Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York

im looking foward soon to registrate my brand ,what are the steps that i need to follow in order to registrate my comic books brand and work, the trademark names,logos ,design ,

how much will i need to pay to do so ,ect

2 question

if an unknown artist for an example name is "the zac man" and i want to put my superhero name "zac man "can i get in trouble???, since i dont know if theres any confusion in the trademark name from a unknown artist and a comic superhero

the thing is for example, "sting" the wrestler and "sting" the artist have the same trademark name but since they are from different areas, theres no confusion on that, in other words i dont know if that case apply st o me

another question is if i use the name of a movie ex. "the leaders or the vision," as a group of people that take place in a comic, for example that work for the nasa , can i get in trouble too?

i do not know since these names has a diffrent meaning and roles in the movie and the comic so i do not know if its ok to do so


Asked on 4/15/14, 2:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Frank Natoli Natoli-Legal, LLC

Regards to your specific question, the answer depends. Generally, if you are in the same or related class of good or service you would be prevented from registering the competing mark. But there is more to the analysis.

Further, whenever you endeavor into investing in a trademark it is very important that you conduct the proper clearance due diligence upfront and before you submit an application to the USPTO. In the US, this means searching under both federal (USPTO) as well as common law because trademark rights stem from use in this country NOT registration. This means that acquiring a federal registration does not necessarily mean that you are not infringing on another's intellectual property. See the link below for a detailed explanation of the due diligence process and a guide on how to choose a strong trademark:

http://www.lanternlegal.com/trademark_due_diligence.php

http://www.lanternlegal.com/test_trademark.php

This is definitely something you will want some guidance on as your investment in the brand over time will be enormous so you do not want problems coming up later after all that marketing spend is gone.

If you would like to discuss further over a free phone consult, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.

Kind regards,

Frank

www.LanternLegal.com

866-871-8655

[email protected]

DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. No attorney-client relationship is formed on the basis of this posting.

Read more
Answered on 4/15/14, 2:51 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Entertainment & Sport Law questions and answers in New York