| Color as Trademark Subject Matter |
| |
| Under the Lanham Act "any word, name, symbol or device" may be eligible for trademark registration. Courts have differed as to whether or not the law recognizes the use of color alone as a trademark because the Lanham Act does not specifically mention color. For many years the general rule had been that color would not be given trademark significance because of the limited number of colors available, unless the color was employed as an element of a distinctive design.More... |
| |
| Substantial Similarity |
| |
| Plaintiffs may establish copyright infringement by proving that a defendant had access to the copyrighted work prior to the creation of the allegedly infringing work and that the two works are substantially similar. Generally, once a plaintiff demonstrates access and substantial similarity then the burden shifts to the defendant to prove that the allegedly infringing work is not a copy but was independently created.More... |
| |
| Publication |
| |
| Publication was the key to obtaining federal copyright under the Copyright Act of 1909. Publication is still important to copyright owners but it is no longer the key. Publication is defined in the Copyright Act of 1976 as "the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication."More... |
| |
| Reproduction Rights |
| |
| The reproduction right is one of the exclusive rights granted to the owner of a copyright by the Copyright Act. Under this right, no one other than the copyright owner may make any reproductions or copies of the work. Under the Copyright Act the copyright owner has the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work or to authorize its reproduction. Examples of unauthorized acts which are prohibited under this right include photocopying a book, copying a computer software program, using a cartoon character on a T-shirt, and incorporating a portion of another's song into a new song. The Copyright Act covers reproduction in any form. More... |
| |
| Trademark Priority |
| |
| In the United States, subject to one exception, trademark rights arise from use in commerce, regardless of whether or not the mark is registered. The first user of a mark generally takes priority over all subsequent users with respect to use of the mark in that market. More... |
| |
