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Re: Copywriting a band name
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Posted by Stephen L. Anderson on August 14, 2001 at 15:59:06:
In Reply to: Copywriting a band name posted by Doug Stanny on August 14, 2001 at 14:14:51:
: Do you have to copywrite your musical band name? What are the issues that surround musical band names? 1) Copyright is a form of protection provided to authors of "original works of authorship", including literary, artistic, dramatic, musical, graphic arts and other creations. Copyright protects the author's original expression as contained in a creative work but DOES NOT usually extend to any idea, procedure, process, method, system, discovery, NAME or short title or slogan. Song lyrics, musical compositions, sound recordings and other original works may be protected under copyright law - but BAND NAMES and COMMON SURNAME APPELLATIONS (e.g., SMITH or JONES) cannot. Once your music, artwork or design has been fixed - (recorded or written down) you can register a copy with the Library of Congress by filing the appropriate application(s). We can help to prepare your applications for copyright registration for your music, (songs, words, lyrics, compositions, sound recordings, music videos, etc.) In addition, any original album art or stage props or other unique designs may also be registered. For more information about copyrights, visit: www.copyrightpros.com 2) TRADEMARK law protects distinctive names, titles, slogans and symbols that are used by their owners in business or commerce. BAND NAMES may be eligible for trademark protection if the name is used by an artist, performer or band to promote the sale of certain goods or services; (e.g., records, CDs, videos, concerts) to distinguish the band name from that of imitators and wannabees. TRADEMARK REGISTRATION- If you wish to protect your name, you can apply for a Trademark or service mark. We can help to prepare your application to register your BAND name and/or for any special designs, fonts, slogans or logos that you use to identify your music to the listening audience. Before adopting and promoting a new name, it would be wise to investigate whethers other have used a similar name in the past. We can assist you with a comprehensive search to determine the extent of prior use of the BAND name and a few similar names. We can perform searches online to determine whether any other bands or businesses are using any infringing domain names, product names or brand names. For more info regarding trademarks, visit: www.brandXperts. OTHER ISSUES SURROUNDING BAND AND CELEBRITY NAMES We protect celebrity endorsement rights by negotiating license contracts and we protect against misuse of names, signatures and likenesses of famous personalities under California State law (The Fred Astaire Celebrity Protection Act). Not only are celebrity endorsement rights protected under State laws, more recently, a body of law has begun to develop surrounding the use of celebrity and band names online. While the emerging law regarding Internet Domains and Trademarks is still in its infancy, there have been several important court cases and ICAAN arbitrations which have protected celebrities against cybersquatters. Performers such as Madonna, Julia Roberts, and Alyssa Milano have won back domain names and other damages for unauthorized use of names, photos and/or likenesses from cybersquatters. Other performers, such as Bruce Springsteen have not been as lucky against cybersquatters. Finally, some band names (such as WAR, PINK FLOYD and THE ANIMALS) have been the subject of litigation between former band members and management over issues such as who has the right to control and use the name. For more info about names, see: www.namesavers.net Best Regards, Stephen Anderson Anderson & Shippey WE PROTECT IMAGINATION 8001 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 400 Irvine, CA 92618 Tel. (949) 754-3048 Fax. (949) 754-4428 www.brandXperts.com - TRADEMARKS www.copyrightpros.com - COPYRIGHTS www.namesavers.net - DOMAIN NAMES, CELEBRITY NAMES and COMPANY NAMES
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