NEWS

WASHINGTON LAWYERS FOR THE ARTS 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

We invite you to attend the Washington Lawyers for the Art's 30th > Anniversary Gala event on Thursday, November 2, 2006 from 5:30 - 10:00 p.m. > at the Pravda Studios located at 1406 10th Avenue, Suite 200, on Capitol > Hill. The event will feature both a live and silent auction, accompanied by > hors d' oeuvres, wine, beer, and music from local artists. > > > > As part of this 30th anniversary Gala, the Washington Lawyers for the Arts > seeks artistic donations from you and all local artists. Donations might > include: visual artwork, tickets to performing arts (ballet, theatre, > concerts) autographed books or recordings, live performances, portraits > photographed or painted, and whatever else imagination might discover. > > > > As most of you know, Washington Lawyers for the Arts is a nonprofit > organization offering legal services to the arts community through its legal > clinic, Brown Bag series, and at least half a dozen appearances yearly by > volunteer lawyers in arts panels and symposia. > > > > Please consider supporting this much-needed service by donating an original > work of art to be auctioned off at our 30th Anniversary event. > > > > All donations are tax-deductible and donating artists will receive one > reduced fee entry ticket. > > > > To make a donation or find out more information, please contact Leah Just at > <mailto: leahjust@gmail.com > leahjust@gmail.com <mailto: leahjust@gmail.com > > or 206.335.0180; or Cal Kinnear, Washington Lawyers for the Arts > Administrative Director at <mailto: info@wa-artlaw.org > info@wa-artlaw.org > or 206.328.7053 > > > > For more information about Washington Lawyers for the Arts, check out our > website at < http://www.wa-artlaw.org/ > > > < http://www.wa-artlaw.org/ > www.wa-artlaw.org In-coming

President's Message

Greetings,

We are fortunate in that Ann Jensen Warman has provided a solid footing on which to build and we all thank her for her tireless efforts on behalf of the Seattle chapter. She is responsible for our chapter web site and the e-news which she usually did herself. She is also responsible for a lot of leadership development that has placed the chapter on the map. Many times what a leader does to keep an organization going is unnoticed and unappreciated but I want her to know that it was noticed and appreciated by me personally and by the membership as a whole. Thank you Ann, your presence is greatly missed.

At times of transition there are lots of questions. The gist of these questions is how will the Chapter change under a new administration?

We will build on our foundation; building will require participation if we are to build in a way that will benefit our membership. Primarily it will involve communication between leadership and the membership. We need to know your needs if we are to provide appropriate support for the professional growth of the diverse community we serve. Therefore, you may be called upon to participate in a number of ways and we hope you will derive great satisfaction from doing so.

We plan to expand our Chapter web site to include a blog on which you can communicate directly with chapter leadership and one another. Also, we plan to include a virtual business directory of our members and the services they provide. This will allow perspective employers and businesses to contact Chapter members to fulfill creative needs. We will also encourage members to outsource to other members when the need arises. Of-course participation in the directory will be voluntary.

We will roll out the “It's All About You” program this September. The program is an effort to do more for our members and to add value to membership above what we have done in the past. The program will create special interest groups, mentoring programs and collaborative events and trade shows with other local organizations that can further the professional development of our members. This liaison will enhance the influence of the Guild and create stronger bonds within the creative community as a whole. A student outreach program will provide chapter exposure in schools and encourage student participation in the chapter while developing future leadership. We will work to establish PEGS as the educational standard in classrooms throughout our community and we will work to educate the business community regarding the value of professional design services. While the Chapter wishes to benefit the creative community in general the emphasis will be on creating benefit to our members specifically.

I August the board will meet in retreat to finalize plans for the coming year and to discuss strategies for creating the volunteer base that will be needed to accomplish our goals. We invite you to submit ideas and concerns for that meeting. I am very approachable so please feel free to contact me at spga@comcast.net any time. I welcome and encourage your comments.

The challenge of leadership in accomplishing all this is member participation. The six or eight core people who attend board meetings and act as chair persons for events and programs can not accomplish all the things we know would be of use to our members. Therefore, with this message I am issuing a call to involvement. Twelve or fifteen active members can accomplish twice what our current core leadership can accomplish and with

a greatly reduced commitment of their time and resourses. The benefit of service far outweighs the sacrifice when you consider the bonds that inevitably establish while working in the creative community. What do you want for your membership dues?

Yes, it truly is “all about you”

Your growth! Your success!

Your Chapter!

Sincerely,

Russell F Cowgill

SPGA Chapter President

Announcement

Recent changes in Washington State's trademark registration law may impact your company's trademark.On April 17, 2003 Governor Gary Locke signed into law several key changes to Washington's trademark registration law, RCW Chapter 19.77.

Washington's trademark law is modeled on the Model State Trademark Bill (MSTB). The changes adopt uniform provisions from the MSTB, as it has been changed over the years, and conform Washington law more closely to federal trademark law. Key changes include:

1) Washington's classification of goods and services will conform to the classifications used in the federal system;
2) The registration term is reduced from six years to five years to conform with the federal term;
3) The criteria for a famous mark are amended;
4) Non-use of a trademark for three consecutive years (rather than two) is prima facie evidence of abandonment;
5) Washington courts now have discretion to award attorneys' fees and/or treble damages in certain situations.

While we still recommend federal registration whenever possible because of its broader protections in both geographic scope and enforcement powers, state registration now carries with it some additional advantages and can be a less expensive process than its federal counterpart. It is worth considering particularly if your primary concern is to protect your trademark within Washington or if you cannot meet the federal requirements, namely use in interstate commerce..

If you want to continue to receive future updates and notices regarding recent events and developments, please call or email Scott G. Warner at (206) 464-3939, ext. 1319 or sgwarner@gsblaw.com or Gary Swearingen at (206) 464-3939, ext. 1378 or gswearingen@gsblaw.com.


Announcement

COPYRIGHT AWARENESS WEEK - 2002

SPGA/SEATTLE CHAPTER MEETS
WITH SENATOR CANTWELL'S OFFICE
May 14, 2002 - Read about the meeting here


Announcement

Washington State Film & Video Office Spared in State Budget

The Washington State Legislature Finance and Ways & Means Committees have voted to continue funding the Washington State Film and Video Office in the 2002 State budget. Adoption of the comprehensive 2002 State budget is awaiting a final vote by the entire WA State Legislature. The State Legislature will be cutting all funding across the board 3% in the 2002 budget. The Film and Video Office survived $1.2 billion in budget cuts.

The SPGA/Seattle Chapter of the Graphic Artists Guild, joined IATSE local 488 of WA and OR, the King County Labor Council, and many other labor organizations in support of continued funding to the State Film and Video Office. The Film and Video Office, operating on the 2001 budget of only $375,000, brought in $55 million in wages and revenue to Washington workers and businesses last year alone.



Announcement

Get out your stamps and packing tape -- because buy PEGS online is live! A big thank you to Eric Theise for hard coding this. I'm only sorry it took the Internet committee a while to get it up.

If any of you would like to publicize it on your websites and newsletters, the URL is:

www.graphicartistsguild.org/secure/pegs10.pl