Legal Alternatives to Online Piracy

Intellectual property as an asset category is one of the strongest pillars sponsoring the world economy. Knowledge and ideas have always been the fundamental power in economic growth. This supremacy of ideas to lead economic development and progress is marked throughout the world. Principally, the present value of the intellectual property which represents those ideas from computer software and musical recordings to patented pharmaceuticals and information technologies is colossal. Along these lines, the development and embracing of economic innovation is the most prevailing reason governing a country’s underlying growth rate.

These innovations incorporate the development of not only new technologies, but also new materials and methods, modern ways of investing, promoting and allocating goods and services, and novel ways of overseeing a workplace and establishing a business. Over the last generation, a sequence of judgments have proved the imperative meaning of strong intellectual property rights. Given the massive value of economic innovations and the intellectual property embedded in them, it is not unforeseen that the original ideas are often stolen by those who pirate or counterfeit patented or copyrighted technologies and products. 

To guarantee there are right incentives for companies and individuals to keep on investing in the creation, production, promotion and marketing of software, film and sound recordings, international treaties and national laws grant the inventors and producers of software, film and sound recordings various exclusive rights. Any unlawful use of copyrighted material in a way that abuses one of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it, signifies copyright infringement. 

There are many various ways copyright owners may uncover their copyright has been violated. Specifically, in the film and music industry, infringing activities embrace the piracy, which indicates the illegal copying of music products that have been circulated without consent from the copyright owner. Under copyright law, it is illegal to download or share copyrighted materials such as music or movies without the authorization of the copyright owner. Customary techniques of these illegal acts are by copying music onto or from a tape, compact disc, hard drive, or the Internet. 

The music and movie industry in latest years has taken a determined methodology to cease prohibited downloading and file sharing. This has placed many individuals worldwide at some legal risk. Every day, millions of people view or download software, music, and movies from various websites. Music, movies, and software are all obtainable from the source of peer-to-peer file sharing. Literally, millions of songs are accessible for download using peer-to-peer software and they are simple to get. Consequently, the act of downloading or sharing copyrighted material without the owner's permission breaks the law and arises suits by the copyright holders and significant financial and criminal penalties against the infringers. 

Music theft is a real, constant, and growing challenge. Both the capacity of music obtained illegitimately without disbursing for it and the subsequent decline in profits are overwhelming. Digital sales, while on the increase are not making up the disparity. Music has value for the artist and for everyone who produces in the industry. While downloading one song may not feel that serious of a crime, the increasing impact of millions of songs downloaded illegally and without any return to all the people who helped to produce that song and convey it to followers is distressing. Digital music theft has been a key factor behind the drop in sales over the past fifteen years. Despite the fact that the practice of peer-to-peer sites has crushed during current years, other methods of digital theft have appeared, embracing unauthorized digital storage lockers used to disperse copyrighted music, stream ripping programs, and mobile applications that facilitate digital content theft. 

There are three allowances to the copyright infringement rules, which permit one to reproduce another's work without obtaining a license or assignment of rights: a) the fair use doctrine, b) the public domain, and c) the non-copyrightable works. Fair use authorizes the reproduction of copyrighted material for the regulated purpose of teaching, reviewing, literary criticism and the like. Public domain infers to works which are no longer protected by copyright law. Non-copyrightable works indicate material that cannot be shielded by copyrights, such as facts or ideas.

Copyright infringements and piracy are not offenses without injured parties as many people believe; the real harmed persons are the producers, designers, writers, composers, songwriters, film directors and investors. Without these individuals, there would never be anything newborn. Technology has made digital copying more trouble-free than ever. But just because advances in technology make it feasible to copy music doesn't mean it’s always legal to do so. Downloading unauthorized music from file sharing systems is illegal even if it isn't for commercial purposes and just for personal use. This inference is based on a long series of court rulings internationally, which has made it very clear that uploading and downloading copyrighted music without permission on file sharing networks constitutes infringement and is a crime, which results in criminal and civil penalties. 

On the other hand, there are many legal alternatives that allow you access to songs on the Internet. For instance, instead of downloading music from file sharing programs, many online services allow the users to download and pay for individual songs or albums. Furthermore, most online marketplaces permit you to purchase music and video without constraints. Apart from this, the user can play the song she purchased on any device. By paying a monthly fee, the user can gain access to an extensive library of songs. In addition to these options, there are also many free services available on the Web, which offer access to music. Free online radio stations and other multimedia sites let the user to take pleasure in a broad collection of music. The number of legal alternatives to music piracy is developing every day. The internet subscribers should investigate these alternatives and avoid the music piracy. If someone downloads music illegally, her actions may sooner or later get closer to her. 

Numerous moral arguments for intellectual property have been presented. Specifically, intellectual property is a plus point for an individual and inspires social progress and future innovation. Besides this, intellectual property is rationalized based on merit and hard work. In particular, copyright law safeguards the value of inventive work and the ethical claims that are linked with individuality. As a result, when someone makes unauthorized copies of someone’s creative work, the actor takes something of value from the owner without her consent. Breaching intellectual property is no different morally than harming other property rights which concedes the very processes of existence and therefore constitutes an immoral act. However, some forms of copying are morally permissible, if the use is not for commercial purposes and the copying is based on legal ways and especially on exceptions to the copyright infringement rules. 

In conclusion, the only way to control and fight against online piracy is by first educating and directing the Internet users to legal alternatives rather than punishing them. Moreover, international cooperation and foundation of an Internet Copyright law that centers on social changes and exists autonomous of all other copyright laws are definitely required with a combination of robotics and human effort. Except for the aggressive governmental measures to strengthen global enforcement of intellectual property rights, the current copyright system needs to be brought into line with reality and the societal needs. FLOSS licensing, creative commons, and open sources are very remarkable movements in our times and have reinforced the rights of freedom of knowledge, education, culture and communication. Therefore, we shall persist supporting these alternative modern ways. Above all, the file sharing enterprises/websites should be accountable for controlling the content whose dissemination they facilitate and efficient punishment should be in place for the failure of such enterprises/websites to comply with their duties. There are ways that the whole piracy industry can ultimately fade away. Even though we have to deal with big challenges, it’s still doable.

Useful Hints of How to Avoid Email Mistakes

According to the Rules and Regulations of the State of New York, it is an annual requirement for all the attorneys who have been admitted to practice law in our State to receive Continuing Legal Education. CLE intends to give us professional development and to increase our competence as lawyers. In addition to that, because of the constant changes in our era's legal environment, it is important to us and our clients to stay abreast on recent legal issues and developments.

My mentor suggested me to attend a CLE workshop yesterday regarding tips for more effective emails. The speaker and distinguished coach, Ms. Marilyn Bush LeLeiko gave some interesting and valuable advice to me and to the whole audience about our everyday email communications. As the speech was very stimulating, I decided to share with you some of her guidelines.

According to an article of Wall Street Journal in 2002, it has been estimated that we receive every day approximately 300 to 500 emails. Because of the quick rhythms of our lives, we give priority to respond to emails based on the sender's identity and the subject line.

Pursuant to the speaker's advice, in order the sender not to cause difficulty or annoyance to the recipient, the email should be without typos, brief, to the point, and without using ALL CAPS or Exclamation Points. Especially, the subject line should be clear and meaningful to the reader. It's not appropriate to leave the subject line blank, change it without any reason, or state numbers, letters, or symbols in the subject line which may not make sense to the reader.

Bear in mind that the intended readers are not always attorneys. Therefore, we should adjust every email depending on the addressee and always provide the reader with a roadmap, using white space, bullets, numbered lists, headings, and in case of a non-attorney reader we should be alert and not state citations to the email's content.

In addition, an email should include the receiver's name, a "Thanks", a "Best Regards" or the like, a "Please" when it's appropriate and, of course, a signature block with the sender's name, position, firm's name, phone number, email address, and website URL. Apart from this, we should be careful with our attachments and always check the documents before sending them. Scandals and serious misunderstandings have been triggered due to Auto Correct option and false attachments. Moreover, we should always name our attachment and if it's not going to add more information in the substance of our email, we should eventually avoid sending it.

Over and above that, we should also be cautious when we send emails to our contact list or we use "Reply All". This can also cause trouble and if we want to keep confidentiality in a matter, it's wise to use the BCC option for all the email addresses. Moreover, it's not proper to redact an email. Hence, feel free to copy other people to an email after having taken their permission.

Be aware that even if you delete an email, this can remain in the system; it can be hacked; it can be forwarded or it can be electronically discovered in a litigation process. As for the IRS disclaimers, IRS has started to discourage attorneys from using these disclaimers in an email. To conclude, before sending an email, consider if this is the best way to communicate with your client or colleague and then check your email for the last time.

I agree with all the points that the speaker presented yesterday during the CLE workshop and accordingly I would recommend you to use your personal email for communication with your friends and family and you can just pick up the phone or communicate alternatively in case you need to keep a matter in confidentiality.

Be always professional, responsive, courteous and try to respond to your emails by the end of the day or in 24 hours. Life is a long process of growth and learning and as a result we will make mistakes. But, if we learn from them, we will become better persons and professionals.

P.S.: As we are too close to the upcoming elections in my country, I would like to urge all the voters to consider that governance is not about the next election, it's about our and next generations.

The Legislative History and Inception of Thanksgiving - Happy Thanksgiving!

Have you ever wondered how far the powers of Congress can extend? It is well-known that the Congressional powers are enumerated in several places of U.S. Constitution. However, today I choose to focus on the legislative power of Congress and especially the establishment of Thanksgiving. Let's travel back in time and specifically in 1789.

On September 28th, 1789, the first Federal Congress passed a motion requesting the President of the United States suggest to the nation a day of Thanksgiving. Few days later, on November 26, President George Washington announced officially that day, which was Thursday, as a "Day of Publick Thanksgivin". This was the first time that Thanksgiving was celebrated under the new Constitution. President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation in 1863 and stated that Thanksgiving would be regularly commemorated each year on the last Thursday of November.

Until 1941, due to the President Franklin Roosevelt's declaration, Thanksgiving was celebrated differently throughout the nation; part of the country celebrated it the last Thursday in November and the rest of the country the following week. As a result, in 1941 Congress set a fixed-date for the Thanksgiving holiday and established the fourth Thursday in November as our Federal Thanksgiving Day Holiday.

From me:

I wish you a Joyous Holiday filled with Health, Peace, Love, and Prosperity!

As I do not take things for granted and always desire to show my gratitude, please allow me to thank my husband, family, and friends for all their love, support, and appreciation.



When an Attorney should Terminate the Relationship with a Client 

Last Tuesday I was invited at a Hellenic American Bankers Association event in Manhattan at which the distinguished and talented Chairman & CEO of New York Life Ted Mathas gave a remarkable speech about insurances and general entrepreneurial and management issues. I got great pleasure from his speech and leaving the event, his following words were stuck in my mind. During his speech, Mr. Mathas pointed out the three characteristics of building trust between business owners and clients. According to his wise words, building trust with the clients requires: a) not to cheat, b) it’s always personal, and c) every professional should admit his mistakes and fix them.

On my way back home I meditated that all the attorneys are business owners of their reputation either if they are employees of a law firm/office or not; they oversee other people’s lives by striving to unearth ways to protect their clients’ interests and at the same time they struggle to defend their own name and reputation. I take for granted that a professional attorney does not cheat or commit any criminal or fraudulent act. I also concur that it’s always personal to build trust with your clients and it’s not just business. Besides these two meaningful attributes, I underscore at the most the importance of admitting our mistakes as professionals and fix them.

One of the most frequent mistakes of attorneys is when they take on every client who comes calling. This is not the greatest option and most of the times this concludes to challenging attorney - client relationships. Understanding a prospective bad client is a very demanding task and entails many years of experience, so that you can avoid him in advance. It’s not something that the law school teaches us; we learn these things on our own through our experiences and other colleagues’ advice and we keep on educating ourselves day by day.

As attorneys we have to encounter public and this is extremely intricate in our profession because on one hand we cannot predict other people’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions and on the other hand we have to face diverse people and characters. However, all these troubles that we tackle every day of our lives and career give superior importance to us, as administrators of justice, and to our profession. But, how can we avoid a difficult client before starting his representation?

When I was instructor of legal courses, I was always advising my students to say no to a prospective or existing client when the latter didn't fit within their business models. It’s not honest and smart to just only consider how rewarding a case can be. You have to reason if your client is trustworthy and you can cooperate and communicate with him from the beginning of the case until the completion. Not only shall we obey our bar’s professional conduct rules, but also our ethics and integrity should pilot us to the right decision. As your clientele rockets, you should get ready to handle more tricky situations. This is not my rule. It’s the rule of probabilities.

Clients with particular manners and beliefs can lead an attorney’s life to a bad dream if the latter makes the mistake to take them on as clients. My experiences have taught me that every attorney should dismiss clients who a) do not listen attorney’s advice, b) do not collaborate and communicate with the attorney, c) breach the confidentiality, privileges, or any other agreement, d) do not pay the bills and are disloyal e) tell lies or hide the truth from the attorney, f) commit criminal or fraudulent acts, g) are furious and revengeful and solely aim to make other people depressed by hiring an attorney, h) have impractical expectancies and i) have offensive, unacceptable, and abusive demeanor.

My point of view and according to Mr. Mathas’ remarks, as professionals we have to acknowledge our mistakes and resolve them. If you didn’t take a thorough look and consideration before commencing a client’s relationship and representation, which can trigger problems, costs, or waste of time, there is always the point to fire this challenging client in a proper way and concentrate on the clients who respect you and what you have to suggest, and will recognize the value of it. Thus, under these circumstances as an attorney you shall withdraw from representation of a bad client without causing damaging impact on his interests.

One of the best tactics to sustain good relationships with clients is to stay away from the bad clients in the first place. This doesn't unavoidably signify declining cases where the lawyer condemns what the client did. The system of law repeatedly encompasses representing people who have done actually unscrupulous things, and some of those people can truly be excellent clients. As attorneys and business owners of our status, we should weigh the relationships with clients ahead of time and if we are not so confident of how we should deal with a client, we should get the helpful guidance of our mentors and colleagues with many more years of experience than us.

Terrorism: A federal crime with unspeakable casualties

When my father passed away I realized that grief occurs in five stages. First, there is denial, followed by anger. Then comes bargaining and depression. The final stage is the acceptance. I deem that all the people who have lost someone extraordinary and special to them feel in the same way. Especially, if the loss has happened unexpectedly as a result of a tragic terrorist act, the ensuing grief is a life sentence without clemency.

Terrorism is an unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property in order to coerce or intimidate the government or civilian populations in furtherance of political, ideological, religious, and social goals. Except for being a federal crime, terrorism is a global crime, because it causes chaos, fear, and threat of our fundamental human rights and democratic values. Above all, it targets innocent victims.

Fear stimulates and paralyzes the best of us. What we fear the most is the unknown. Chaos cannot be controlled. Once introduced, all order and intention is rendered futile. The upshot of chaos cannot be predicted. The sole assurance it brings is the devastation it leaves on its wake.

The 13-year anniversary of 9/11 is in five days. While I was walking near the Ground Zero last Thursday I was trying to recollect the fear and the chaos which took place after the four coordinated attacks in New York City and Washington, DC in 2001. These terrorist attacks reorganized the whole world. From September 12, 2001 to present we still have to deal with serious health, environmental, economic, and cultural issues. However, we have to focus primarily on the jeopardy of our liberty and security.

Terrorism cannot become extinct. After 9/11 and despite the great security measures which every country had taken to protect its noncombatants, three more severe terrorist attacks occurred and had personally shocked me; the train bombings in Madrid in 2004, the bombings in London in 2005, and the Boston Marathon bombings last year.

In life every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In the end the guilty falls. Cooperation between countries, political will, condemnation and combat against all the forms of terrorism, antiterrorism legislation, and commitment to harmonization of laws can restrict terrorism crimes and protect our humanity and global peace from unscrupulous perpetrators who only seek power through violence.

Besides all these proposed measures, we also have to take personal steps to fight our fears and chaos of the unknown. The most important thing is to show our love, affection, kindness, and gratitude to the persons we cherish, admire, and appreciate. I believe that you all have secrets you keep locked away from the rest of the world. Friendships you pretend, relationships you hide. However, worst of all is the love we never let show; especially to the persons we lost out of the blue and below the belt.

To all the innocent victims

Will I? I will.

File “Adoption”

Last Wednesday I went to the Integrated Domestic Violence (IDV) court in Bronx. IDV court has jurisdiction over criminal, family, and matrimonial disputes for families whose domestic violence is an underlying issue. I was there for eight hours and my mind was filled with many thoughts. I noticed numerous troubled families and plenty of juvenile delinquents. 

In my eyes, a juvenile delinquent is a hopeless and unfortunate kid. According to the NY and Greek law, children at a specific age, who commit an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult, are juvenile delinquents. When I am disappointed, I wake up the next day and say to myself “OK. Today is another day.” My personal view about the juvenile delinquents was formed when I realized that for some people the next day that will come will be the same. 

These children are not the “bad kids”, as someone would easily say. Most of the times, these children have committed the acts for which they have been charged and tried. However, I deem that the appropriate people who should have been put on trial are their irresponsible parents with shallow hearts, who brought them in life and almost always abandoned them from the first day of their life and placed them automatically in the list of “the unlucky kids”. It is really good luck to be raised by a good family, because our experiences shape our character and define our present and future. 
 

Except for the juvenile offenders, I perceived tortured children by their families, which made me so angry and determined to raise my voice in this issue again. They usually say that the things which are free in our life are the most meaningful. Thus, giving love, hope, presence, and future to a child is worthier than anything else in life. Children are the sweetest and most innocent creatures, who only need love and care. Leaving the IDV court, I affirmed my opinion and thought that if the nature deprives me of the privilege to procreate, I will definitely adopt a child, as I would like to offer my love to children who unfairly were placed to an unhappy and unfortunate position. 
 

The legal process of adopting, from application to finalization, can be a lengthy one. It can be a marathon. Sometimes, I get so furious with bureaucracy. According to NY Domestic Relations Law, an adult unmarried person, or an adult married couple together, or any two unmarried adult intimate partners together may adopt another minor person. Under specific circumstances, the adoptive child’s consent is required. Sometimes, parental consent is also needed. The judge examines all the aspects of the adoption, so that the child’s best interests are served. The same standards are also applicable to the public or private adoption in Greece. Moreover, pursuant to the Greek Law there are also age requirements and limitations to adoption. The Greek statistics show that the average time of a child’s adoption from a public institute is five years, which is unbelievable. 

We try to give meaning to our lives. Let’s give meaning to the lives of struggling and helpless children. Let’s help them in any way we can and if God doesn’t give you the privilege to have your own child, take your life in your hands and give happiness and life to a child who only needs love and attention.
 

 Old Bronx Borough Courthouse

"Oh Captain, my Captain" - Being a Professional Lawyer!

Today I want to share with you what I think it means to be a professional lawyer. Feeling sorrow for the great loss of a wonderful person and actor, Robin Williams, I decided to use as a title for my new post one of his quotes from the"Dead Poets Society" movie.

 

Being an attorney is a landmark event in life. It symbols both an end and a beginning. After years of committed studies, diligence and tenacity, law students get their bar license and they start to frequently lead other persons' lives as captains. The foregoing qualities are the characteristics of all virtuous and ethical lawyers.

 

It is a privilege and not a right for us to be a lawyer. The most noteworthy privilege for us is our reputation, which can be lost in every second. Not only should we receive respect from our clients and the general public, but also we should show deference to them.

 

I remember myself when I started practicing law in Greece. I was walking from the subway to my office every day and I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I was able to do the work that I love. I could have done my work pro bono, if I could, because I would enjoy to do that 24/7. 

 

However, at the end of  every journey there are always responsibilities. One of our most important commitments as lawyers is to serve our clients and public ethically, diligently, and competently. A lawyer without ethics is a tabula rasa.

 

From the time that we enter the legal arena, we have to act professionally and be focused on a myriad of values, such as integrity, respect, accountability, accuracy, leadership, activeness, spirit, service before self, pro bono public service, competence, care, sincerity, etc. Based on our values, the public evaluates us and our work. If we lose our professionalism, the world will suffer from the loss of its trust to us.

Being a professional lawyer is a difficult task. As lawyers, we should dedicate ourselves to the service of justice and we should do our best to solve the clients' and the public issues competently and zealously. Thus, our aim must focus on acting as an ethical captain in resolving and facilitating other people's matters.

 

Being rich will not make you happy. Being an outstanding professional will do. The time that an ethical dilemma will come out, take your mentor's advice for your apparently unanswerable problem. Above all, give meaning to little things and you may realize that there are things that really have true merit in life.