Legal | An attorney who specializes in intellectual property takes a walk through an Artists Alley — and he doesn't like what he sees: "Without exaggeration or hyperbole, 70-80% of the vendors and artists were selling infringing intellectual property (‘IP’)." He proceeds to list in detail not only the offenses but the misconceptions used to defend them. [Seth Polansky's Blog]

Publishing | Calvin Reid writes a 10th-anniversary profile of First Second, with interviews with editorial director Mark Siegel and Roaring Brook Press publisher Simon Boughton; First Second was formed as an imprint of Roaring Brook Press based on a proposal by Siegel. "Mark walked in with a clear and passionate vision about what a [trade book] graphic novel line could be," Boughton said. "We had somebody who could turn an idea into something concrete." [Publishers Weekly]

Political cartoons | Indian cartoonist Satish Acharya claims that local politicians censored his cartoon -- by removing it from a signboard in the town of Kundapura. Acharya's work is frequently displayed on the signboard, which is known as a "cartoon corner." However, after he posted a cartoon that showed Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi hiding behind another politician in order to escape from Prime Minster Narendera Modi. After the cartoon went up, a member of the local Congress called Acharya and asked him to take it down, and the next day, the entire signboard was gone. The local authorities say it was removed as part of a beautification effort. [The Economic Times]

Awards | French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault presented Francoise Mouly with the Ordre National de la Légion d'honneur, France's highest civil honor, for her pioneering work as the co-founder of RAW, founder and publisher of TOON Books, and art editor of The New Yorker. The presentation was made after the Franco-American Children’s Book Publisher Conference in New York. [PW Comics World Facebook]

Creators | Jim Ottaviani goes on the Virtual Memories podcast to discuss his latest book, "The Imitation Game", a graphic biography of Alan Turing. [Virtual Memories]

Creators | I talked with Ben Hatke, author of "Zita the Spacegirl" and the Eisner-nominated "Little Robot," about his newest work, "Nobody Loves a Goblin." [Good Comics for Kids]

Creators | The Scottish creative team Metaphrog has announced their next book, an adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" to be published by Papercutz. John Chalmers, one-half of Metaphrog, explains why they chose this story — and how public funding from Creative Scotland helped them develop in this direction. [Down the Tubes]

Retailing | Radio reporter April Baer pays a visit to Books With Pictures, a comic shop in Portland, Oregon, that aims to be inclusive and welcoming to everyone, and looks at the trend of comic shops nationwide making efforts to be more open to new readers and to women. John Campbell, co-host of the podcast Panel on Panels and a frequent Books With Pictures customer, says the atmosphere is inviting: "It doesn’t say Stay Away Boys. It just means everyone’s welcome." [OPB]