal questions associated with this technology? Rights of publicity (think Beyoncé action figures) and secondary liability for the companies that create the printers.

On Monday I was browsing the shelves of the law library, and I think I've discovered the most depressing set of books we own. The books are in the section that houses the call number KF311.Z9, which I can only assume is the Library of Congress classification for books with the subject "Lawyers stink." The books have titles like, " How to Hire an Honest Lawyer---and Other Oxymorons ," " The Terrible Truth About Lawyers: How Lawyers Really work and How to Deal with Them Successfully ," " Taming the Lawyers ," " Legal Street Smarts: How to Survive In a World of Lawyers ," and " Mad at Your Lawyer? " Books like these may only reinforce the smarmy reputation often associated with attorneys, but take heart: reading up on these portrayals of attorneys just may help you avoid common mistakes that frustrate clients and give rise to attorneys' bad reputations. For example, when the books note that attorneys regularly fail to

The ABA Journal reports on a Utah couple who adopted a child, then lost custody of the child to the birth father. Over the course of almost two years, custody of the child was in dispute, and the adoptive parents have decided to abandon their appeal and allow the child to return to her birth father, though they have parented the 21-month-old child for her entire life. It's a complicated story for a number of reasons. Curious to learn how this kind of case might be resolved in Ohio? We have a few resource guides here in the library: Ohio Adoption Law Adoption Law in Ohio What's New in Adoption Law You can also read the sections on adoption laws in Ohio Jurisprudence in Westlaw and Lexis: Westlaw: 47 Ohio Jur. 3d Family Law § 870 Lexis: 47 Oh Jur Family Law § 870

The jeweler Tiffany ® may seem like one of those companies that regularly pops up in the news suing companies left and right for trademark infringement and related issues , but Tiffany ®  is not alone. Other companies are notorious for going after alleged trademark infringers. (Think Mattel ® and all the litigation you've heard about over the years related to Barbie ® .) Sometimes it seems a company will sue for anything, but did you know there's actually an explanation rooted in the law rather than simply a desire to crush the competition? The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) does not pursue alleged infringers on behalf of trademark registrants, and failure to police one's own mark could, in a worst case scenario, result in the registrant losing its trademark. That's because a failure to make others aware that you own the mark (i.e., a failure to police your mark) may be evidence that you've abandoned your mark . (Refer to footnote three on page three of

Amish bishop Samuel Mullet and fifteen of his followers were sentenced last Friday for their hair- and beard-cutting hate crimes against perceived enemies of their breakaway sect.  Mullet received a sentence of fifteen years, while his followers, including three of his sons, received lower sentences ranging from a year and a day to seven years. Some past coverage at the Moritz Legal Information Blog FBI Press Release Cleveland Plain Dealer Sentencing Law and Policy Huffington Post