OK, I've been holding off on this question for awhile because I thought it was too close to a topic you guys had already explored in a "Steamboat Willie" thread... But now that it has reared it's head again, here goes:
(1) A publisher decides to reprint the early public domain Zorro
stories by Johnston McCulley in order to piggyback on the success of
the current film. Each of the paperbacks that are issued feature a
disctinctive logo stating "A ZORRO novel". The name Zorro is about five
times larger than the title of the work. The cover art depicts the
character as described in the books and he is unmistakably ZORRO, though
their is no indication that his appearance is derived from a source
external to the P.D. text. Can the trademark owners stop him or
collect damages?
(2) Same as above, except rather than reprinting the original novels,
the publisher has decided to hire a writer to produce new novels. He
also issues a series of T-shirts bearing no depiction of the hero but
only his own distinctive logo of the word ZORRO. Many have already been
sold. He is applying for trademark protection on this logo.Can the
trademark owners relative to the new film stop him or collect damages?
(3) One of my more pleasant hobbies is collecting stuff relating to the author of the Tarzan books. In this context, it has come to my attention that the heirs to that author's estate have had their legal team policing the web, and issuing "cease-and-desist" letters in connection with parodies of the Tarzan character(whose first several appearances are now P.D. in the U.S.). The language in these letters tracks the "dilution by tarnishment" train of thought.
I would be very interested in hearing everyone's...and I do mean everyone's....reaction to the trademark "end run" around the expiration of copyright as evinced in these scenarios.
James
James Michael Rogers
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.2.0 : Mon Mar 26 2007 - 00:35:31 GMT