Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Indiana

Re: Book writng

This is dangerous ground. Without doing any research at all, I know of at least one (American Girl) series that ties-in dolls with stories. This makes the "logical extension" doctrine a plausible argument by any doll manufacturer, even if there were no trademark registration in the class for books. Worse, using the manufacturer company's name in association with a book would also cause a reasonable consumer to believe that there was some "sponsorship or affiliation" with the book (another no-no).

Best wishes,

LDWG

Re: Book writing

Thanks for your question. Since you don't provide any specific dolls or manufacturers, I'll use a popular example in order to answer your question. Let's consider the Barbie fashion doll, manufactured by Mattel, Inc. The manufacturer (Mattel) owns several trademark registrations for the doll name (Barbie) in connection with books (fiction books, sticker books, coloring books, etc.) Mattel also owns several trademark registration for its own company trade name. Therefore, you would likely be infringing their trademarks should you use the Barbie or Mattel trademarks in connection with a doll character in your fictional book.

This same logic should be applied to all dolls whose trademarks are owned by a third-party. Not all manufacturers will have been as vigilant as Mattel in protecting and registering their intellectual property rights, but common-law trademark rights attach upon use in commerce. Therefore, you should seek permission before using the trademarks.

Hope this helps. If you have questions about specific dolls or manufacturers, please let me know.