COPYRIGHT and REPRODUCTION RIGHTS NOTIFICATION: 

Copyright 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

Original Art by Richard R. Broome (Rick Broome) 

All original and derivative art products including the artist's original trademarks and trade dress of style; trademarks of lighting "Starlite" painting techniques and methods; original ideas; concepts; sketches; writings; and personal comments and all things created by Rick Broome Studios (the “Studio”), Rick Broome (the “Artist”), and his heirs are protected by United States Federal Copyright and International and Universal Copyright Laws.  No person, group, organization, alien, and/or otherwise identified is authorized to copy, duplicate, recreate, reproduce, replace, restore, repair, alter, change, or in any way work on, modify, alter, attempt to copy, modify, duplicate, recreate, reproduce or reverse engineer this original or derivative art without written permission from the Studio, the Artist, or heirs.  NOTICE:  The Artist and Studio reserves FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL to Repair, Restore, or Replace any of the Artist’s or Studio’s creative works that may become damaged, lost, stolen or otherwise destroyed.  It is ILLEGAL to accept insurance Replacement Value claim payments and not repair, restore; or replace original art, reproduction(s); or Starlite and derivative Originals from the Studio. 

WHAT IS TRADE DRESS INFRINGEMENT?

Trade dress infringement occurs when one product’s design or packaging copies or mimics that of another product to the extent that there is a likelihood of confusion in the mind of the purchasing public.

In addition to making a claim for infringement, a plaintiff may also make claims of dilution, which is the weakening in the ability of a trademark to clearly distinguish its source.

Dilution can occur in two ways:

• Blurring happens when one company’s actions impair the distinctiveness of another company’s products, such as placing famous trade dress designs on an unrelated product; and

• Tarnishment, which is the weakening of a trademark by associating with unflattering or unsavory associations, such as drugs, sex, or criminal activities.

In addition to physical products or brick-and-mortar stores, trade dress can also protect the look and feel of a website, if the website is not protected by copyright law. Mobile phone applications (“apps”) can also be protected trade dress. A plaintiff seeking to enforce trade dress rights in its website or mobile apps will need to meet trade dress requirements of non-functionality, distinctiveness, and a likelihood of confusion in order to be successful.

Trade dress rights, like trademark rights, are governed by and protected by a mixture of the Federal Lanham Act, individual state laws, and common law. Although a product’s trade dress can receive certain common law protections, registering trade dress with the U.S. Trademark Office provides the owner with significantly more intellectual property protections.

REPLACEMENT VALUES:  The Artist, in conjunction with the Studio, uses proprietary methods to establish a fair “Replacement Value” based on the cost to repair or replace the artwork commissioned.  This is known as “Fair Market Value”.  Values are based on the time and costs involved to repair or replace the artwork in this certificate of authenticity. The Studio and the Artist estimate actual value of the artwork based on current sales of comparable works. Estimate values are based on several factors to include: Medium, time to create, number of available editions left in a limited edition, size, complexity, and other factors relative to scarcity and intricacy. Actual value of the artwork can only be established by a certified fine art appraisal. Current Studio Rate for commissioned time of the Artist is $750.00 per hour. Valuations in this certificate are estimations only. The Owner of the artwork is only entitled to receive the monetary value of the purchase price of the artwork if the artwork is damaged or destroyed and not replaced.  This certificate of authenticity and the estimated value below is good for the duration of 5 years. After 5 years, this certificate may not be valid for replacement and a new certificate may be obtained from the Studio to provide a current value of the artwork at the cost of the owner. The Studio, Artist, or heirs reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to accept or deny any claim on damaged work without an actual appraisal of the artwork. The Studio and the Artist also reserve the right to assign an appraiser familiar with the work to establish actual Fair Market Value.  Any other valuation by an outside appraiser will not be accepted without the express written permission of the Artist or the Studio. All art processes involved in creating Rick Broome's fine art paintings and reproductions and associated unique lighting techniques are proprietary.