Can fictional character names be trademarked?

A fictional character, similar to a graphic character, cannot obtain trademark protection for its own protection, but may only be protected when the trademark indicates a particular source of goods and services.

Can you own a character name?

However, in order to attain trademark rights to the character, it must be unique and original. Additionally, you should have a competent trademark attorney perform the search to make sure there are no other trademarks that could prevent you from securing a trademark on your character’s name or image.

Can you name a product after a fictional character?

There is no general rule that you can or can’t. Whether the producer of the show has rights in the fictional characters will depend on what they do to promote and what is recognized.

Can I use a brand name in my products?

You can register your trade mark to protect your brand, for example the name of your product or service. When you register your trade mark, you’ll be able to: take legal action against anyone who uses your brand without your permission, including counterfeiters.

Are characters protected by copyright law?

For characters, the character only becomes protected under copyright law once it becomes a unique expression, i.e. drawing your own rendition of something or adding certain attributes.

What are the different types of character protection?

Characters can be protected by several theories of law, including copyright law, trademark law, and rights of publicity.

Can You copyright a video game character?

Copyright in Characters: This line can get pretty blurry, especially in the context of written stories since there often isn’t a visual element and the author must describe the character with sufficient originality. For video games though, the unique expression is the actual visual character created by the artist.

Is it copyright infringement to use stock RoboCop characters?

As I said earlier, copyright law does not protect stock characters. Consequently, any use of a gun-toting cyborg won’t be considered copyright infringement of RoboCop until that cyborg looks and acts like RoboCop.