Crafters of Light Productions

There are many services out there that are willing to help you establish your company registration for a fee. I am currently in the process with one of those services at the moment. What you need to do is read up on what each one is willing to provide you in the way of service and information. Some even offer packages that provide you with documentation you can edit to fit your particular needs. Business documents that you can utilize. Even remind you about when you need to provide required documentation to your state of registry to keep in good standing with the state.

Most of all, read up on what your state of registry requires to see what is needed. Secretary of State for your state is the most likely source for that information.

How many of us really read the EULA of the items we use to produce Video for distribution?

On one of the forums I frequent a question popped up about just one of those items in a EULA that makes you wince when it finally clicks.

Example;

ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT OTHER THAN CONSUMER PERSONAL USE IN ANY MANNER THAT COMPLIES WITH THE MPEG-2 STANDARD FOR ENCODING VIDEO INFORMATION FOR PACKAGED MEDIA IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT A LICENSE UNDER APPLICABLE PATENTS IN THE MPEG-2 PATENT PORTFOLIO, WHICH LICENSE IS AVAILABLE FROM MPEG LA, L.L.C., 250 STEELE STREET, SUITE 300, DENVER, COLORADO 80206

So I Googled that text and found it is attached to EULAs for all sorts of hardware and software including the common cameras, DVD writers, and editing programs used here. There are similar worded sections for MPEG-4 and H.264/AVC formats as well. This may have caused some of the delay to releasing Blu-ray formatting to the public.

I visited the MPEG LA website and they were just as cryptic (legal-eeze is always written in such baffling terms). But reading their "In the News" section, a couple of DVD manufacturers (not raw DVD but ones that had video on them) have been approached for infringements. Although most of the judgements appear to be against those selling products using hardware, it is very hard to tell if this applies only to the material used to create (hardware, software, media) or if it covers the created product as well.

The $64000 question is, "What impact does this have on what we create and sell?" Here may be the answer...

Some of the responses were very troubling. One in particular;

According to MPEG-LA, any commercial use of any of their patented codecs requires a sub-license and royalty payments.

In order to legally sell DVDs in the US, for example, you must pay a royalty to MPEG-LA of approx 3cents per disc (depending on which path you choose -- see http://www.mpegla.com/m2/m2-agreement.cfm)

I'm not a lawyer either, but I have done a great deal of research on this, and to my knowledge, no prosumer video editing or DVD authoring software comes with the patent licenses needed to produce and distribute your video using patent-encumbered formats for commercial purposes.

Tony Lovasco
President, Twisted Lincoln, Inc.

Why this cannot be spelled out in simple english so all can understand the potential impact is far beyond my understanding.

Opinion, like any belief system, is specific to an individual.

Opinions can be shared with others. They are not intended to force conjecture on others. They are not intended to demean others when held in honesty. They are not meant to sway others, though some may see some wisdom, common thread of belief, or point out a frame of reference, that was not perceived before, thus changing, molding, another’s opinion.

Time has a way of changing ones opinion. What may have been the belief yesterday, through events, further observations, additional information, may be different tomorrow. It may also further validate that opinion as well.

Just like the differences in multiple reports of the same incident, opinion is that from the perspective of the witness, the person holding that opinion, to the incident. Everyone observes from a different perspective. Thus opinions are molded in the same fashion.

Constructively challenging an individual their opinion to understand their commitment to their belief can be a good thing for both as long as it does not degrade or insult. We are different. In that difference, we are all the same. Approach with caution as any opinion may be wrong, including your own.

Asking or listening to someone’s opinion and then challenging it to the point of argument proves you have no concept of the definition of “opinion”.

Maturity resides in those that will listen, maybe ask questions to clarify, and allow others their point of view without persecution and derogatory comments.

The more you argue against someone’s opinion the more you show others the level of your ignorance and thus their lack of willingness in supporting you.

Our freedom of speech is not held only to the written or spoken word but to our thoughts as well. This is one of our most cherished freedoms. Let us not degrade ourselves by not allowing others theirs.

I want to preface this as being my personal opinion.
I just wanted to say that I thank God every day that I live in a country that allows the freedoms that we have to voice our beliefs and to speak out our thoughts.
I also am saddened that groups and individuals risk those freedoms by taking those privileges to the extreme, spreading their lies and deceits just to anger the masses.
History has proven many times that extremists such as these never win. It is small people that utilize such tactics just so they feel they have power. We all need to understand that they only have power if we, as individuals, give it to them. They make us angry because we allow them to make us angry. That is their power.
It is very frustrating that groups would take documents, such as the Bible, and twist them to their ends. But then that is one of the definitions of propaganda.
I know it is next to impossible in situations that groups like these choose to show their ugliness to the world but if we let feelings step aside and just laugh in their faces at their ignorance they will lose the power they think they have over us.
Momma always said, "Never argue with an idiot in public. Observers will not be able to tell the difference."

I have been researching what is required to register a company name within my state. there is tons of info out there that can get tough to weed/wade through. There are many services out there as well that are there to "help" you...

...for a fee. In reviewing some of these services, the costs range form a few hundred dollars, for a state filing, to a few thousand dollars, for a national filing,  depending on the type and resource  package you want them to provide for you. Some will take it all the way to registration for you while others will prepare a package to ship to you that you are then responsible to send in and otherwise process.

As I progress into this project I will post updates as to what I find.