New York Law Blog

While our area of practice doesn’t deal with state records, we’d love to point you in the right direction of other law needs you might have. If you are in need of vital records such as birth, death, marriage or divorce certificates, the New York State Department of Health website can address any issues you may have in obtaining those records.

The Vital Records Section of the New York State Department of Health files certificates for births and deaths that occur in New York State outside of New York City and for marriage licenses issued in New York State outside of New York City. Also on file are divorce records for all of New York State since 1963. The Vital Records Section provides qualified applicants with certified copies of the certificates associated with these events.

The Vital Records Office provides eligible applicants with copies of birth and death certificates for births and deaths in New York State outside of New York City (1881-present), marriage licenses obtained in New York State outside of New York City (1880-present) and dissolution of marriage certificates for all of New York State (1963-present).

Also included is information about ordering documents by mail, internet, or over the phone, as well as walk in services for the whole department. You can also obtain certain adoption records, and there is also a very handy guide to answer your questions about marriage license laws for New York.

Many people come to us with questions or requests that our out of our practice area, but we’d still love to help as many people as possible, so we’ve started to create an area where you can obtain information about other law resources. Do you have an issue you’d like to file in civil court? The New City Civil Small Claims Court’s website has all of the information you will need to file a claim with the court.

The Small Claims Court provides an inexpensive and simplified process for litigants to resolve their legal problems involving cases of small amounts of money. It is also unique in the offering of an evening session for litigants who must work in the day. Civil Court Judges handle Small Claims Court cases. The Judges assigned to the Civil Court and over 1,000 non-judicial employees work together to serve the people of New York City. Our court is where everyday people come to resolve their everyday civil legal problems. Whether you are a claimant or a defendant, the Small Claims Court is dedicated to providing access to fair and efficient justice.

Information on the site includes general information on the civil court system, legal information including how to start a case, representing yourself, as well as some how to videos on the system. If you have a minor case that you’d like to file in a smaller, civil court environment, this is the best place for you to start and find all of the information you need.

Patent law is being examined this week after it was revealed that a British man actually held the original patents for Apple Computer’s popular iPod music player. Kane Kramer drew up the original plans for the first portable computer based music player in 1979, and was able to fit three and a half minutes of music on a microchip. After a round of funding fell out on Kramer who needed roughly $100,000 to file patents on the player in 120 countries, the technology became public domain. Has Apple even acknowledged Kramer’s idea? AboveTheLaw.com has the story:

But thanks to a dispute between Apple and Burst.com, Apple needed Kramer. Apple flew Kramer to California to give crucial testimony about the prior art behind the iPod. The dispute between Apple and Burst.com was settled out of court, but Apple is stuck with the price of admitting that the iPod was invented across the pond.

Apple has yet to actually pay a price, of course. They paid Kramer a consultancy fee for his testimony. But they are “negotiating” whether they have to give Kramer anything more than that. The patent-less Kramer is trying to wring some money out of Apple for his copyright in his original iPod drawings.

Got an idea you want to patent? Check out this great global guide to patent offices around the world.