Re: Dracula

Michael A. Scarpitti <mscarpit[_at_]asnt.org> wrote:
>
> As I understand it, the recent film "Bram Stoker's Dracula" was so
> called because of the trademark of "Dracula" by Universal.

With the name Dracula in public domain, does Universal have some type of copyright/trademark protection for its film titled Dracula, so as to prevent a third party from also coming out with a film by the same name? Or does Universal have no protection over the title of its film when it uses a name in the public domain (in the Bram Stoker's Dracula example, it could be that Bram Stoker added his name to the title simply to avoid costs of litigation, or he may have added his name from an egotistical perspective. If Universal spent $50 in promotional costs to promote Dracula, could they prevent another film company from releasing a competing film, also titled Dracula, with the competing film debuting on the same day as Universal's version, and with the competing film basically taking a free ride on Universal's publicity budget?

Leo Smith
<barter[_at_]ntplx.net> Received on Thu Jul 23 1998 - 13:21:23 GMT