Thomas James
Tom James, Cokato Minnesota lawyer - copyright, trademark and appeals
Thomas B James (Thomas James attorney at law) is a private practice attorney with over 25 years experience at the Law Office of Tom James in Cokato, Minnesota. He focuses on copyright and trademark law. Thomas James is licensed to practice in Minnesota state and federal courts, the 8th and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal; and the United States Supreme Court. He is authorized to represent client nationwide in U.S. trademark and copyright registration applications, and in Trademark Trials and Appeals Board (TTAB) and Copyright Claims Boards proceedings.
In addition to practicing law, attorney Tom James is the author of "E-Commerce Law: The Handbook for Online Business," "Website Law" and "The History of Custody Law." e has also published numerous articles in law reviews and other business and legal publications.
Attorney Thomas James has two blogs - the nationally syndicated "The Cokato Copyright Attorney: The Law Blog of Thomas James," www.thomasbjames.com, and a personal blog at https://medium.com/@ThomasBJamesMinnesotaAttorney. The Cokato Copyright Attorney blog focuses on news and developments in the field of copyright and trademark law. The blog on Medium.com is where he posts matter that is not related to copyright or trademark law.
Attorney Tom James is the founder of Echion CLE. When he is not practicing law or writing, he teaches continuing legal education courses on trademarks and trademark law, copyright law, elimination of bias, and other topics to attorneys (for CLE credit) and to non-attorneys.
Additional certifications: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) - International TEFL and TESOL Training (2022); Teaching Business English (TBE) - International TEFL and TESOL Training (2022); Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) - International TEFL and TESOL Training (2022).
- Trademarks
- Trademark Registration
- Copyright
- Credit Cards Accepted
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Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
Offers flat fee options for registrations of copyrights and trademarks
- Minnesota
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- 8th Circuit
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- Federal Circuit
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- U.S. Supreme Court
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- English: Spoken, Written
- CLE Instructor
- Echion
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- Attorney
- Law Office of Thomas James
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- Southwestern Law School
- J.D. | Law
- Honors: Honor student; Top student award in Constitutional Law
- Activities: Judicial internship
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- University of California - Berkeley
- B.A. | Philosophy
- Honors: Magna cum laude
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- International TEFL and TESOL Training
- Certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (2022) | English Language
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- Legal Scholarship Award
- American Jurisprudence
- Certificate of Commendation for Contribution to the Administration of Justice
- Minnesota Governor
- Judges Award for Outstanding Service
- Hennepin County District Court
- Top Student Award for Constitutional Law
- Southwestern University School of Law
- Minnesota State Bar
- Member
- Current
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- American Bar Association
- Member
- Current
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- LegalCORPS
- Volunteer attorney
- Current
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- SCORE
- Volunteer instructor
- Current
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- Copyright Society
- Member
- Current
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- Nonfiction Authors Association
- Member
- Current
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- National Parents Organization
- Advisory Board Member
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- New AI Copyright Guidance
- The Cokato Copyright Attorney: The Law Blog of Thomas B. James
- The CCB's First Two Determinations
- The Cokato Copyright Attorney: The Law Blog of Thomas B. James
- A Recent Entrance to Complexity
- The Cokato Copyright Attorney: The Law Blog of Thomas B. James
- Is ChatGPT Really Hall from 2001?
- Medium.com
- Getty Images Litigation Update
- The Cokato Copyright Attorney: The Law Blog of Thomas B. James
- Representing Relatives in Post-Permanency Proceedings, Minnesota CLE Webinar, Online webinar
- Minnesota Continuing Legal Education
- Cokato attorney Tom James originally developed and hosted this course for Echion CLE. It has been shortened for bar association presentation. Rhia Bornmann Spears and Thomas James co-present on the topic of representing relatives in foster care and adoption proceedings at the post-permanency stage of a child welfare proceeding in Minnesota. Webinar. 1.5 CLE credits in Minnesota.
- The New Copyright Small Claims Court (non-credit course), https://echioncle.com/copyright-small-claims
- Echion CLE
- On-Demand course offered by Minnesota attorney Tom James to help members of the public navigate the new Copyright Claims Board for small copyright infringement claims
- The New Copyright Small Claims Court CLE, Online Continuing Legal Education Program, https://echioncle.com/copyright-small-claims
- Echion CLE
- Introduction to the new Copyright Claims Board. Continuing legal education program describing the role of this new administrative tribunal; claim and response procedure; service of process; discovery; hearings; settlements; determinations; appeals/review; and potential constitutional challenges. Online webinar offered on June 22 and July 13, 2022. Taught by Cokato Minnesota attorney Thomas James.
- Relative Foster Care and Adoption CLE, Webinar, Online
- Echion CLE
- 3-hour CLE course hosted by Tom James lawyer in Minnesota and featuring speakers Kelis Houston (Village Arms), Rhia Spears (attorney) and Misty Coonces (Ampersand Families adoption/foster placement agency). More information at https://echioncle.com/relative-adoption
- Trauma-Informed Practices CLE, Webinar, Online
- Echion CLE
- 3-hour CLE course hosted by Tom James attorney and featuring speakers Jennifer Bovitz, JD (Minn. OLPR), Katie Olson, JD, and Russ Turner of People Incorporated. More information at https://echioncle.com/trauma-informed-practice
- Certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
- International TEFL and TESOL Training
- Mediator
- Dispute Resolution Institute
- Website
- Law Office of Tom James
- Website
- Echion CLE
- Website
- Minds.com
- Blog
- Cokato Copyright Attorney: The Law Blog of Thomas James
- Let’s Stop Analogizing Human Creators to Machines
May 24, 2023 - Balancing the First Amendment on Whiskey and Dog Toys
May 4, 2023 - Is Jazz Confusingly Similar to Music?
April 7, 2023
- Blog
- Medium.com - Thomas B. James
- 7 Big US Supreme Court Decisions Coming Soon
May 8, 2023 - Is ChatGPT really HAL from 2001?
February 16, 2023 - ACLU Announces New “Discounted Speech” Policy
December 19, 2022
- Blog
- List.ly
- Q. Can I publish public domain lyrics as a childrens book and make money?
- A: If the lyrics are truly public domain, and if the children's book does not infringe a copyright in a work that somebody else has created that is also based on the lyrics. The answer to this question is fact-specific, so you should consult with an attorney for a definitive answer.
- Q. if I were to post videos online of a group playing a tabletop game based on copyright material could I be sued?
- A: This response is based on U.S. copyright law. Laws in other jurisdictions may be different. While game rules are not protected by copyright, the manner in which they are expressed might be. Images (artwork, drawings, photographs, etc.) generally are protected by copyright. Names of games and/or the characters in them may be protected as trademarks. A trademark license/permission could protect you against trademark infringement liability. You also might be able to protect yourself from trademark liability by publishing a conspicuous trademark disclaimer in the videos. The copyright issue is a bit more complicated. There are cases holding that incidental use of a copyrighted image in a video is not infringement. The use you describe, however, does not appear to fall into the "incidental use" category. The safest course of action would be to request license/permission from the copyright owner.
- Q. so someone has a clothing brand with a name that doesn't seem to be copyrighted.
- A: A name isn't protected by copyright, but it might be protected as a trademark. In the U.S., an unregistered trademark is enforceable as a "common law" trademark. You run a high risk of trademark infringement liability if you use another company's brand for the same kinds of products or services.
- Breanna Marie Borth, Appellant, vs. Matthew Joseph Borth, Respondent
- Minnesota Court of Appeals
