25
votes
Accepted
Commissioned a logo that contains a stock image, can I still trademark it?
Not only can’t you trademark it, you can’t use it
The original logo is covered by copyright which belongs, prima facie, to the original artist. It doesn’t matter that they are based in Russia; Russia ...
- 152k
4
votes
Up to what point can an OS design and theme mimic another operating system?
There was a major lawsuit over this in the early 1990s, Apple v. Microsoft. Apple sued Microsoft for allegedly copying the look and feel of the Apple Macintosh in Microsoft Windows.
The court ruled in ...
- 1,538
4
votes
Up to what point can an OS design and theme mimic another operating system?
how can a distro like LinuxFx and its Windows themes exist without
being sued by Microsoft for plagiarism / copyright infringement?
It's Microsoft's choice to either sue for copyright infringement or ...
- 17.6k
3
votes
Accepted
How legal it is to use a famous movie phrase as the title of my next videogame. Details inside:
General Rules
The rules on this vary somewhat by country. In some counties the is no trademark protection unless a mark is formally registers. In others use "in trade" offers a degree of ...
- 93k
2
votes
Are stock quotes and related trade data protected by copyright or any IP law?
In the US, because stock quotes are facts*, they are uncopyrightable.
*Technically, they are collections of facts, which can be copyrightable in their "creative elements" in theory, but ...
- 8,262
2
votes
Patent applications prior to assignment from all Inventors (assume all *will* cooperate)
Inventor B can change their mind
Unless and until Inventor B signs the deed (or enters a binding contract to sign the deed) they can go from being “cooperative” to being “cooperative for $10 million”.
- 152k
1
vote
Accepted
Can a character have the same name as another, but have different characteristics?
Character names are not protected by copyright. For US law, see Copyright Office Circular 33: "Works Not Protected
by Copyright". On page 2 it states:
Words and short phrases, such as ...
- 93k
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