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Trademark

by Mike Masnick

Fri, Jul 9th 2010 3:08pm




Filed Under:
copyright, ghostbusters, trademark

Companies:
myspace


Ghostbuster Sues MySpace For Allowing Another Ghostbuster To Set Up A Website With A Similar Name

from the who-you-gonna-call? dept

Who you gonna call? Perhaps a better lawyer. Apparently, a self-professed "ghostbuster" who calls his business "Ghost Scene Investigations" is suing MySpace because some other "ghostbuster" is also using the same name and set up a MySpace page about it. The actual lawsuit claims both copyright and trademark infringement:
Of course, as noted in the article, the copyright claim against MySpace makes no sense for a variety of reasons, starting with the fact that you can't copyright the name of a company. Second, MySpace is clearly protected by the safe harbors of the DMCA. The guy even tries an "inducement" claim against MySpace, which only serves to highlight how ridiculous the concept of making secondary copyright infringement against the law is: people will keep trying to stretch it. As for the trademark claims, as Eric Goldman notes in the article linked above, you can't trademark a descriptive phrase, and while there isn't a DMCA-style safe harbor for trademarks, courts will often effectively create a safe harbor for third parties unless there's clear evidence that they were really complicit.

10 Comments | Leave a Comment

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  1.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jul 9th, 2010 @ 3:53pm

    Don't the ghosts have any say in all of this? Shouldn't it be considered inhumane to attack ghosts? Do ghosts have rights? I suppose you can think of it as kinda like a pest controller maybe. Do mice and insects have rights? Should ghosts be classified similarly or differently?

    I wonder if ghosts sue each other.

    But seriously, a ghostbuster?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    icon
    BearGriz72 (profile), Jul 9th, 2010 @ 10:58pm

    who-you-gonna-call?

    Ghostlawyer?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    icon
    PaulT (profile), Jul 10th, 2010 @ 12:50am

    So, the guy sets up a service that blatantly capitalises on another trademark by changing one letter (come on, Ghost Scene Investigations? GSI? How does that name exist unless it's to capitalise on CSI?) and then complains that someone else sets up a service that add another letter. Hypocritical, much?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jul 10th, 2010 @ 7:14am

    Re:

    I wonder what kinda evidence they look for? Can they do DNA testing on a ghost's hair?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jul 10th, 2010 @ 8:06am

    Re: who-you-gonna-call?

    I wonder if there is a ghost jail too. Maybe the cemetery? Is it guarded by ghost prison guards?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    Etch, Jul 10th, 2010 @ 9:11am

    New laws

    Maybe instead of copyright laws, we should push for laws that ban "services" that capitalize on the naive..
    We can get rid of "ghostbusters", "psychics", Tarot card readers, and Credit Card insurance services all in just one stroke of a pen!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  
    icon
    Robin Smith (profile), Jul 10th, 2010 @ 10:51am

    The best documentary....

    ...on ghost hunters was aired by the South Park team.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jul 10th, 2010 @ 6:09pm

    Re: New laws

    I'm sure the ghosts will be thrilled :)

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    identicon
    Artful Dodger, Jul 11th, 2010 @ 8:57am

    Re: Re: New laws

    LMFAO! This is epicness. Yeah, I'm sure the ghosts will be thrilled :D

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  
    identicon
    gh, Dec 13th, 2010 @ 4:09am

    ;l

    "Apparently, a self-professed "ghostbuster" who calls his business "Ghost Scene Investigations" is suing MySpace because some other "ghostbuster" is also using the same name and set up a MySpace page about it."
    Where I have been able to read about it?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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