Conscious Culture

Where ever you are and whatever you do this holiday season here is our special wish for you.
May your holidays be joyful and all your dreams come true in 2014!
Happy Holidays from Hodgson Legal

By Cheryl L. Hodgson

The U.S. Copyright Office has issued a Statement of Policy for Registration of Compilations restricting the definition of a compilation in the U.S. Copyright Law.  Read more about the policy here.

The Copyright Act defines a “compilation” as a work formed by the collection and assembling of preexisting materials or of data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship. One of the more controversial compilation copyrights involves a compilation copyright for a series of 26 yoga poses registered by Bikram Yoga. 

Proposition 37, a California initiative that would mandate the labeling of genetically modified foods (GMO) will be on the November 6th ballot. Affecting many clients in the Conscious Lifestyle and Natural Foods industries, it’s a subject that is important to this firm and its clients.

In short, the initiative requires manufacturers to label food that has been made from genetically modified plants or animals and prohibits them from advertising those foods as “natural.”

California Right to Know, the organization fueling the initiative, submitted 971,126 signatures to get the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act on the ballot. According to the organization, the initiative will increase consumer awareness “because consumers have the right to know what’s in our food.”

Cheryl Hodgson has written this open letter expressing her viewpoint on GMOs and Prop 37.

While attending Hay House Publishing‘s I CAN DO IT! Pasadena event, Cheryl Hodgson visited with Dr. Patricia Crane and Rick Nichols who lead the world wide licensing program for Hay House HEAL YOUR LIFE® teacher training.

The Hodgson firm developed a global trademark licensing program for the HEAL YOUR LIFE workshop leaders, who train based upon the principle and teachings of founder Louise Hay.