Questions tagged [trademark]
A trademark is a sign, logo or design of some kind that distinguishes a particular product or service (or its provider or source) from others.
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is fictional data covered by copyright?
From other questions about intellectual property, it's my understanding that:
"measurements of observable fact in the world ... are not copyrightable", but arrangements of the data are.
fictional ...
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90 views
Can one use data extracted from images (in-game screenshots)?
As an example, let's take Call of Duty Ghost. I want to take the data from the below screenshot and store it in a database as it is. (Rank, Level, Player Name, etc.)
Is it legal to extract data from ...
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Can a company use another brand's name when describing their product?
I'm working on a project and the best way I've found to sum it up, essentially my elevator pitch, is by saying:
It's like X for Y.
Can I use the brand in this context as the tag line for my ...
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1answer
125 views
What is trademark tarnishment or dilution under US law?
What is a person not allowed to do with a trademark in the US, beyond using falsely to sell goods? In what ways can a trademark owner prevent tarnishment (disparagement) or dilution (blurring)?
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Is it legal to cut a designer logo off of a piece of clothing, sew it onto another and sell it?
What if I were to cut the Versace or Nike logo off of an old, ruined piece of clothing, sew or glue the logo onto other piece of clothing and then sell it.
I would tell the buyer in advance that the ...
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4answers
377 views
Is it legal to use “Java” in a domain name for a website?
I want to register a domain (within Poland) that contains "Java" word in it. Am I allowed to it, or is it illegal?
I heard about the case of Vavr (formerly Javaslang) which changed the name due to ...
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2answers
141 views
Commercial usage of photos of extreme close-up of popular electronics
Let's say I make a photo of iPhone screen through the microscope, so field of view of the photo is just several pixels and individual RGB components of the screen are visible - so it's not possible ...
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349 views
Does this German company really control the use of the term 'emoji'?
Important disclaimer: this question is not about any particular set of emojis (designed by a company or whoever else). The pictures themselves are obviously intellectual property and belong to their ...
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64 views
What are the legal aspects around distribution of a new work based on public domain work but in a new medium?
For example, this fan wiki page contains a list of some work that is now in the public domain.
As I understand it, it is legal to sell these works and even new works based on these. What is not so ...
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1answer
68 views
Legal notices for 3D printing
Recently I've faced a business plan description, where someone suggested to start business of 3D printing. And one of the use-cases is to print models of movies, comics characters and so on.
And my ...
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A company giving me a broad copyright permission, but also told me not to use one specific thing
Let's say I run an organization called Shoesies-For-Kids.
I know about this really cool art company online. They have some awesome pictures of shoes and I contact them with a "Hey there! I love your ...
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286 views
Do trademarks span multiple languages?
The question is very simple, does the trademarking of a name, mean that they own that trademark in every language?
For instance, Windows is a trademarked product that has their namesake trademarked ...
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Why is the trade name of a drug always written in all caps, even when the wordmark isn't?
One thing I've consistently noticed in TV commercials and other marketing materials for drugs is that the trade name for a drug, especially a prescription drug, is almost always written in all caps ...
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1answer
388 views
Can an unintentional creation due to a software glitch be trademarked or copyrighted?
Say that I write a computer game that involves a number of characters. I choose to trademark some of the characters I think are more marketable, and copyright my game. To my surprise, fans discover ...
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1answer
49 views
Distribute a XUL Application using Firefox binary
I'm going to release a XUL Application to my users. It's freeware (and maybe it will be opensource-ed later). Previously I used to package it with XULRunner and ship them all to the end user. Now I ...
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1answer
67 views
Is there USA trademark or copyright law regarding using word titles seen on youtube to create their own logo?
Is there USA trademark or copyright law regarding using word titles seen on youtube to create their own logo? For example, if the title of a YouTube Video was "Avocado Sunrise" could one ...
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1answer
76 views
Can a name from an inactive Github project be reused?
I have a personal project started in 2018, which essentially aims at running Arduino code on an FPGA and is posted on Github. Being not very imaginative while picking a name, I just added the "...
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332 views
Regarding the legal use of a trademarked name in my Android application's package name
I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask, but I had a quick question regarding using the word/trademark "GitHub" in my Android application's source code (not that actual part that users can ...
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1answer
133 views
Trademark use in software package names (USA)
Does the use of a Trademark in a software package (an NPM package for example) qualify for descriptive fair use if its usage is intended to describe how the package relates to the original trademarked ...
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199 views
Using copyrighted or trademarked names for different ideas in fiction
My question concerns using names in fiction that happen to be the same as copyrighted or trademarked names. I've developed a large fictional world for my writing, with hundreds of names of people, ...
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1answer
47 views
Does an app's name become protected nationally by common law trademark rights the day that it's published?
It seems common law trademark rights extend only to the geographical location in which the mark is used. However, when it comes to apps, there is no defined geographical region; you push it to the app ...
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1answer
121 views
Display images of trademarked items in blog post product review
A lot of media, both on the web and in many other forms, offers all kind of product reviews to their readers/viewers. Obviously, they use the name of the product, which might be trademarked, to ...
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1answer
371 views
Use of TV show names on drop shipping website
I'm setting up my own drop shipping business. What are the legalities behind the use of trademarked TV show names? Some of the catogories of products I have for sale would be specific TV show ...
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76 views
If you happen to share the name of a very famous character, can you use it for your shop?
Assume that someone sharing the name of a famous character - just for a random Sample let's pick Leonard McCoy, James Kirk and Peter Parker - just happens to want to offer services under their name in ...
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My .eu domain name was stolen. What are my options?
I have a company in a small European country, with a short, simple, generic name, say Generic, pvt. ltd.
For many years, I've had the domain generic.eu
However, I forgot to change my owner email ...
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What are the legal considerations of using trademarks in security training material?
I am developing an application that will be used for computer security training, specifically for awareness of scams and phishing.
As part of this, I plan to use a series of well-known company brand ...
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63 views
Can the owner of a copyrighted work use an unauthorised derivative work?
Let's say a company makes video games and unauthorised fanart of one of the game's characters is made and posted on the internet. The company finds this fanart and uses it in merchandising etc.
Who ...
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Why does there appear to be a difference between depicting vehicles in games vs. in movies?
I've been trying to wrap my head around trademark/copyright/trade dress law in the US as it pertains to the depictions of real brands in fictional works. As far as I can identify, it is legal to ...
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0answers
236 views
Can I include (similar styled) art/characters from other apps in my free trading card game app?
Say I wanted to make a free (+no ads etc.) app which is essentially a trading card game but the cards consist of characters designed to be similar to ones from other apps. For example, one card would ...
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345 views
Legal aspects of using logos from a LaTeX package in resume
I was thinking about using Skype and LinkedIn logos from fontawesome package to provide corresponding contact details in my resume. But I am not sure if I am violating any rules. Can anyone throw some ...
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0answers
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How to register a descriptive European trademark?
The trademark "TEXT TO BUY" is descriptive and non distinctive trademark. It is descriptive for an obvious reason: it exactly describes the service it is a trademark for. It is a service "to buy" and ...
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Can a registered user of a word mark which was registered as whole, break the word into parts and use it in the products sold?
As the question says if a user of a particular wordmark breaks his word into 2 and uses it on goods sold(tm is engraved on goods) then can he seek protection in case of potential infringement.
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First-to-use vs First-to-file trademarks
As I understand it, first-to-use ownership of a mark trumps first-to-file. If that is true, why spend money on getting a trademark for your business name?
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191 views
Can someone legally use the word Java in a business name?
Assume someone wanted to open a real estate office and wanted to use the name Java Realty, would that violate the Java (programming framework) trademark?
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Yacht Rock and the Intellectual Property Rights of Work Trademarked by a Second Party
So I'm curious about the legal standing of an IP trademark owned by a party that did not originate the concept, but which is using it, potentially to the detriment of the original work, to suppress ...
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1answer
68 views
Use a Netflix Show Title in a Product [closed]
I'm a music arranger, and I am preparing a series of string quartet pieces. I want to use an "Inspired by the Netflix series 'Bridgerton'" phrase (or some such phrasing) on the packaging and ...
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605 views
Trademark holder doesn't grant permission due to 'high request volume'; any risks?
I requested permission for MATLAB's trademarked logo usage on my site, https://dragonnotes.org/ , from MathWorks (trademark holder) - who responded,
"Due to the high number of these types of ...
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4answers
113 views
Is it legal to open a museum of certain a brand?
My wife is a big fan of a certain toy company and has a huge collection. She is toying* with the idea of opening a small museum showcasing her collection.
Is it legal to name the museum "The [Toy-...
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160 views
Are programming language names copyrighted?
Say I want to create a programming language with some name, but there already exists another programming language with the same name. Could I get in trouble (legal or otherwise) if I create another ...
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1answer
601 views
Is a press release a privileged and/or copyrighted document with ownership rights?
I recently left the firm I was working with for a few years. I have my own advisory firm now. I took part in several deals that closed. I was an active participant and got paid on those deals. I am ...
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Do obviously spurious claims of trademark infringement help in cases of genuine infringement?
Several times when discussing obviously spurious claims of trademark infringement I've seen an argument that companies, in order to keep their trademarks, must threaten to file suit over trademark ...
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211 views
How can I get a patent/Copyright for the puzzle game I invented?
I have invented a new puzzle game which I have able to play on paper.
However, I want to create a mobile app/web app to let other users play like other below games.
Example: Threes, 2048
But being ...
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2answers
6k views
Same game company name, but in a different country
I finally came up with a good name for my game studio, however after searching for it there appears to be another game company with the same/very similar name. They were founded this year, have an ...
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850 views
Would it be illegal to include a Disney character's name in my business's Name?
For example, "Bambi Publishing" or "Pinocchio Publishing?"
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96 views
Is it OK to name our app generically?
We're creating an app and want to name it generically, like Calendar.
Calendar is already trademarked for alcoholic beverages except beers.
We want to make sure we're doing our due diligence in ...
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2answers
48 views
Territorial trademark on the Internet
I want to start an online business and it's name is not trademarked anywhere in the world. If I only trademark it in my own country but I operate worldwide:
can I use the TM or (R) on the website?
...
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Are single-letter programming language names trademarkable?
It's no secret that the name of some programming languages are single-letter (sometimes with some non-letter characters) such as C, C++, C#, D, etc.
A previous question asked about the situation of ...
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1answer
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Can choosing a username with corporate terms be a violation of the law?
I recently answered this excellent question on the Software Recommendations SE: Method/Software to rename multiple files in ascending numerical order regardless of file type?
I just noticed the ...
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1answer
106 views
Can misspellings be covered by trademark?
Say you found out that the keyword "youtub" is getting millions of searches a year. It's pretty obvious that these searches are just misspellings of the company Youtube. You decide you want to try to ...
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Are there case law examples where a reseller was forbidden to publish the name of the item being resold?
Are there case law examples where a reseller was forbidden to publish the name of the item being resold?
For example suppose a computer reseller acquires a used computer made by HALCO, model HAL-9001 ...
