The Docket
Welcome to The Docket: The Legal Blog for Creatives & Entrepreneurs
The Docket is a curated legal blog from Zamani Thomas Legal, offering insights at the intersection of intellectual property, business, and culture. Whether you’re a creative entrepreneur, artist, or independent brand, this space breaks down legal topics that impact your work, from copyright and trademarks to contracts and brand protection.
Explore legal commentary, industry updates, and strategic guidance on intellectual property, entertainment law, and creative rights, designed to help clients, collaborators, and creatives navigate the evolving creative economy with clarity and confidence.
Royalty on the Resale
June 16, 2025
What Canada’s New Artist Resale Right Means for Creators & the Role Smart Contracts May Play Canada is moving toward adopting an Artist Resale Right (ARR), a legal shift that would grant visual artists a royalty (up to 5%) every time their work is resold through commercial markets. It’s a long-awaited recognition of artists’ enduring
IP Wars US vs China
June 15, 2025
How Global Trademark Battles Are Redrawing Creative Power Between the U.S. and China In today’s global marketplace, creativity doesn’t stop at the border, but neither does infringement. As more U.S.-based brands expand internationally, they’re running into a hard truth: China is now both a critical market and a legal minefield for intellectual property. From trademark
Types of Music Royalties
June 9, 2025
Types of Music Royalties 6 Types of Music Royalties These types of music royalties listed above are the main types in the United States and there may be others in other countries and jurisdictions. 2025 Royalty Trends and Legal Changes – Updated June 2025 AI-Generated Music & Royalty Disruption In 2024–2025, major record labels, including
IP Law FAQs for Creatives
June 7, 2025
30 IP Law FAQs for Creatives Whether you’re a visual artist, designer, musician, or entrepreneur, understanding IP law is crucial to protecting your work. This comprehensive guide on IP law FAQs for creatives explores key legal issues and answers 30 of the most frequently asked questions by creators. What is intellectual property (IP) and why
Music Publishing Contracts
June 6, 2025
Music Publishing Contracts Understanding Music Publishing Contracts in 2025 As the music industry evolves, so do music publishing contracts. This updated 2025 guide expands on classic agreements like Single Song and Co-Publishing Contracts with new additions covering AI licensing, NFTs, and streaming-era royalty models. Whether you’re an artist, writer, or producer, understanding today’s contract landscape
Outsquatted?
June 4, 2025
Trademark Squatting: How Creators Can Protect Their Brand Internationally You spend years building your name, your voice, your visual identity, your brand. Then one day, you try to file a trademark internationally… and it’s already taken. Welcome to trademark squatting, the growing problem where opportunists register a mark before you can, often in foreign jurisdictions,
AI Impact on White-Collar Jobs
June 2, 2025
AI Impact on White-Collar Jobs The Real AI Impact on White-Collar Jobs The AI impact on white-collar jobs is no longer speculative, it’s already reshaping how professionals work. From legal research and copywriting to financial modeling and data analysis, artificial intelligence is changing the rules. For creatives, strategists, and entrepreneurs, understanding this shift is critical
Copycat Came 1st
May 30, 2025
The Creative Shield… and it’s Echo Copyright Originality in the Age of AI The question of copyright originality in the age of AI is no longer hypothetical. You spend months working on a project that’s taken decades to arrive at; drafting, editing, shaping ideas. You put your name on it, and you design the cover.
Mayhem in the Merch
May 28, 2025
Lady Gaga Trademark Lawsuit: What Artists Can Learn from the Mayhem Logo Dispute When does a logo become a lawsuit? For Lady Gaga, the answer may be now. In March 2025, Gaga and her creative team were hit with a $100 million trademark infringement lawsuit by California-based surf brand Lost International, who claim that the
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