Re: Am I violating a copyright?

From: Kevin Richards <law2b[_at_]primenet.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 05:20:25 -0700 (MST)

On 8/6/98, Paul Clarke <paul_clarke[_at_]timeinc.com> wrote:
>
> I have a website called Dr. Mego's Repros which makes replacement toy
> parts for action figures made by a company called Mego.
>
> The company is out of business but the owner still maintains the
> name Mego as a copyright. Am I violating any copyright laws by
> calling myself Dr. Mego?
>
> I noticed that there are other uses of the name Mego on the web -
> a Mego Mortgage Co., Mego is a form of punk rock, etc. Are they
> safe because they are in a different industry than toy manufacturer.
>
> I would very much appreciate it if you could enlighten me on this.

I believe your question is more Trademarks related. In short, if there is no likelihood of confusion between "Dr. Mego's Repros" and "Dr. Mego," you probably won't get a stop and desist letter from the outfit's lawyer. The key will be the similarity of services or products. If there is similarity, watch your mail... The copyright issue comes in if you have copied the logo exactly. The Copyright statutes protect expression fixed in a tangible medium, however, the statute does not protect the idea conveyed via the expression. Thus if you were to develop your own logo that communicated your "Dr. Mego" concept, you should be OK, at least from a Copyright standpoint... Now I would go into a little discussion on derivative works, however, I would have to charge you...

---

Kevin A. Richards
P.O. Box 15872
Arlington, V.A. 22215-0872
E-Mail Address ---> Law2b[_at_]primenet.com
Phone --> 202-307-9646, 7:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. EST 202-859-0147 24hrs. Received on Fri Aug 07 1998 - 12:20:28 GMT