The Law Office of Kelley A. Way
  • Home
  • Practice Overview
    • Estate Planning
    • Copyrights
    • Trademarks
  • About Kelley Way
  • Speaking
  • Videos
  • Blog
  • Contact Me
  • (925) 357-8845
Select Page
Seven Things to Know About the Copyright Small Claims Court

Seven Things to Know About the Copyright Small Claims Court

by Kelley Way | Jul 4, 2022 | Authors and Writing, Copyrights, Intellectual Property, Trademarks

The Copyright Small Claims Court is Now Open!  It’s been a long time coming, but the Copyright Claims Board is finally up and running, and copyright owners with small claims can now file them for consideration. For those who missed my previous article on the subject,...
How Do I Protect My Trademark?

How Do I Protect My Trademark?

by Kelley Way | Apr 5, 2021 | Authors and Writing, Copyrights, Intellectual Property, Trademarks

Trademark owners are always concerned about someone stealing their trademark, intentionally or unintentionally. Here are some tips for the question I hear a lot – How do I protect my trademark? Choose a unique and distinctive mark. This will help avoid the...
Can I Write About a Real Person in My Book?

Can I Write About a Real Person in My Book?

by Kelley Way | Feb 3, 2020 | Authors and Writing, Copyrights, Intellectual Property

Defamation, Right of Privacy and Right of Publicity in Writing I’ve recently been asked, “Can I write about a real person in my book?” There are several ways this question pops up: Could you have your fictional character meet a celebrity? Can you use...

Can I Copyright a Title?

by Kelley Way | Oct 7, 2019 | Authors and Writing, Copyrights, Intellectual Property, Trademarks

The short answer: No. The longer answer: Most titles are simply not long enough to meet the creativity requirement for a copyright. While it’s theoretically possible, a title long enough to be deemed sufficiently creative would probably be too long to easily fit in...
Next Entries »

Blog Post Archives

Recent Blog Posts

  • Celebrity Estate Planning Horror Stories 2026 Edition
  • Publishers and AI: Why Your Manuscript Could Get Rejected
  • What Happens to My Digital Assets When I Die?
  • What’s Happening with the Anthropic Case?
  • Tips for Preparing Your Estate and Literary Estate
  • Can I Copyright AI-Generated Content?
  • What Happens to My Copyrights After I Die?
  • Brand Protection 101: The Legal Checklist Self-Published Authors Need
  • The Top 5 Estate Planning Mistakes People Make
  • Self-Publishing Copyright Checklist: What to Do After You Publish
  • Self-Publishing Copyright Checklist: What to Do Before You Publish
  • How Often Should I Update My Estate Plan?
  • What Documents Should Be in Every Estate Plan?
  • What Can A Writer Do With AI?
  • Who Owns the Copyright? What Happens When You Collaborate or Hire Out
  • 3 Ways Estate Plans Can Go Wrong and How to Prevent It
  • Estate Planning Myths
  • Can I Use This Picture?
  • 5 Reasons Why Making a Will Can Be So Hard
  • FAQ: Why Does Copyright Expire?

Subscribe to Kelley Way's Newsletter

Be the first to receive news and updates as well as resources from Kelley Way. When you sign up, you’ll receive the wills of Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra, with comments on why one will is considered good and the other bad.  An overview of the estate planning process from start to finish.

And an explanation of the difference between copyrights, trademarks and patents.

Subscribe Today!

About

Kelley Way is a California attorney practicing estate planning, copyright, and trademark law. She helps her clients

  • Protect their assets from infringers, avoidable litigation, and unnecessary taxes;
  • Provide for their loved ones during and after their lifetime; and
  • Make solid plans for a secure future.

To learn more about how Kelley can help you, please contact her to schedule an appointment.

Office Hours

 Monday – Friday

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Office is closed during National Holidays

Phone: (925) 357-8845
Fax: (925) 357-8846
kaway@kawaylaw.com

150 N. Wiget Lane #210
Walnut Creek, CA 94598

map

Recent Posts

Publishers and AI: Why Your Manuscript Could Get Rejected

I recently went to a conference where I spoke with a literary agent about how publishers are reacting to AI and copyright issues. For those new to this conversation, the Copyright Office and the...
Read More

Celebrity Estate Planning Horror Stories 2026 Edition

It’s that time of year again! In the spirit of Halloween, here are the celebrity estate planning horror stories for 2026, where I go over celebrity estate planning gone wrong: Malcolm-Jamal Warner,...
Read More

What’s Happening with the Anthropic Case?

There are several ongoing cases against Anthropic right now, so let’s be a little more specific. When people talk about “the Anthropic case,” they usually mean Bartz v. Anthropic, where authors sued...
Read More

What Happens to My Digital Assets When I Die?

But first, what are digital assets? Digital assets is a broad term that includes any information, accounts, or files stored electronically, either on a local device such as a phone or computer or...
Read More

Can I Copyright AI-Generated Content?

I recently asked my social media followers what AI-related topic they were most interested in hearing about, and the question "Can I copyright AI-generated content?" was by far the most requested....
Read More

Tips for Preparing Your Estate and Literary Estate

There is more to estate planning (literary or otherwise) than putting together a will and trust. That is the most basic part of estate planning. A more advanced part of estate planning is setting...
Read More

What Happens to My Copyrights After I Die?

I spoke to a literary agent at a conference recently, and he mentioned how many of his author clients are flummoxed when he asks what will happen to their copyrights after their death. It’s a topic...
Read More

Brand Protection 101: The Legal Checklist Self-Published Authors Need

This is the next installment in my series on legal considerations for self-published authors. Now that we’ve covered copyrights, let’s talk about branding, or more specifically, brand protection for...
Read More

The Top 5 Estate Planning Mistakes People Make

Estate planning should be simple. It would be nice if people could just state their wishes and move on with their lives. Sadly, that is not the world we live in. Estates are varied and often...
Read More

Self-Publishing Copyright Checklist: What to Do After You Publish

Last month, we covered what to do before publishing to protect your work, at least in terms of copyright protection. Here is the self-publishing copyright checklist of things to do after...
Read More
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

Copyright © 2026 All Rights Reserved The Law Office of Kelley A. Way | Website Design by Creative Solution Consulting | Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

This website or its third-party tools process personal data.
In case of sale of your personal information, you may opt out by using the link Do not sell my personal information.
×
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT