Hello--
I have researched your question and found that brand names and short
phrases cannot be protected by U.S. copyright laws--only literary
works can.
You may see what the U.S. Copyright Office says about this issue
online. The link is http://www.copyright.gov/faq.html#q44
A brand name or company name may, however, be eligible for a trademark
or service mark.
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office states there's an important
difference between a trademark and a service mark, "A trademark is a
word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases,
symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of
the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is the
same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the
source of a service rather than a product. Throughout this booklet,
the terms "trademark" and "mark" refer to both trademarks and service
marks.
I found some other very interesting information about claiming a TM or
a trademark symbol along with your brand or company name. The U.S.
Patent & Trademark Office states in a FAQ section, "Is registration of
my mark required?
No. You can establish rights in a mark based on legitimate use of the
mark. However, owning a federal trademark registration on the
Principal Register provides several advantages, e.g.,
constructive notice to the public of the registrant's claim of
ownership of the mark;
a legal presumption of the registrant's ownership of the mark and the
registrant's exclusive right to use the mark nationwide on or in
connection with the goods and/or services listed in the registration;
the ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court;
the use of the U.S registration as a basis to obtain registration in
foreign countries; and
the ability to file the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs
Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods.
When can I use the trademark symbols TM, SM and ®?
Any time you claim rights in a mark, you may use the "TM" (trademark)
or "SM" (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim,
regardless of whether you have filed an application with the USPTO.
However, you may use the federal registration symbol "®" only after
the USPTO actually registers a mark, and not while an application is
pending. Also, you may use the registration symbol with the mark only
on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the
federal trademark registration."
You may read this above information directly. The link is
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/register.htm
Further, the USPTO writes, "The United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO) reviews trademark applications for federal registration
and determines whether an applicant meets the requirements for federal
registration. We do not decide whether you have the right to use a
mark (which differs from the right to register). Even without a
registration, you may still use any mark adopted to identify the
source of your goods and/or services. Once a registration issues, it
is up to the owner of a mark to enforce its rights in the mark based
on ownership of a federal registration.
USPTO employees will gladly answer questions about the application
process. However, USPTO employees cannot:
conduct trademark searches for the public;
comment on the validity of registered marks;
answer questions on whether a particular mark or type of mark is
eligible for trademark registration; or
offer legal advice or opinions about common law trademark rights,
state registrations, or trademark infringement claims."
You may read this above information online. The link is
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/jobofuspto.htm
You may file for a trademark online. The link is
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/howtofile.htm
You may find out what your application may include online. The link is
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/appcontent.htm
To conduct this research, I searched the following search terms: "U.S.
Copyright Office," "U.S. Patent and Trademark Office"
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you need any clarification.
darrel-ga |
