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Can Usernames Violate Trademark Law?
from the fun-with-over-anxious-lawyers dept
Aviran writes "I found this via digg.com. Bluecollardistro.com got a legal threat this morning from FamilyPants.com because a user on their forum chose 'FamilyPants' as their username. They're upset because Google (and only Google) puts the user's profile on the first page of results for "familypants"." A lot of the comments on Digg and the original post seem to confuse trademark and copyright law, but it's quite hard to see how this is a violation of trademark law. We've said it over and over again, but a trademark does not grant you full control over the trademark. It just lets you prevent others from using it in ways that are likely to be confusing. A user in a forum discussion is quite unlikely to confuse people -- though, it may depend on what the person is saying. If that user is constantly making statements to suggest that he or she is associated with the entity that owns the trademark, then they would actually have a claim. However, from what's been said, it doesn't sound like that's true at all. Instead, it sounds like someone's upset about someone else's Google rank.
Reader Comments
(Flattened / Threaded)
Database of trademarks
So what do they expect? Forum admins to deny the creation of any username that contains a trademarked word or phrase? Highly unlikely.
If this gets before a judge, I would hope he or she sees how ridiculous this request is. Otherwise, anyone who runs a forum or site that registers users will have to check each name against a database of trademarks to make sure every user is not infringing.
No, I think the real story here is that someone has a bad case of Google-rank envy, plain and simple.
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Re: Database of trademarks
I wonder if my name will pass muster, then?
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Re: Database of trademarks
Ha! Yes, that would be an example where there could be confusion, and someone could (in theory) claim trademark infringement... though, it's pretty clear here that you would be protected for parody.
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Re: Database of trademarks
Can you imagine what would happen in all those Star Wars themed forums where just about every member has a charactor's name as a screenname.
It would be nerd-anarchy.
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Re: Database of trademarks
I'm in big trouble, then. Just ask me...
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Re: Database of trademarks
Once upon a time, Intel claimed a trademark on the letter "i". If everyone had to protect that trademark in every circumstance...
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No Subject Given
I wonder if this would work the other way around. If I can prove I've had a user name before a company opens with that same name, could I sue them?
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hmmm....
sdsd
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I eat babies
Lots of 'em.
Hail Satan.
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No Subject Given
OH MY GOD MY NAME IS MICROSOFT.
Just kidding around ;p
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Re: No Subject Given
Microsoft? Not Mike Rowe Soft?
:D
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"because I didnt think of it first" envy
If FamilyPants.com wants to make such a big deal about this, how about they also go after the person with the name of "FamilyPants@HoTMaiL.com" (or even Microsoft for allowing it) or "FamilyPants@GMail.com" (since it's also on Google's netowrk)...etc, etc.
(or even "FamilyPants001@somedoamin.com")
by the way, that the hell is a "FamilyPants" anyway?
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hmmm....
wups, disregard that last post. Doh!
So, I know how greedy people can be about thier google ranking, but this is rediculus. You mean I cannot be "mcdonalds" in all those forums I am in?
What about my other nick, "Big mack"?!?!?
Sheere, nerd-anarchy.... I hope they at least boost the forums ranking with all tis press. :-P
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Re: hmmm....
So, I know how greedy people can be about thier google ranking, but this is rediculus. You mean I cannot be "mcdonalds" in all those forums I am in?
What if your last name is mcdonalds?
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Hm.
Well, I was going to say something funny, but my name's Luke and my last initial is an "S" so I go by Luke S. a lot...could that be used as confusion towards making myself out to be Luke Skywalker? (Probably not, but it suddenly occured to me as I was typing.)
My original thought:
What if my last name was Comfort. And let's say my conception had a little help from a whisky and to remember that my parents made my first name Southern. So my parents name me: Southern Comfort - could problems arise? (I heard a story about some locals doing something very similar, but I think it was Jack Daniel Brewer or something - you get the idea.)
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City of Heroes
In this MMOG where you create a super-powered persona, the publisher (NCSoft) was sued by Marvel because you could make a character that resembled (and was named) Wolverine or other Marvel characters. To settle this lawsuit, NCSoft has taken to renaming characters in game whos name even closely resembles a "trademarked" name to Generic#####. Obviously then, a precedent has been set (however ridiculous that precedent may be).
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Re: City of Heroes
Well in this vase there technically is copyright infringement. Since they are not only using the name but likeness. I am a huge COH fanboy and I hate that marvel did that to their own fans but they are coprorate bloodsucking parasites like the rest of big businesses. I'm sure this crap will get thrown out of court if not I'm going to do the reverse and sue some companies that use my standard forum name. Maybe I can get rich and become a blood sucker too!
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Re: City of Heroes
Whats really funny is when I look up family pants in Google, the first item is now familypants.com. So regardless of what happens, some free publicity has been generated.
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Re: City of Heroes
Wow.... just wow.
Viewing Profile for FamilyPants
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Re: City of Heroes
Now I want to register familypants.blogspot.com for a blog.
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Envy
A classic case of pen..err, pagerank envy.
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Patent time
So this might go before a judge to decide? Well since we know intelligence isn't going to be considered, I guess I need to create a vague patent to create a method to search thru trademark databases which will intergrate with other software in some way.
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So I suppose my name is acceptable if...
If I posted go to http://www.-.com & enter your username & password?
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Break it up. boys and girls
Does anyone else think that the trademark/copyright disputes have come to resemble nothing more than a kindergarten sandbox fight?
"Teacher, he said my name and I don't want him to say my name; MAKE HIM STOP!
I wonder how the judicial system is going to like playing preschool teacher to a very whiney crowd?
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Irony
The key irony is, of course, that any search for "FamilyPants" will now bring up TechDirt and other stories instead of bringing up the actual company name. Whoops.
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Re: Irony
The key irony is, of course, that any search for "FamilyPants" will now bring up TechDirt
Just as well, the strip isn't funny anyway. We'll call all of the Google search hits to TD & others "property improvement" and move on.
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