Legal Question in Entertainment Law in Minnesota

Re: Name on Website

The answer depends on the nature of the website and the "use" of the name.

The Lanham Act permits a non-owner of a registered trademark to make "fair use" or "nominative use" of a trademark under certain circumstances without obtaining permission from the mark's owner. For example, the use by an author of a trademark in a fictional work to describe or identify particular goods or services, such as I "driving in my Checvy"m or jumping like "air bud" would not be considered an infringement as long as the use does not confuse the reader with respect to who actually owns the trademark.

If the use is for a commercial purpose, the rules may tighhten since you may be using an identifiable trademark to market an unrelated product or service.

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