Copyright and Trademark Questions

[T.Allen.Smith]

There's also a little trick called the poor man's copyright. Print off a copy then mail it to yourself via registered mail. The way the post office handles registered mail is to seal all seams with a special tape and date stamp across those seams. Throw it in a closet somewhere once you get it back.

[Christopher Wright]

I hear about the "poor man's copyright" a lot, but according to Snopes it has no real legal value in the US:

snopes.com: Poor Man's Copyright

Apparently the problem is that courts won't recognize it as your work--they'll just recognize it as a copy of the work in question, with your name on it, that you mailed to yourself. "He could have intentionally placed his name on it with the intent to infringe my client's copyright," the opposing attorney will say...

[Benjamin Clayborne]

Register it with the U.S. Copyright Office, that being the purpose of the U.S. Copyright office.

[Svrtnsse]

I'm building a world and when I started it I decided that there should be hobbits in it. I've been working on it for a while, I like it and I've gotten used to thinking of my hobbits as hobbits. They're not exactly like they are in Middle Earth, but they're close enough as makes no difference at first glance.
Then I learned that the word "Hobbit" is a trademark owned by the Tolkien estate.
What kind of trouble would I get in if I got my stories from the world published without changing the name of the race? I've resigned myself to the fact I probably have to go through all I've done and change the word to something else, but I keep putting it off. I like the word and I don't really want to change it unless I have to.
Any advice or thoughts on this?

[Steerpike]

You're asking for trouble.

First, to be clear, you only infringe a regular trademark when you use it in a way that is confusingly similar to that of the trademark owner. So just having the mark in your story is probably OK. Having it in the title or something would be problematic.

With famous marks, you have to consider so-called blurring and tarnishment. These do not rely on a likelihood of confusion. Of course, most marks aren't considered "famous" in the sense that they get this extra protection. As far as I know, a determination has never been made as to whether "hobbit" is a famous trademark. If you got sued and it was determined to be famous, that would be problematic.

But the biggest problem you have is that the rights holders in this case are more than happy to bring legal action against people. Not long ago, they threatened a "Hobbit" pub that has been in Southampton for some time. What you have to consider is this: if they sue you and are willing to bring a trademark suit all the way through trial, it could cost you half a million dollars to defend the lawsuit even if you are right and end up winning in the end.

So, it is a risk. I think there are certainly arguments in your favor that you aren't violating any trademark. But if they sue you do you have the time and money to defend the lawsuit and prove you are right? If not, I think it would be better to change it before you publish than to be forced to go back and change it later (and maybe destroy any extant copies with the infringing use).

[Svrtnsse]

Thanks.
I guess it's time to try and think of a good name.

[071095se]

I'm not sure if this had been mentioned at all but it seems relevant. But I'd just like to put it out there that all Dungeons and Dragons monsters can be used freely EXECPT for the Beholder and Ilithid or Mind flayer of which the right are owned by Wizards of the coast

[Steerpike]

I'm not sure if this had been mentioned at all but it seems relevant. But I'd just like to put it out there that all Dungeons and Dragons monsters can be used freely EXECPT for the Beholder and Ilithid or Mind flayer of which the right are owned by Wizards of the coast

This isn't exactly right.

First, keep in mind that WotC identifies certain creatures as Product Identity in their licenses: OGL and GSL. When you operate under those licenses, you are agreeing, contractually, that WotC owns those creatures/terms. No one writes a novel under OGL or GSL, so what WotC calls Product Identity in its license agreements with other game publishers is irrelevant.

Secondly, there is nothing whatsoever to stop WotC asserting trademark rights over other creatures or IP of theirs, whether mentioned as Product Identity in their license agreements or not.

On a positive note, a lot of the stuff surrounding D&D is less protectable than WotC wants people to believe.

On a negative note, WotC/Hasbro has the money to make your life miserable if you use some of it and they decide to make an example of you.

[Benjamin Clayborne]

On a negative note, WotC/Hasbro has the money to make your life miserable if you use some of it and they decide to make an example of you.

Yeah. The saddest thing about the law is that what it says and how it is enforced in practice are not identical.

[Nihal]

Oh, this topic is exactly what I needed! I have a copyright-related doubt, in this case I need to decipher some legal-sounding verbiage. It can be useful for people who find their works floating on the internet.

I just stumbled with some works of mine being used in random portfolios. I contacted one requesting removal (I always request directly first), but I'm unable to contact the other, for the site seems to be incomplete and lacks contact information. So, I'll rely on the "poor man's copyright claim": I'll file a Copyright Claim to the host/registrar.

I was lucky, this one is using goDaddy. And here I my trouble starts, for I am having a hard time to understand an statement, for I've never filed a complaint to an U.S. based registrar:

To be considered effective, a notification of a claimed copyright infringement must be provided to Go Daddy and must include the following information:

1. An electronic signature of the copyright owner, or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive copyright that has allegedly been infringed.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works on that site.
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit Go Daddy to locate the material.
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit Go Daddy to contact the Complaining Party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the Complaining Party may be contacted.
5. A statement that the Complaining Party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the Complaining Party is the owner, or is authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

The number one would be a link to your work—e.g. my portfolio? Or would it be, literally, an image with my signature?