Re: Dracula

On 7/24/98, Leo Smith <barter[_at_]ntplx.net> wrote:
>
> 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?

Actually, it was Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula," with the Bram Stoker name added most likely to give the impression that it was a more accurate film version of Stoker's original novel than any other "Dracula" film.

Universal may still have copyright in its film "Dracula," but I doubt it has much in the way of trademark rights in the name. As always, though, the criterion for trademark rights is the likelihood of confusion -- if Studio X releases "Dracula: The Musical" at the same time that Universal releases "Dracula: The Musical" and Universal has run a massive media campaign pushing its film, then -- depending also on who got there first -- Universal might be able to keep Studio X from riding those coattails.

***

My opinions! Mine! Not my employer's, mine! And not legal advice either, so don't even think about relying on it.

Daniel J. Schaeffer
<daniel_schaeffer[_at_]kirkland.com> Received on Fri Jul 24 1998 - 18:39:03 GMT