I don't have specifics (that'd take some time to dig up), but I remember being warned that I shouldn't rely wholly upon what copyright law says, because it's fuzzy enough that it ultimately boils down to what the judge decides. And I think I was told that if it could be shown that you were being lax in your defense of your copyright, or selective, then you'd have a less-strong case. Plus, registering your copyright isn't technically required, but you'd have a much stronger case if you did so for when a potential violation came up and you had to actually do something about it. Not a solid case, not a guaranteed case, but the details boil down to "stronger" or "weaker," I gather. You have to persuade a judge/jury.
Anyway, copyright covers the printed material. You can copyright a story. You don't trademark a story. (Maybe you could ... if it was a crazy-short story that you slapped onto every single box of Crazy-Short Story Crackers that you sold.) Disney characters are trademarked because their identifiable likenesses can be associated with a product. Put Mickey Mouse on something, and it immediately says, THIS IS DISNEY, just the same as if you saw the Burger King logo on something.
However, the way trademark law is written, the owner has to diligently defend the trademark. If the trademark term demonstrably enters the public lexicon, it can lose its validity. That is, if we got to the point where it was universal that people would say, "I need a Kleenex to blow my nose," and it DOES NOT mean a KLEENEX brand facial tissue, then the Kleenex company is in a load of trouble. There are certain rules the owner of the trademark must use when using the logo/emblem/name/whatever in their own published works to make it clear that KLEENEX (etc.) is a brand name, trademarked logo, etc., and not just a thing.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 09:08 pm (UTC)Anyway, copyright covers the printed material. You can copyright a story. You don't trademark a story. (Maybe you could ... if it was a crazy-short story that you slapped onto every single box of Crazy-Short Story Crackers that you sold.) Disney characters are trademarked because their identifiable likenesses can be associated with a product. Put Mickey Mouse on something, and it immediately says, THIS IS DISNEY, just the same as if you saw the Burger King logo on something.
However, the way trademark law is written, the owner has to diligently defend the trademark. If the trademark term demonstrably enters the public lexicon, it can lose its validity. That is, if we got to the point where it was universal that people would say, "I need a Kleenex to blow my nose," and it DOES NOT mean a KLEENEX brand facial tissue, then the Kleenex company is in a load of trouble. There are certain rules the owner of the trademark must use when using the logo/emblem/name/whatever in their own published works to make it clear that KLEENEX (etc.) is a brand name, trademarked logo, etc., and not just a thing.