Are you really going to defend your claim in court. An attorney's take on the situation is only informational, they do not uphold the law -- just help you research/present/defend your view. Paying the branding free option is much cheaper then trying to be right.
The rest of us just leave the copyright in and get on with our lives. As a business man, fretting over this does not make any sense to me. Just trying to help.
We all know where you are coming from.