MDanz Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 this whole thing is confusing. im thinking to trademark the logo/name/slogan and copyright the website. now for example, if i got sued by an overseas company that has the trademark for the domain name in their country, if they won the case. can they take the website away from me? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salathe Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 A brief answer to the question in the topic title is, copyright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDanz Posted December 6, 2009 Author Share Posted December 6, 2009 are you sure? because if so i'll copyright and put it online right now.. have you had an online website? if a company has the trademark for my domain name, can they take away the website from me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salathe Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I'm not sure you understand the nature of copyright nor trademark. How much reading have you done on the subjects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 if a company has the trademark for my domain name, can they take away the website from me? They cannot take away your website (i.e. its contents), but that can prevent you from using their trademark assuming their trademark is valid within your legal jurisdiction. There are not international trademark laws like there are copyright laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keldorn Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 A trademark can be registered almost like a domain name. You have to renew them every few years sort of like a domain too. Trademarks are to be a word or image that describes your service, So if someone copies your service with a similar sounding word or logo, then you are now in the clear to take legal action against them for using your service mark in bad faith. However that doesn't protect you from someone copying your content, it just protects your service mark from being used by someone else for the same service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seany123 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 im not too sure about all this either but with for example real life items like... for example a yoyo.. the inventor has to pay to make it copyrighted (so others cant copy the idea.) even when something is copyrighted its still hard for the inventor to then stop others from doing it. However, a more useful law would be Plagiarism... even though its mainly used in text documents it can still be used with website... basically if someone copied or closely immertated your work (website) and declared that it was their work... you can easily sue them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg_alpha Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 im not too sure about all this either but with for example real life items like... for example a yoyo.. the inventor has to pay to make it copyrighted (so others cant copy the idea.) I think you misunderstand... you do not pay to have something copyrighted, as copyright is automatic upon creation. Also, you cannot copyright an 'idea' in and of itself, but you might be able to protect the 'execution' of that idea. I suspect what you are referring to is patents? (which is another matter entirely) @MDanz, When you create a website and it's content, it is already copyrighted (assuming you did it all yourself and not rip off other peoples' code / imagery). I suspect you want to take steps to protect your site? You don't... I would just put copyright notices within the foot (and perhaps include a legal Info page of some sort), just to show visitors that you value your copyrights. Logos are typically trademarked (or register tradmarked), and usually goes through a lengthy legal process (here in Canada, it is not unreasonable to expect up to a 2 year waiting process on a registered trademark - as the logo in question is subject to initial search stages and if passed, is posted within a trademarks journal to give others a chance to contest it in the event of similarities that could cause consumer confusion and whatnot). The difference between a regular trademark and a registered trademark (again, relative to my country, as I'm not sure about others) is that a registered trademark makes the logo in question federally registered, which means you have exclusive rights to that trademark across the country (even in provinces you don't do business in), where as a regular trademark is bound to your province(s) of business (if I'm not mistaken). But don't take my word for it. My best advice to you would be to consult a trademark agent. They would be in a position to tell you exactly how things work and better assist you on that matter. As for copyrights, I would follow salathe's advice and look more into that matter. Be it reputable online resources or books or what have you, there are plenty of resources out there to help you out. [ot]Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and reserve the right to be wrong. As such, you waive all rights to sue me due to any damages as a result of following any advice here within Additionally, I am not not advising you to feel free to send any financial contributions to help fund my personal charity which is set up to help needy people like myself exclusively, so that I may live the high life snorting top grade cocain off of hot hookers' breasts on my expensive yacht, all the while cruising the Riviera (it gets expensive, very expensive! So please, help your fellow man out.) [/ot] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Also, at least in some countries you have to actively enforce your trademark or it will be invalidated. Even if you registered it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cags Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 [ot] [ot]Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and reserve the right to be wrong. As such, you waive all rights to sue me due to any damages as a result of following any advice here within [/ot] Sorry, but I have to cry foul here. You claim not to be lawyer, yet you certain sound like one the way your covering your own ass!! [/ot] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg_alpha Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Also, at least in some countries you have to actively enforce your trademark or it will be invalidated. Even if you registered it. Yeah, that is the case here in Canada. Registration alone is not enough. If you are not 'exercising' your trademark (and in this case, the term exercise doesn't mean merely putting the logo on a website, in ads or brochures, but rather actually generating commercial revenue - a.k.a doing business with customers with provided services / goods), you risk losing your mark. I suspect this is set up to prevent trademark squatters (<--- maybe I have the incorrect term here, but by this I mean people who purchase trademarks and do nothing (truly worthwhile commercially speaking) with them - perhaps with the expectations of other people wanting to buy the rights off of them, much like website domain names?) [ot] [ot]Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and reserve the right to be wrong. As such, you waive all rights to sue me due to any damages as a result of following any advice here within [/ot] Sorry, but I have to cry foul here. You claim not to be lawyer, yet you certain sound like one the way your covering your own ass!! [/ot] Hehe, I'm just merely fitting in with the corporate mindset (distancing myself from any form of accountability) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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