Posted on 06/28/2014 11:58:57 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda
I'm just wondering if any Freeper lawyers out there know how Trademarking a cartoon character would work. Me and my brother have been working on a cartoon the past few months and we got the domain name and copyrighted the cartoon character, but now we want to trademark it with a logo so we can use it to sell junk, tee-shirts, coffee mugs etc etc ..IF it sells. Just getting ready before we post it on the web. So we went to a lawyer who told us it cost $2,500 just in the US alone to trademark it on the Fed level which sounds a bit high being that the numbers I found on the government website listed $350, and this website above listed $159. So out of curiousity I remembered the name "Trayvon" was trademarked and did a search and this came up, just one listing after another for everything from Cds, DVDs, hoodies, cartoons, charities etc etc. and incredibly they even trademarked the "If I had a son he'd look like Trayvon" sentence. So how did they do this? I doubt they laid out $2500 for each one of these. Thanks
HF
It will be deemed offensive and you would be stripped of your rights. Just ask the Redskins.
I SO wish I’d had the presence of mind to video a kid walking down my street jerking his head to the side to look in the window of each car he passed. If it had been me, I’d’ve had a sorry neck by the time I got to the end of the block! TradeMark that image for Treyvon Martin.
THANK YOU! That sounds totally reasonable how it would work. This lawyer we talked to seemed to be pulling a fast one, she wanted us to “print up a few tee shirts and sell it to friends” then make a receipt and give her $2500 up front, I was like what are you kidding? Forget it.
So if we put this on the web and put that TM next to it for a year, couldn’t somebody else do that as well? Or I guess they would have to make it public? Not that they would anyway, there’s probably zero chance this would sell but you never know.
LOL! Yep! That’s his son alright.
Wow Check this out - I did a search on “Redskins”...Look what it says up top: CANCELLATION PENDING. Holy smoke, they have to be kidding me. How long has that name been around? Since the 1930s? And NOW they are offended? After 84 years suddenly they are offended?
http://www.trademarkia.com/trademarks-search.aspx?tn=redskins
If others use that same trademark, you'll need to calculate your chances of ultimately winning the registration by satisfying yourself that you were an earlier claimant than your competition (if in the same market area). If I were faced with someone else that was on the scene using the same trademark (using a TM), I'd probably take my investment to a different, unused trademark rather than waste all the time and effort hoping they go out of business.
I suppose it's possible a competitor will challenge you if that entity shows they were clearly first, but if they don't survive in business, or you buy out their trademark, you might still be the eventually winner of the registration.
IANAL, so that's merely my two cents worth. But, I've always gotten the registrations for which I filed, which I think is up to six.
HF
Regardless of what the kid was...wouldn’t you have to consult the family before selling anything in there name?
Thanks a lot. Wow holy smoke, 2-3 years. That’s government for you though lol. How did Trayvons parents get those trademarks so fast though? And that’s not even a logo, it’s just his name in a sentence.
Oh wait I see, Trayvons parents filed on 3/21/12 (gee, they didn’t waste anytime did they?) and it was approved on 6/23/14
Obama is about the whitest black guy you’ll ever want to see.
He wouldn’t even know where to start....to get to looking like those two kids.
Put on the TM symbol and it is considered trademarked. If you want to actually register the trademark (circled R), it will cost you. Either way, you will need lawyers to defend it, if it is something that others can make money from by stealing it.
Thanks! I think I get it now, it’s like staking a claim and if it starts paying off or showing promise then I’ll definitely get a lawyer to hold the vultures back. I always wondered what those symbols mean, TM and R, thanks!
Put on the TM symbol and it is considered trademarked.
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That is what I did 27 years ago. The name is obvious related to my product, but while the product has been imitated several times, no one ever tried to pirate the logo/name/brand. Everyone of the imitators failed/quit production in short order.
Now: a portion of my 2-word brand can be, has been,is and was applied to several other completely different products. What I *own* is the two-word brand applied to my particular and specific product. However, I am unaware of _any_ other use of the single word in the logo applied to different items that lasted more than a couple of years.
It all depends on whether you are out to make a quick buck or in it for the long haul. Continuous usage in the market place can constitute product recognition and *goodwill* and those are commodities that gain more value over time.
It’s easier to spend money on trademarks and copyrights than it is to make money from them. Unless your cartoon takes off and is really something new, don’t count your money yet.
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