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A law blog by Robert Lombardo on The Whole 9

Attorney Robert Lombardo came from the creative world and then began practicing law in 1995. The diversity of his professional life (years of which were spent in Europe, Australia and Japan) gives him a unique perspective on the law. Currently Robert is focusing on entertainment law (which encompasses nearly all creative industries) and brings this firsthand experience and desire to make the law accessible to the The Whole 9 community.

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Let’s Blow Past the Gatekeepers!

July 14, 2008
17 Comments (see all)

Back in the early 20th century, Franz Kafka gave us Before the Law ; and nothing seems to have changed much. I would encourage you to read the 600 or so words of this short story yourself before I paraphrase below.

A naïve and humble guy comes from the country to seek the Law. However, instead of gaining entry to the Law, the guy is stymied by a gatekeeper. The gatekeeper tells the guy that he is not allowed to enter at that moment but also leads him to believe that he might get through the gate later. The condescending gatekeeper accepts all of the guy’s bribes; taking them only to keep the guy from thinking that he has omitted anything. The guy waits and waits his entire life to be permitted access to the Law. The gatekeeper also waits and allows the guy to continue waiting, but does not let him pass through the gate. As the guy, now an old man, is dying, he wonders why he was the only person seeking the Law. The gatekeeper tells him that the gate he guards was only meant for him and, since he is dying, he, the gatekeeper, is going to close it.

Can you relate? Are we not all barred by confusion and fear of a gatekeeper?

You’ll have to look elsewhere for the self-created gatekeeper of your mind, but I would like to help you throw open the gates and give you suggestions on how to navigate around the gate keepers who prevent access to the Law.

Why would you want to listen to me? Well, like most of you, I’ve been around a bit. I was born and raised in New England. I received my BS in Civil Engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans and spent a year in the oil fields in Southern Louisiana working as a Petroleum Engineer. After a brief stay in Dallas I headed off to Europe, where I worked as a fashion model for eight years. Go figure. I came back and received my law degree from Catholic University and then spent the next five years devoted to Criminal Defense. My next five years were spent representing the adult entertainment community. My current law practice concentrates on Criminal Defense, Entertainment and First Amendment Law.

So what’s a laidback-uptight-DC guy doing here? Well, I actually helped with some of the boilerplate-shit-that-you-have-all-no-doubt-read in the “Terms” and “Privacy” sections of the The Whole 9. Since then I have been watching you all from DC, wondering when I could join in all the fun. When Lisa encouraged me to write a blog on legal issues as they pertain to creative people, I jumped.

Unfortunately, I can’t dispense legal advice, but I can offer examples, guidance, and suggestions. Let me know about any contract, fair use, free speech, intellectual property, trademark and copyright issue you may have.

Let the discussion begin: The after-hours-perhaps-been-drinking-lawyer is in. Oh just one thing: be sure and address all questions to me through this blog so that others can benefit from the answers. Oh, just one more thing, as far as any crimes you are contemplating or have committed; take the Fifth (STFU).

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  1. haydn1701

    Great to have a legal reference point!

  2. theroadhome

    What a boon to have your presence gracing these pages. Very glad to see you up here. The temptation (mine) is to talk about THE law, and what feels like it’s deterioration under our current admin…but I’ll practice some discretion and focus on more specific questions.

    Again, glad to have you up here and I look forward to checking in.

    Cheers.

  3. Lorena Rivera

    hello there,

    thank u so much for adding this blog… it’s perfect for an artist like myself, just breaking through…

    i got one for ya… how about the topic of discrimination (racial, gender, age, pay…) in the work place within the entertainment/art industry?

    is it just me or does it seem common within our industry? then again, with a name like luz lorena rivera, looking as I do…maybe it is more likely for me… just curious about others’ stories.

    much love to all y’all…

  4. biko

    Malaguenasalerosa:

    Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

    The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) is the federal law that prohibits discrimination of employees based on their age but it only covers employees who are 40 years of age or older.

    Employers who have at least fifteen employees must make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities if they are qualified for the position is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

    As far as pay discrimination is concerned, employees are definitely entitled to the same pay but only for a “like position.” If the job positions are different, then the pay can be different. However, the determination should not be made on gender. “Like position” is difficult to define in the entertainment industry.

    Certainly, there are circumstances, albeit limited, where an employer could distinguish between two individual employees, based on their age, their sex, and their gender. This is often the case in the entertainment industry where there is a bona fide job qualification that would require a person to be of a certain gender or a certain age.

    Not hiring someone because s/he is fat, ugly, did not go to the “right” schools, does not dress “right” etc. is legal. “Civil rights” does not mean “equal rights.”

    This is a vast area to address in this comment; perhaps I will address it in my next post.

    Robert

  5. outofbounds

    Hey Luz…my experience has been that discrimination is there if you look for it which is what many people do…or as I’ve done being a woman who has always been in businesses where 99% of the companies are run by men, I just look past it. If it’s so blatant that you can’t however, I’m curious what steps someone can take that would be the most effective.

    I’m guessing that first knowing your rights is important, but I wonder if Robert or anyone else can make a suggestion on how to deal with discrimination in the work place?

  6. robinsenour

    once again so timely….

    I opened a shop on etsy.com, and posted some images and included a watermark with copyright info. Not sure I did it right. Did some research and got more info that I can make sense of. Ok to ask this here I hope..

  7. robinsenour

    also about discrimination, agree with Lisa on this one. Gotta look past it for now. I wonder if equality will happen in our lifetimes? I heard an interview with the actor who plays the secretary on “The Office” and her comments about how to look in an audition were horrifying.

  8. outofbounds

    Hey Robin…your question about Fair Use of images that you post online is a great one…and I think perhaps one of the most relevant to an online creative community like The Whole 9 where everyone is concerned about having their work ripped off. Can you be more specific about what information would be helpful? I also think sharing about how you watermarked your work would be helpful to the people here.

    Thanks!

  9. robinsenour

    ok. I was thinking of the wording of the copyright, hoping I did it right.

    I put after that little c thing which took me forever to find I think it’s shift alt g. Anyway, I put that and then “copyright robin senour 2008″ I used photoshop and created a layer with the wording, changed the opacity to something you could see the image through, and lo and behold all I had to do was drag the text box over my image (which I had open as well). Then you do some multiple savings and if you want the layers together you do that merge layer thing. Hope this helps.

  10. Lorena Rivera

    sorry ladies, i can’t look past it!

    it is my mission to fight discrimination if it ever touches me or those around me…. it’s too easy to look past the negative and just say, oh well, it wasn’t meant to be or maybe there’s another reason why this happened, or if u think negatively, u will attract negativity… not always… sometimes people are just a-holes!

    don’t get me wrong… i’m not looking for discrimination… and that comment hits a nerve…

    because that is the reaction i got from the people i tried to inform about what was going on… they wanted me to ignore the abuse i was taking, assuming they could make me believe it was in my head… but i am not a stupid person and can recognize discrimination without just assuming it is occuring out of some victim mentality or over-sensitivity or excuse.

    i understand that u mean well, and u are just trying to make me think positively, but i have a different mission in life…

    i must keep my experiences as true of what happened to me and continues to happen to others… i am the one that will fight any discrimination every step of the way… so for those who want me to have a laid back mentality on it…. never! never in my lifetime will i ever just look past it… i experience it, learn from it, teach others, call people out, fight if i have to, and then i move on…. but only after my fight is complete… and only Great Spirit has the power to tell me when my mission is complete.

    i love u ladies for your role tho… but my role is a bit different… thank u for your kind words and open hearts :)

  11. biko

    Robin:
    You do not need to put anything on your images to “copyright” them. Once you publish an image, you have a “common law” copyright in the image. “Common law” simply means the law in effect in England at the time the USA was created. There are limitations to this type of copyright; but using the copyright symbol © will not help. The © is like a dog tag; it won’t help keep your dog from getting “lost” (ie stolen) but it will identify your dog. (I use the word “dog” in the most affection way.)

    Since I am not sure of your purpose for copyrighting, I will say no more. However, I think the subject of intellectual property is one that should be addressed in my next post. Like it or not, what you are producing is “property.” If you wish to control who or what uses your property – or how it is used – then you should know a little about the law. Like it or not, it kind of makes you a landlady. How do you like them apples?

    Robert

  12. biko

    Lorena:

    I don’t like to speak for others but I think what the other two “ladies” were saying was: “I did a cost/benefit analysis and determined (for me) the benefit was not worth the cost.”

    When counseling any client, I start with the “cost/benefit” analysis. There is a cost to fighting and I have never seen a fight where the victor left the ring unscathed. Usually, a person who has been through the litigation process never wants to go through it again.

    That being said, the first thing you should try to do is document (as well as possible) the events. I cannot stress enough the importance of contemporaneous documentation. What you decide to do with the documentation is another matter – but at least you have it.

    In any event, I respect your position on this matter and admit that I have trouble (ie detest) “turning the other cheek.” I also admit that when I was young and unscathed, I ignored the “cost/benefit” analysis – at my own peril.

    Robert

  13. Lorena Rivera

    Hi Robert,

    Thanks for the input… i’m sure it will benefit many others as well…

    Actually, I have taken all proper steps… and have never been through struggles without the peril… i guess it comes with the territory… but I accept my fate because I have faith… this isn’t for everyone though, i must agree… it takes so much out of a person to fight! … but the way i look at my situation is… if i don’t stand up for myself, who will? and if I don’t say something, this behavior will continue on and others will suffer the same form of hate… and i cannot, in good conscious, allow that! but that’s just me :)

    thanks again, Robert…

    it is a blessing to have u here!!!

  14. poorgood

    jeez! maybe you should skip reading my ‘breaking neon’ blog. but great to have you onboard.

  15. biko

    Yes, Jim, I thought nothing good can come from that admission.
    But you forgot to mention the lawyers who re-write the laws every so often. Then, everyone must run back to (i.e. pay) them to explain the new law (and then, of course, how to avoid the law).

  16. marston

    Robert
    Copy-write infringement is such a big deal for musicians who sell millions in cds and single downloads…..but probably useless for musicians who sell only a few thousand because not many people know of you….so no $ in bootlegging your music. I pay 9 cents in royalties to the Stones and the Verve for each use of my version of their song Bittersweet Symphony and that works fantastic. I am huge in South Korea and Malta!

    But my question deals with a live show. Do you video a concert and that copy-writes for all time your original costumes, lighting effects, props, music, dance routines,
    story lines….everything?

    Marston

  17. biko

    Marston:

    Since it might take a while to get to your question; the short answer is “yes.”

    Robert

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