Copyright and trademark

Every writer is familiar with copyright, the legal protection of one’s work against illegitimate use by others for profit.
   Many writers, though, are less familiar with trademark. What is the difference and why is it important?

A work of art, of whatever sort, is copyrighted. It is a physical object with an independent existence in the real world, even if it is an electronic file. It is the expression of an idea.
   A proper copyright notice, incidentally, must include either the word “copyright”, spelled out, or the “©” symbol. Other variations, such as a C in parentheses, don’t count.
   Generally speaking, at least in Western countries, a work is considered protected by copyright even if it is not registered through whatever legal mechanism exists in the author’s (or artist’s) nation and even if no copyright notice is affixed to the work. In California law, at least, copyright remains with the creator unless it is transferred to another party in writing, and that may be true elsewhere as well. Check and make sure!

A character or other intellectual property, on the other hand, is trademarked. It has no existence independent of the work(s) in which it appears. It is an idea, and ideas cannot be copyrighted.
   Unregistered trademarks use the “™” symbol; registered trademarks use the “®” symbol.
   Look at any Marvel comic book, particularly one dating from the 1990s. Down in the tiny legalese at the foot of the first page, called the indicia, one will find some variation on the following: “[Such-and-so character] and the distinctive likeness thereof are trademarks of Marvel Comics Group.” They don’t use the word “copyright” there, because legally they can’t.
   The one similarity between copyrights and trademarks is that they do not have to be registered for their owners to assert them. Generally, unless the trademark is owned by a large corporation, and even then not always, it isn’t worthwhile to pay the fees and go through the hassle of registering a trademark.
   The major difference between the two is that protecting a trademark requires more effort and vigilance than protecting a copyright. If another party begins using a trademarked idea, and the owner does not actively defend it, the trademark can be nullified, throwing it into the public domain, or the other party might wrest ownership of the trademark away entirely. That’s happened to Hasbro a number of times, and it’s why authors are so stiff about fan fiction. It could destroy their intellectual property rights.

Incidentally, the trademarked title My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic contains no colon. I believe, but am not certain, the same is true for My Little Pony Equestria Girls.

Comments

[Super Trampoline]

Huh. Thanks for the explanation.