# copyright or trademark???



## r3lax (May 18, 2008)

my company name is spelled with one word backwards, now would that be in copyright or trademark?


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## r3lax (May 18, 2008)

can you even copyright something like that with a letter backwards?


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## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

trademark.... with stylized font/characters.....

register it...takes about 2 years


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Yes, you have your answer, trademark, or also known as service mark.

Copyright is more for art: written word like books, lyrics, poems, photographs, paintings, plays. A quick read of the copyright info and the trademark info listed under "resources" to the left on the forum will familarize you with the basics of what each covers. Best regards.


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## Mark_S (May 21, 2008)

it would be a trademark - do a search first make sure not taken - I would buy the nolo book on Trademarks

Don't have to trademark the style but you could add that as well


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## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

when i trademarked mine.... i had an issue with nordstrom...they registered "two am" 2 weeks before i registered ": 2:37am :".... i got suspended and had to go through all this b.s......... finally the lawyer registered it as a trademark with letters/numbers/symbols and is a stylized..... so hopefully real soon it'll clear

b


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## Mark_S (May 21, 2008)

237am said:


> when i trademarked mine.... i had an issue with nordstrom...they registered "two am" 2 weeks before i registered ": 2:37am :".... i got suspended and had to go through all this b.s......... finally the lawyer registered it as a trademark with letters/numbers/symbols and is a stylized..... so hopefully real soon it'll clear
> 
> b



Did you file the Trademark yourself? or go through a filing company/attorney? 

Seems like you can file yourself - the form does not look too comples after a detailes Trademark search - but not sure how easy it is to handle challenges if there are any yourself


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## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

i just paid the 150 and had a lawyer do it...............


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Good luck 2:37. I remember when you posted about Nordstroms earlier. Sounds like you are making progess. Hope it keeps moving along for you.


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

Richie,

If your company name is a word with one letter backwards, you might have a hard time registering it if the same word (with no backwards letters) is already trademarked. I think this is one you might want to take to a lawyer first before trying to register.


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## Mark_S (May 21, 2008)

Jasonda said:


> Richie,
> 
> If your company name is a word with one letter backwards, you might have a hard time registering it if the same word (with no backwards letters) is already trademarked. I think this is one you might want to take to a lawyer first before trying to register.


Yes also if the word spelled backwards sounds like a common trademark that could be an issue too - the Nolo Trademark book covers these points too - lawyers are expensive though - may be cheaper to do a Trademark search for $80 and then file the application and see what happens


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## paragonx (Jul 3, 2008)

Hi everyone, newbie here:

I only have 2 shirt designs at this point but the layout is:

Word
Image (common, not mine or unique)
Word

And the other is:
Word
&
Word

Am I loooking at a trademark here? Cany anyone estimate the cost of each trademark? (I hear these must be done in Washington D.C.) and not state-based I am in Massachusetts).

Thnaks in advance for the info.


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

paragon,

What you're looking for is a copyright, not a trademark. Trademarks are for company names and logos, product names, etc.

All the info for copyright can be found here:

U.S. Copyright Office


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## azazza (Jul 25, 2008)

Hi all, I am new to these forums, and man are they helpful. I am probably going to be purchasing my first shi-pment of shirts this month's end and I am NERVOUUUSSSSS!!!!
I just realized I might have made a copyright instead of a trademark? I have an image and a name that I want on my labels: is this trademark or copyright? I understand trademark takes a couple years so can I go ahead and use the logo and just sit and wait for the approval? That is a bit confusing!!! 

Also, I want a business name: is this just a normal business name registration?


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## paragonx (Jul 3, 2008)

azazza said:


> Hi all, I am new to these forums, and man are they helpful. I am probably going to be purchasing my first shi-pment of shirts this month's end and I am NERVOUUUSSSSS!!!!
> I just realized I might have made a copyright instead of a trademark? I have an image and a name that I want on my labels: is this trademark or copyright? I understand trademark takes a couple years so can I go ahead and use the logo and just sit and wait for the approval? That is a bit confusing!!!
> 
> Also, I want a business name: is this just a normal business name registration?


I'm not sure about trademark vs. copyright. Even thoughthe above says differently for me, I still think I am using a TM and I am puting it on my shirts Temorarily until mine comes in.
I think your's is a TM too but I could be wrong.
Copyrights for me mean literature, media, and artwork, etc...but again I might be wrong.

As for your name, you probably want to register in your town or city as a 'DBA' (doing business as...). This would mean you would be, i.e. Mark Smith, DBA Lionheart Shirts. Then you need to go down to your local bank and open up a separate bank acct. under Lionheart shirts.

Hope this helps and yes these forums are very helpful. I'm just getting my 1st shipment (100 shirts this week too 

Good luck.


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

There's a link to the trademark and copyright websites on the bottom left of the forum. They give pretty easy explainations for what falls where, but here is a quick run down for you (basic):

Copyright covers works, like art, movies, books, music, photographs... etc.. that kind of thing. Copyrights don't have to be applied for to get copyright, the copyright is yours upon creation of the work. Getting the copyright registered gives you more power in court to enforce your copyright ownership, preventing others from profiting from or using your work without your permission. That's a basic outline/gist of it, of course it goes deeper than that.

Trademark is also known as a service mark. It depicts a brand. The general public will see a symbol and associate it with a company. Think Nike Swoosh. Words? They can be trademarked if the words are associated in the public's mind with the company. Using Nike as an example again: Just Do It. 

Hope that helps. Your logo itself should be trademarked. If you use your logo in a design, then it is copyrighted, in that use, as part of the design. Does that help? 

For even more information, click those links, they did a good job with the sites - making them not too confusing to understand.


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## azazza (Jul 25, 2008)

Kind of! Thanks. I do admit that I am starting to see that a copyright is notthe end all be all, and that trademarks have to be involved on logos, particularly my logo.

Thank you!!! But I will also go visit those links. I have seen ref to them all over here and its about time i take myself over there and read the info.


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

azazza said:


> Kind of! Thanks. I do admit that I am starting to see that a copyright is notthe end all be all, and that trademarks have to be involved on logos, particularly my logo.
> 
> Thank you!!! But I will also go visit those links. I have seen ref to them all over here and its about time i take myself over there and read the info.


There are also good articles on the web about copyright and trademark. I hear ya on the 'be all end all'. I used to think a copyright was protection, until I realized it is protection "if" you have the funds to go protect it. There are also too many stories on the forum about how things did not go the way one would expect when facing lawyers and judges. 

Best of luck to you, Rita. I hope it all goes well for you.


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## priscilla (Aug 13, 2008)

237am said:


> i just paid the 150 and had a lawyer do it...............


hey..im curious what the 150 covered bc i spoke to a lawyer who said that it would be 150 for the initial search to see if its even possible (very brief search) then about 1500 for the in depth search (local state and federal search) and then about 950 for filing the actual trademark. 

from your..or anyones...experience...does that sound right???

thanks
priscilla


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## jarrod12918 (Aug 12, 2008)

does a trademark only last for the country your in.. supposed to trademark in Canada is it covered in the US also... an other countries???


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

jarrod12918 said:


> does a trademark only last for the country your in.. supposed to trademark in Canada is it covered in the US also... an other countries???


You can get an internationalised trademark under the Madrid protocol, but a normal trademark obtained through your national trademark office is just that - national.


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