Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Massachusetts

I am starting to stream and make YouTube videos and I currently go by a name that is referenced in a TV in one episode. Its not an ongoing name, it literally said once in the shows 9 seasons, however it would technically be their intellectual property I think. I've searched on TESS and it doesn't appear to be trademarked.

My question is, would there be any legal issues if I continued using this name? Should I consider copyrighting/trademarking it to avoid issues in the future? Or should I change it to avoid any possible issues? I know there are plenty of streamers that use names that are greatly inspired by or taken from other properties.


Asked on 8/02/23, 9:48 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Frank Natoli Natoli-Legal, LLC

The fact that the name was used in the show is not in itself a problem, but if you are using it in commerce as a trademark (or anything else) you need to properly clear it first then presumably you will want to send in an application for federal registration with the USPTO.

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Frank

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Answered on 8/02/23, 10:02 am


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