Copyright

[TrevorW]

I've found a website on the net that uses a name and derivatives of that name that I coined in a story which was marked as copyrighted and published on the WWW back in 2000. Question is do I have any fall back on the company that is now using those names and never sought my permission to do so.

[Kal (Andrew)]

If you felt like protecting it I guess it would come down to a civil lawsuit.

My guess is that would not be a practical option due to the cost.

Have you tried contacting them yet asking them to withdraw use?

[Shawn]

Firstly you should establish a time frame of usage, before you contact them.. gather evidence first if your sure you have an argument. then when you contact them your standing on two legs, and remember , forgive easily..
Most folk are good....

[leon]

Unless you actually registered that word, name, whatever, and payed some dollars for that, the answer is no.

Leon

[Octane (Humayun)]

If they were to plagiarise the story then you would have some recourse.

But, if you didn't trademark the name, then, you're pretty much screwed.

I can find out more information if you provide me more details, as I work for IP Australia. Though, copyright is dealt with by the Attorney-General's department.

Regards,
Humayun

[GrampianStars (Rob)]

Morn'
As I understand it
All published material is "Copyright" continuing for a period of 70 years after your death. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, "no part may be reproduced or reused for any commercial purposes whatsoever."
as permitted under copyright legislation.
Legals become expensive so try first as Kal said

Originally Posted by Kal

If you felt like protecting it I guess it would come down to a civil lawsuit.
My guess is that would not be a practical option due to the cost.
Have you tried contacting them yet asking them to withdraw use?

[darrellx (Darrell)]

Hi

Probably the first thing I would do is try to identify where they are. If its not in Australia, you are going to have some real (and costly) trouble. Even if the preson is in Australia, but the site is hosted elsewhere, you will have trouble.

Good luck.
Darrell

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Trevor - under US law, you cannot copyright a name or derivative of a name - real or fictitious unless it is a trademarked entity. I could call myself Neil Armstrong or Roger Rabbit - and I could then write about myself with impunity and no-one could touch me. Copyright law only protects "authorship" - i.e. the construction of a work that details a circumstance.... short story, poem or novel, etc. My guess is that this would be pretty universal world-wide.

[DJDD]

Based on a recent episode of PhotoshopUserTV that discussed copyright of images in the US (I realise this may be different but the steps probably still apply), I would:

- gather evidence of use, which includes buying a copy of the material you believe contains your copyrighted items

- ask your friends to do the same

- take that evidence to a competent lawyer that understands copyright law, here and OS


If the lawyer thinks you have a case then teh lawyer may ask the offender to provide a list of everywhere the copyrighted ietms are used

You could probably do that yourself but since you are not sure whether a name can be copyrighted then it is best left to a lawyer.

and never get angry in your dealings with the offender.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Originally Posted by DJDD

- gather evidence of use, which includes buying a copy of the material you believe contains your copyrighted items

You can't copyright names Deej - simple as that. Trevors problem is all a bit of a moot point...

Australia: http://www.copyright.org.au/pdf/acc/...s_pdf/G010.pdf

Copyright does not protect names, titles or slogans.

Names, titles and slogans
Some “works” are too small or unoriginal to be protected by copyright. For example, single words (even invented words), names, titles, slogans and headlines are unlikely to be protected by copyright.

[TrevorW]

Thanks guys its a minefield I don't so much mind them using it but it would be nice for them to ask

Cheers

[erick (Eric)]

Can this work to your benefit? You may be able to encourage the site to reference your work in a way that is helpful to you - points visitors to a site where, if they choose, they can do things of benefit to you - increase hits, buy things etc.?

[DJDD]

Originally Posted by Omaroo

You can't copyright names Deej - simple as that. Trevors problem is all a bit of a moot point...

Australia: http://www.copyright.org.au/pdf/acc/...s_pdf/G010.pdf

thanks, Chris, for providing the link.

reading further it seems that names are not excluded from copyright but may be covered by other laws, e.g. trade mark laws.
However, reading even further:

---start extract---
Examples of names, titles or slogans which courts have held were not protected by copyright include:
• Exxon, a word invented as the name of a corporation;
• Opportunity Knocks, the title of a television program;
• The Man who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, the title of a song; and
• “The resort that offers precious little”, an advertising slogan.
The courts have not said that a name, title or slogan can never be protected by copyright. However, other areas
of law will usually be more relevant.
---end--

my use of the extract above would be covered by Fair Use policy.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

...names are not excluded from copyright but may be covered by other laws

Yep - and I guess that it's up to you to convince a court that it should be upheld, via whatever legal mechanism you can, if that's what you are after. If you have a name you don't want stolen - trademark it if you can. Trademarks are not granted in every case either, because you can't generally trademark (i.e. reserve) a commonly-used name, title or phrase.

[Jen]

who is copying who

[TrevorW]

Ok you might know the site it's called myLot and people who use the site refer to them as Mylotians they claiming copyright and trademark on these names but I used these name in a Story back in 2000 marked it as copyright way before this site even formed.

Cheers

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

OK Trevor - the fact that you came up with the names and copyrighted your story doesn't mean that you own copyright on the name "Mylotian" - only the story that name appeared in. You didn't trademark the name so have no rights to it.

These guys claim to have trademarked the name so now probably own the rights.

[GrampianStars (Rob)]

Trev
it's simple really if "Mylotian" is being used commercially
that's copyright infringement plain and simple
If not and that's only a nick-name "No"

cadbury tried to get daryl leas chocolate for using the same color purple
claiming it was copyright nearly sent leas bust with legal costs (mega $$$$)
was dropped in the end as courts ruled a color can't be copyright

I personally wouldn't bother with it

[Rodstar (Rod)]

In summary, copyright applies to creative works such as songs and stories, trademark applies to names, titles and logos. A patent applies to a mechanical design, pharmaceutical product, etc.

Copyright vests in the author without the author taking any specific action to claim it (it's not even necessary to write the word "Copyright" on the work, although this is a good reminder to others reading the work lest they be tempted).

By contrast, patents and trademarks are not automatic. They must be registered, after surviving a rigorous process to ensure there does not already exist a patent or trademark for that thing.

Regrettably as Trevor did not obtain a trademark for the term "Mylotian" he has no ownership over that word, and has no power to prevent others from using it. He continues to have rights over the use of the story, though, so that if the term "Mylotian" was being used by another party in the context of a story which bore an unmistakable resemblance to Trevor's story, some action may be available.

Now, who do I send my invoice to?

[TrevorW]

Well I have sent them an email referring them to my story so I'll wait and see if I even get a response

Cheers