How do I go about getting copyrights and ownership of my quotes and for my brand name for my T-shirt line?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
How do I go about getting copyrights and ownership of my quotes and for my brand name for my T-shirt line?
Asked on July 1, 2014 under Business Law, Illinois
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
Copyright comes into being when an original work is created--you don't have to register copyright, though should assert it when publishing the work, such as with the copyright symbol, year, and your name. You can register it if you want, for a little bit extra protection (or rather, to get extra damages/compensation, if anyone infringes); you can find out how to do this--it's very straightforward, and you can get the forms from the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) website.
As to getting a trademark: you really should hire an intellectual property lawyer to help you, because the first, and most critical, thing to do is to make sure that you have a trademark which can be registered and protected. It must be original (not in use by someone else)--this means you have to do a search nationwide to see if it is in use. It also must be sufficient distinctive and cannot be merely descriptive or generic--to use an example, you can register "Vortex" as the name of a car, since it's a distinctive name which does not describe a car, but you cannot register "Sports car" as a trademark for a car, since that is generic or descriptive.
As stated, you should get an attorney to help you with trademarks; but if you want to do it yourself, you can find instructions on the PTO website.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.