Seven Legal Tips
Posted by admin on Nov 25, 2008
By Moustapha Camara
When starting a t-shirt business you might come across confusing legal issues. The legalities of business can’t be over looked. A lot of the legal info you find while conducting your research might seem confusing, so we’re gonna break some of it down so it’s easier to understand. Make sure you know your stuff before you get into legal trouble!
Copyright and trademarks- A copyright is the right to copy and gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, financially benefit from it, and other related rights. A trademark is a type of intellectual property, and typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements. You should copyright your t-shirt designs and trademark your label name to protect them legally. But, don’t worry about copyright and trademark too early. Until your work is being widely purchased or distributed, copyright may not even be necessary to launch your t-shirt business.
Images from the internet- Don’t use ‘em without permission. Images from the internet are copyright, unless you took them, in which case you own the copyright. There are ways of beating the system though: If you use a basic, generic picture, for example, one of a dog, you’d probably get away with it in some cases. Is there is nothing peculiar about the picture you use and it looks like something you could very well have taken, most likely the copyright holder won’t really be able to distinguish the image and wouldn’t waste time trying to hunt you down. On the other hand if you use a picture that’s very specific or complex, for example, a picture of a white pit-bull with black spots wearing a football helmet, you’ll get caught easily.
Famous quotes- When using quotes in t-shirt designs you should quote the person who originally said it. Don’t pretend like you made it up. Just give them their credit, even if it’s in super tiny print. You definitely wouldn’t like it if you said something funny one day and saw it on a bunch of t-shirts the next, without any recognition for it.
Popular characters- Never use them unless you have a license to do so. Just make up your own characters or get someone else to. Simple as that. Using popular characters in an attempt to sell quick is just plain lazy and uncreative.
Writing and signing contracts- Learn the ins and outs of contracts before writing or signing them or you’ll get screwed. Also, don’t sign a contract for anything until you’ve weighed out the options of having the contract signed or not, as well as how you’d feel about your decision to sign when a few months go by. Find some sample contracts online or in books so you get an idea of how they should be formatted.
Parodying familiar figures and icons- It’s allowed thanks to the right to parody. Just don’t get too crazy with it. When your parodying becomes overly offensive you may get attacked and or kidnapped by the entourage of figure you’re parodying. Just beware.
Political figures- In most cases they can be used. It’s no wonder there are so many political t-shirts on the market. The only situation you wouldn’t be safe using them is if you find a famous photo of a political figure. The photo would most likely be recognized as x photographer’s famous photo, so you’d be in hot water. In addition to political figures you can also use flags, coat of arms, and national symbols.
WHAT LEGAL ISSUES ARE YOU COMING ACROSS?
Should You Trademark Your Name?
Posted by admin on May 6, 2008
Author(s): Stephanie Paul
Recently, actor Morgan Freeman won the rights to use the domain name www.morganfreeman.com, which was being illegally used by the company Mighty LLC. Freeman had applied last year to the US Patent and Trademark Office to trademark his name, when he found out that Mighty LLC was using his domain name “in bad faith to divert Internet traffic to a commercial search engine.” Ultimately, the arbitrators for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the intellectual property arm of the United Nations, agreed with Freeman and determined that Freeman’s illustrious career made his name sufficiently recognizable in the entertainment and movie spheres.
In the always evolving electronic age, many famous personalities are using trademark law to protect the use of their name over the Internet. Trademark law, which prevents confusion between certain goods or services by indicating the source of the trademark, also allows someone to recover a domain name containing their trademark.
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of them, that identifies and distinguishes the source of a trademark. Names of people and companies, business logos and symbols, and particular sounds can all be trademarked. Everything from Julia Roberts’ name, the Nike “swoosh,” and the NBC chimes are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademarks identify a product, service, person or thing from others in the same field, and trademark infringement has, and always will be, a serious offense.
What’s in a Name
Anyone can register a domain name for a few dollars, which has led to the abundance of “cybersquatters.” Cybersquatters are people who register domain names that are identical or similar to well-known marks, and then try to sell the domain to the mark owner for an inflated sum of money. This has been done to everyone from Julia Roberts and Bruce Springsteen to the organization PETA and the financial institution Paine Webber.
To protect trademark owners from cybersquatting, Congress passed and President Clinton signed into law the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act in November, 1999. Under the Act, a trademark owner can sue to collect damages and recover a domain name from a person who, with a bad faith intent to profit, registered a domain name that is identical or similar to a distinctive or famous trademark.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was also established around this time, which authorized a supervisor of domain name registrations, and adopted an on-line arbitration system for resolving domain name disputes.
Proving Cybersquatter Infringement
In order to have a domain name canceled or transferred to the trademark owner under law, the owner must prove that:
(1) the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to the trademark;
(2) the registrant has no right or legitimate interest in the domain name; and
(3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
Several celebrities have been successful in getting their domain name from cybersquatters under ICANN, including Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts and Venus and Serena Williams. Others have not been as successful, like Sting and Bruce Springsteen. However, registering a trademark to a name will provide added protection against cybersquatters trying to benefit financially from an already well-known domain name.
Should I Trademark My Name?
Trademark infringement existed before the Internet, but the ease of registering domain names has increased the challenges of trademark rights. Because anyone from high school students to multi-million dollar corporations can register domain names at little expense, it may be a good idea to register your name if you feel it could be threatened by a cybersquatter.
This is especially true for people whose names are also their profession, like actors, car dealers, even fashion designers. Designer Ralph Lauren has had his name trademarked since 1972 for added protection. Fashion designer Donna Karan found her trademark useful when she fell victim to a dispute over her name. A man unknown to her, Richard Wilson, had registered the domain name www.dkny.biz. Karan had already owned www.dkny.com and www.donnakaran.com, and filed suit with the WIPO stating Wilson registered the domain name in bad faith. The WIPO panel agreed with Karan, requiring the domain name to be transferred from Wilson to The Donna Karan Company.
How to Trademark a Name
Anyone whose name also identifies a business or profession should consider trademarking their actual name. If you are considering establishing a trademark for your name, you should first perform a trademark search with LegalZoom or by going to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Web site at www.uspto.gov , to determine if it is claimed as a mark by someone else. The USPTO reviews trademark applications for federal registration and determines whether an applicant meets the requirements for federal registration.
Please note, if you do not register your name you can still use a mark you have adopted to identify the source of your goods and/or services. Anytime you claim rights to a mark, you may use the “TM” (trademark) or “SM” (service mark) symbol, regardless of whether you filed an application with the USPTO. But, registering your mark will offer you added protection under Trademark Law, including giving you the ability to bring action in court concerning the mark, and obtaining registration in foreign countries. The mark ® can only be used after the mark is actually registered with the USPTO.
Would you trust the most important decisions of your life to others?
Posted by admin on May 6, 2008
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| Would you trust the most important decisions of your life to others – especially decisions that affect the welfare of your children? The answer is: of course not! However, unless you have a will, that is precisely what will happen. Under state law, the state will determine who, if anyone, is entitled to your estate upon your death. A will is a legal instrument that specifies who are to be the beneficiaries of your estate, and when they are to receive their inheritance. The act of dying without a will is called “dying intestate”. People who are not named as beneficiaries may challenge the wishes of the decedent. By properly preparing a will, you can reduce this risk. There are rules and regulations that limit to whom you may leave your It is always a good idea to keep a copy of your will in a place that is Don’t leave the decision up to others of how your estate is to be divided. We hope you enjoy your visit, and we look forward to providing you with
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Sincerely, Robert L. Shapiro and The LegalZoom Team |
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