Wow, looks like someone is either totally clueless or is fishing for publicity. And while Pickled Cupid might be right about there being no copyright infringement, "Star Trek" is trademarked, which is a whole different kettle of weasels.
Of course, it seems New Concepts has played even faster and looser with their X-Files "spoofs," and no one's come knocking on their door about that yet, so maybe they'll be overlooked for the Trek whatever as well. There are times when being tiny and obscure is a bonus.
They've also got a book, apparently the second in the series, called "Night Breed" which is a bite off of Clive Barker's horror novel/movie.
One has to wonder about a publisher that has so many titles which are bites off of big media authors. Is it that they're coat-tailing, or are they simply that oblivious?
"Playgirl" is not a trademarked name or brand, BTW, any more than it's a trademark violation to call somebody like JFK Junior a "playboy."
Titles can't be copyrighted. And trademarks, as defined by law, involve both a word and an accompanying logo, and usually are limited to certain legally defined contexts.
Trademarks can be words, pictures *or* a combination. A quick look at the registry suggests paramount has just the words 'Star Trek' registered in every domain of use from candy dispensers to tombstones (literally). Including novels.
"Playgirl" is trademarked. There's at least one case of its owner pursuing infringement claims, involving, IIRC, sunglasses.
The legal issue is whether there's confusion for consumers, who may believe the trademark holder endorsed the product, or the consumers are buying the product b/c of its perceived link to the trademark.
In that sense, there might be an issue of confusion, particualrly where the genre of the book and the subject matter of the magazine are related.
6 comments:
Wow, looks like someone is either totally clueless or is fishing for publicity. And while Pickled Cupid might be right about there being no copyright infringement, "Star Trek" is trademarked, which is a whole different kettle of weasels.
Of course, it seems New Concepts has played even faster and looser with their X-Files "spoofs," and no one's come knocking on their door about that yet, so maybe they'll be overlooked for the Trek whatever as well. There are times when being tiny and obscure is a bonus.
Angie
They've also got a book, apparently the second in the series, called "Night Breed" which is a bite off of Clive Barker's horror novel/movie.
One has to wonder about a publisher that has so many titles which are bites off of big media authors. Is it that they're coat-tailing, or are they simply that oblivious?
Also check out a certain start-up epress's novel entitled "Playgirl."
"Playgirl" is not a trademarked name or brand, BTW, any more than it's a trademark violation to call somebody like JFK Junior a "playboy."
Titles can't be copyrighted. And trademarks, as defined by law, involve both a word and an accompanying logo, and usually are limited to certain legally defined contexts.
Trademarks can be words, pictures *or* a combination. A quick look at the registry suggests paramount has just the words 'Star Trek' registered in every domain of use from candy dispensers to tombstones (literally). Including novels.
"Playgirl" is trademarked. There's at least one case of its owner pursuing infringement claims, involving, IIRC, sunglasses.
The legal issue is whether there's confusion for consumers, who may believe the trademark holder endorsed the product, or the consumers are buying the product b/c of its perceived link to the trademark.
In that sense, there might be an issue of confusion, particualrly where the genre of the book and the subject matter of the magazine are related.
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