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- The Blogger's Guide To Copyright & Trade Mark Law (Part One!) ♥
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The Blogger's Guide To Copyright & Trade Mark Law (Part One!) ♥
June 14, 2011
June 14, 2011
It’s probably one of the last things that you’d consider after leaping into blogging, right?
Of course, you've picked out your domain name (and ding, ding, it's a WINNER!), nabbed your header art (and it's sensational!) and you're excitedly planning your content as we speak type, but when it comes to trade marking and copyright law (and its exact relation to your blog), there's every chance that such a topic prompts you to raise your right eyebrow and exclaim ''huh?!''
The truth is, few of us consider the legislation surrounding trade marking and copyright when embarking on our blogging adventure (and why would we? We're too busy having a super old time registering our blog names!), but in a digital era where the blogging boom is WELL and truly blooming, is it something that more of us will be contemplating in the future? Absolutely.
Presenting, The Blogger's Guide To Copyright & Trade Mark Law: everything that you need to know about trade marking your blog, what the official rules are, and exactly how to protect your online identity! (Split into a series because sheesh, there's a heap of information to cover!)
So, What Is A Trade Mark?
A trade mark can be a word, phrase, letter, number, sound, smell (I know! Who knew?!), shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or a combination of these. It's used to distinguish the goods and services of one trader/business/blog from those of another, and can also protect your brand name (and anybody from thieving it).
Can You Trade Mark Your Blog?
You bet your keyboards you can! Just as plumbing is considered a goods/service, a category also exists called ''weblog (blog) services (online publication of journals or diaries)''.
''But What If I'm Already A Registered Business? (I Design Earmuffs For Parrots!) Do I Still Need To Trade Mark My Blog Of The Same Title? Is There A Difference Between A Trade Mark And A Business, Company Or Domain Name?''
Yes. Unfortunately, even if you're currently trading as Winona's Excellent Earmuffs For Parrots, registration of a business, company or domain name does not in itself give you any proprietary rights - only a trade mark can give you that kind of protection.
''Okay, So Can You Register A Trade Mark If Someone Has A Similar Name?''
Much like THAT movie with Meryl Streep, it's complicated.
The same word(s) may be registered by different people as business names and trade marks, however a registered trade mark owner can sue a business owner for infringing on their trade mark if a business owner uses it on goods or services similar to those covered by the trade mark registration. For example, while you could have two completely different goods and services - say, an accountancy firm and a retail store - using the name 'Winona's Excellent Earmuffs For Parrots', you couldn't have two businesses of a substantially identical or deceptively similar nature trading with the same name (i.e., two retail stores or BLOGS using the name 'Winona's Excellent Earmuffs For Parrots').
''Well How Do You Decide If A Trade Mark Is Substantially Identical Or Deceptively Similar To Another Trade Mark, Then?''
Some of the things a court case will consider are:
- A visual comparison of the trade marks. What are the differences and similarities?
- An aural comparison of the trade marks, i.e. how a trademark would be pronounced by consumers, (or in a blogger's case, readers), etc.
- The type of person who would purchase or engage in those goods. Does their level of knowledge enable them to differentiate between two trade marks or is likely that they would be confused? (If there was a website called www.winonasexcellentearmuffsforparrots.com, would the average being know the difference between that and www.winonas-excellent-earmuffs-for-parrots.com?)
- The way the goods or services are offered and how this will affect the likelihood that the marks will be confused.
- The IDEA of the trade marks, i.e. the concept or idea that will stay in the purchaser's mind (or again, in a blogger's case, a reader's mind). Is this idea similar?
''I See. What's The Difference Between Trade Mark Protection And Copyright Protection?''
Trade Mark registration provides the owner with legal rights to exclusive use, and/or control of the use of the trade mark throughout their country of origin for the goods or services for which it is registered.
Copyright automatically gives you rights to the protection of your original works of art, literature, music, films, broadcasts and computer programs against copying and certain other uses. It protects the original expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.
While making copies of copyright material can infringe exclusive rights, a certain amount of copying is allowed under the fair dealing provisions of the legislation. Copyright doesn't protect you against independent creation of a similar work. A trade mark does.
♥
Part two covering how to trade mark your blog, the cost of trade marking your blog and how to prevent trade mark infringement is currently being prepared, but in the meantime, let's gab! Has trade marking your blog ever entered YOUR mind? Have you ever noticed a blog with a similar name to yours and thought ''hmmmm!''? What would you do if a blog with an identical name to yours popped up tomorrow? (Alternatively, if there's any questions that you'd like answered in the next post, please let me know and I'll do my very best to find out!)
xoxo