Re: title protection?

From: Bernard Katz <bkatz[_at_]uoguelph.ca>
Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 02:50:03 -0400 (EDT)

On Fri, 19 May 2000, Marty Hayes <9ball[_at_]hostsite.net> wrote:
>
> On Thu, 18 May 2000, Robert Cumbow <rcumbow[_at_]grahamdunn.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Wed, May 17, 2000, Eric Eldred <eldred[_at_]eldritchpress.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > Yes, it's normal now for corporations to trademark book titles.
> > > Now, what happens when they go out of copyright term? Can
> > > another company reprint the work without infringing on the
> > > trademark? I wish I could see that clearly.
> > >
> > > Also, IDG as noted in my first postings is aggressively pursuing
> > > trademark infringement cases against non-commercial publishers
> > > such as web pages, not permitted by trademark law, as if it were
> > > copyright infringement, which does not see the distinction.
> > >
> > > That's all my point, and its relevance to this mailing list.
> >
> > Still not right. You emphatically CANNOT "trademark" a book title.
> > You CAN register a trademark that is used to identify a SERIES of
> > books. That trademark may or may not appear in the titles of the
> > books, but it must appear on ALL of the books -- it cannot be the
> > title of a single work.
>
> Robert makes an important distinction here; it is the "serial" nature
> that provides the platform for the suggested trademark. Well said.

Sorry for jumping into this thread so late. In Canada the author's *name* "L.M. Montgomery" has been trademarked, as well as the title of her very well-known first book: "Anne of Green Gables", by the Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. Do these examples, established several years ago and vigourously protected by the trademark holders, belie previous comments, or is this a matter of U.S. vs Canadian trademark law? By the way, Montgomery died in 1942, and Anne of Green Gables was published first by L.C. Page, Boston in 1908.

Sincerely,
Bernard Katz, Head, Special Collections and Library Development McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph, Guelph ON Canada N1G 2W1

   and Chair, Ontario Library Association Copyright Task Force bkatz[_at_]uoguelph.ca // (519) 824-4120 X2089 // FAX: (519) 824-6931

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Received on Mon May 22 2000 - 06:50:23 GMT