Do I trademark or copyright my word?
So I have this word that I am trying to make my own, I won't post it here because it is not secured enough that others may still take it.
Trademark is usually associated with business and product names. While copyrights involve making the word for personal use such as when Microsoft copyrighted the word "rip" to mean "to take from the PC and burn onto a CD" and only they can use rip for that definition.
The word is associated with an item, but not a physical item, it is not an item that will be on the market. It is my alias on certain websites. It is my gamertag on many online games. It is my Skype username. My word can also be associated with my crew on GTA, although that is not why I am trademarking it. It is a conjoined word meaning it is two words combined. My word has a definition, but due to the rules of Basil I would rather not post that definition. I would send through PM if requested, although this does not mean I will give you the word, just the definition. My word seems to have things for both trademark and copyright.
Ask my any questions since I didn't cover everything when describing the word.
11 Comments • Newest first
@BobR: Thanks for all the help Bob, I'm going to try to get in contact with a trademark attorney possibly by next year as I'm under the age of 18 right now and If I call now I feel I may have a hard time getting my word though. I'll see where it takes me and I'll tell you guys the results when I get them. And thanks again Bob.
@Duckynater: A trademark is only intended to be used in cases of words or images that represent a product or service used in commerce.
That's why individual words can't be protected as trademarks since they don't represent a "mark" that denotes a "trade".
Edit- (By "individual", I meant here words that aren't related to products or commerce, just random words.)
That site you linked gives a pretty good explanation of some of the aspects of what qualifies as a trademark. In general there needs to be a uniqueness associated with the product or service represented by the trademark. Common or generic terms generally don't qualify to be trademarks unless as that article said, they represent a specific product or company.
All of this is pretty general case.. there may be specific circumstances that would make a word able to be trademarked.
If you're serious about it and have a good reason to invest the time and resources into it you should probably talk to a trademark attorney.
They can both advise you about whether your word qualifies for protection and give you the ability to discuss it in confidence.
You can find a lot of information on the US Patent and Trademark Office web site. http://www.uspto.gov/
@BobR: I'm still confused on the matter, but it seems to point that I should trademark the word as it is originally a word to describe a product. I also found this link, http://secureyourtrademark.com/can-you-trademark/common-words-phrases/
My word is not associated with a business, does it need to to be able to become a trademark?
[quote=Duckynater]Sad really. I heard that ... [/quote]
Unfortunately "I heard that..." isn't a very good basis for putting much trust in anything.
Individual words can not be copyrighted. (Your assertion of "such as when Microsoft copyrighted the word "rip" appears to be urban myth with no basis in actual fact.)
Words and logos which represent a company or product can be trademarked.
If you make up a word intended to describe a specific product, then you can register it as a trademark which will prevent anyone else from using the word to represent any other product or company, with some restrictions such as market sector (ie: "Domino Sugar" does not conflict with "Domino's Pizza".
If you just make up a word, then it has no protection from anything.
Essentially that means (just as an example, I understand this is not your word), if I wanted to call myself "Duckynater" on another web site, there's nothing you can legally do about it.
This link gives a fairly simple explanation, along with the links to the Library of Congress Copyright Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the official sources of information on the respective types of Intellectual Property protections.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_you_copyright_the_word_bamboo
Can you make patents on such a thingy?
[quote=Zoneflare4]Just remember that the trademark bureau is nothing but a bunch of Obama butt kissing morons so they may not trademark your word.[/quote]
Sad really. I heard that as long if you have proof of the word being your's and can back it up you really don't need to file for trademark or copyright. It's call the "Poor Man's trademark". I could also just start a band with my friend, name it the name I want to trademark/copyright, make one crappy song and file for a trademark.
Just remember that the trademark bureau is nothing but a bunch of Obama butt kissing morons so they may not trademark your word.
[quote=mitarumetaro]If you're actually wondering about like patenting and trade marking stuff, I feel like @BobR might know the answer to this, because they seem to know literally everything about everything.
But, I'm really not convinced that you are serious.[/quote]
Fair enough, my thread doesn't really seem serious in nature. I can't really make it as I do not want to post the word I want to trademark/copyright. But I assure you this thread is legit.
[quote=Duckynater]No, this is quite serious.[/quote]
If you're actually wondering about like patenting and trade marking stuff, I feel like @BobR might know the answer to this, because they seem to know literally everything about everything.
But, I'm really not convinced that you are serious.
[quote=mitarumetaro]....you're joking, right?[/quote]
No, this is quite serious.
....you're joking, right?