i was just wondering, i talked to a few people about legal copyrighting public names etc, they all say go down to the local city hall and pay to have a search done then you have to take out a ad for a month with some ficticious name etc, i was wondering what opinions any of you had on this subject. a few things i think i understand so far:

two companies can have the same name as long as they dont sell the same things. case: remington shaver and remington ammo etc etc.

i also noticed that say theres a game called freak fire, its okay for another company to make a movie with that name as long as it doesnt copy the property.

if theres a company in a foreign company with your name thats fine because its foreign. as long as they dont have a registered standing here then its cool.

now my big question: is it okay to just make your company, throw it on the internet and not worry bout someone stealing the name. after all you have much and easy proof that you made your company 1st etc? im wondering this as just starting out, i dont know if i really have money to copyright many and any things, like company names, game names etc. just wondering if any of you guys have copyrighted stuff and if so how i guess. ive done a full search across the internet and im pretty secure that my company name isnt taken.

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Copyright law is one of the most complicated subjects there is. Unless you're making a big commercial title, I suggest you not worry about it too much and just focus on making your game.

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(/mindless babble)

Quote

Originally posted by DJ:
~snip~

By the time it matters you will have incorporated and have a lawyer to handle the legalities.

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You're talking about trademarks, I think. A name of a company is not automatically copyrighted (registered trademark), although if there's a company name already in existence, then they could probably win in court.

The thing to do is to place a TM for trademark on the right by your company name. This tells people that you're going to register your trademark. Then submit a form and the fee to register your company name or logo. The TM by a name or logo means "trademark" while the "R" in a circle means that it's a registered trademark.

I don't feel a need to register Danillitphil Productions since it's been a business for about 5 years and who'd want the name, although I might change my mind later. The name of my game, however, I WILL submit a form to gain a registered trademark because I don't want anyone else to use it. Not for anything. It's my idea and I want to keep it, which is also why I've never posted the name of my game on this board. (This isn't a matter of trust, but a matter of business.) And it's better to submit for a new certification for a registered trademark of your game's name AFTER the game is completed. Otherwise you'd need to submit another form after it's completed anyway.

Once you submit the form and pay the fees, then they'll make an official search and decide whether or not you can have a registered trademark for that logo or words.

You can find the fee, the forms, and the information about trademarks as well as do a preliminary search on your own below:
(url="http://"http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm")http://www.uspto.gov.../trademarks.htm(/url)

(edit) Just as a matter of clarification, you can begin a company by going to the courthouse in your area and fill out a form and pay the fee. Name it what you want, but be careful. You can't have "Macdonalds" for instance. I believe that they might do a search, but they didn't with mine because of the name I chose. Your company will have to have a sales license, etc. but the people in the courthouse should be able to help you with it. You might want to use the trademark search yourself before you name your business just to make sure you can register a trademark if you want later on.

Think of copyright as content while trademarks are names and logos. You'll also want to copyright your actual game, not just trademark the name of your game.

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

(This message has been edited by Debra (edited 02-17-2003).)

ah, very cool, thx deb, looks like ill be going to a few places. thats why i think so far ive been very reluctant to release any screens etc for the game and moreso the name of the game. ill work on getting the TM's done. thx again!

while im not really concerned about the game being wholly and legally locked, the company is something i dont think ill risk with, as much has been done in planning around the name of the company alone.

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The Association of Shareware Professionals website has this page about copyrighting software. (url="http://"http://www.asp-shareware.org/resources/copyright.asp")http://www.asp-share...s/copyright.asp(/url)

Pamela

If you can prove that your company existed before another company then it IS legally locked. You don't have to register trademarks or copyrights, etc. The same goes for software. You have the right to put a copyright symbol next to your software, or whatever, and it IS copyrighted. The only thing you can't use is the Ž. That is reserved trademark. Note that it costs about 300 dollars to register a trademark, and your trademark must be on items that you are selling or you can't register. All in all, unless you become a big company, don't register trademarks, or copyrights (though actually, copyrights are only $30).

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well sorta actually a little yes and a little no.

i found some stuff thx to debra:
trademark. cost an arm and a nut. literally. and you gotta trademark company name, game name and possibly game contents.

copyright is mainly for works of art and work in the game including coding etc. by making artwork yourself it is automatically copyright for the duration of your lifetime plus 70 years after you die. however you cannot copyright txt logos or slogans. that has to be trademarked. a copyright doesnt have to be registered but it can be just to be safe. also before 1979 you would have to publish your work or something for it to be officially recognized as copyrighted that is no more. it is mostly carried on as a tradition today or to even have proof that your company name existed before someone elses.

now say you have a company logo and name. you can copyright the logo as it is art and as long as it is not too similar to your opponents and you made it 1st you will win in a court battle as long as you have some sort of proof you made it 1st. there are a number of ways you can prove you made something 1st like mailing yourself a few well made tamper proof letters containing the content you have copyrighted. as it goes through the post office it will have the date etc. it would be semi smart to rtademark the name of the company if you have the money, before or after dont matter really.

now that this is out of the way thx to you folks ill work on sain up moola for music.

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with that being said and done i will have a actual in game mockup ready next week and also will be opening my website to yall.

and thank you codewizard for that link, ill be checking it in a few.

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""I don't feel a need to register Danillitphil Productions since it's been a business for about 5 years and who'd want the name,""

id watch out on this name, i dont see it ™ but there are a few business's that use that name. id hit google and see whats up.

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Morvera ner Morden

Quote

Originally posted by DJ:
**""I don't feel a need to register Danillitphil Productions since it's been a business for about 5 years and who'd want the name,""

id watch out on this name, i dont see it ™ but there are a few business's that use that name. id hit google and see whats up.

**

In general you don't have to worry about reputable persons stealing your name, you have to worry about squatters, many people make a healthy income from it...
they buy the rights contact you and either use scare tactics "cease & desist" letters, or come out forthright and seek to extort you for the rights to something you own pragmatically but they now own legally...in some situations if you attempt to bow out or ignore the cease and desist letters they can sue and in some situations they are victorious...other times they get slapped because they have set up a fraudulent "ghost enterprise" and are ::doing best judge impersonation:: attempting to defraud you the court system,and the innocent taxpayers of this state district....etc etc.

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Thanks, DJ. I did check out Google under Danillitphil. Did it with altavista also. They're all legit. All of them, even the health one. (Go figure!) Some are direct links to my website, but most put a link to my website on their pages. I'll be putting my game there. So they're not trying to steal or do anything unsavoury. Thanks for the clue, anyway. Keep truckin' on your game!!!!

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions