Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
Copyright & Trademark of Newsletter for a Non-Profit Organization
I am chairperson of a non-profit organization. The organization�s purpose (under a letter of understanding with a city) is the support, maintenance & improvement of a leash-free dog. The group began as a volunteer effort in 1994 & incorporated as a CA non-profit in2000. In 1996, one of the original volunteers started a quarterly newsletter that I am told has been published every quarter since then. At some point she started being paid to write & edit. She has just informed me that she no longer wants to edit the newsletter. Additionally, she informs me that she �registered the names ... in 1996 with the full approval of the volunteer Committee. You cannot, therefore, use any variation of � without my permission, and I do not give my permission.� What documentation should I request from her to support her claim? Or can the non-profit organization just continue to use the title if we want to?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Copyright & Trademark of Newsletter for a Non-Profit Organization
Yes, ask her for the Corporation Articles, DBA(ficticious name), and/or her "registration." Further, she has allowed you to assume the name since 2000 and hasn't enforced her rights until now? I think you can beat her on this fact if it gets contentious. If she doesn't provide proof its even easier... contact me and we'll send her a demand to "cease and desist" from using the name under threat of suit. More facts needed, were you aware of the newsletter? Are you sure it has been published every quarter? Have you seen all of these publications? Did she refer to the non-profit corporation in the newsletterin any of the publications ever? If the answer to the last question is yes, you probably have her dead to rights...
Re: Copyright & Trademark of Newsletter for a Non-Profit Organization
It is not clear from the facts you have given, or perhaps from my reading of them?, but if she was a paid worker of the non-profit entity, then her registration was likely supposed to be -- and maybe actually was -- for and in the name of the non-profit, rather than in her capacity as an individual. If there are any meeting minutes from the time when she claims to have received permission to "register" the names (as trademarks?), this would prove useful.
If you are interested, I believe I could help you get to the bottom of this, send her a cease and desist letter, etc., but would need to understand more about the facts of the situation first. I am available for a telephone consultation at no charge, if you're interested. See below for contact information.
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