tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jul 15 20:06:24 2003
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Re: trademark and copyright
- From: "Lady K'Lyssia" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: trademark and copyright
- Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 19:01:51 -0600
- References: <[email protected]>
- Seal-Send-Time: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 19:01:51 -0600
In copyright there is a clause regarding "Fair Use" and while many use this to get around the issue when they write fan fiction it is still a violation of trademark issues. Copyright would come into a play more seriously with fan fiction if they were putting out copies of officially published material.
Some points to remember - no matter how much we hate the legalities involved it is imperative Paramount fight to protect the Trademarks they have in regards to Star Trek.
Case in point. Bayer pharmaceuticals originally developed aspirin as a pain reliever, but never fought to protect the trademark and as a result the word aspirin is now considered a generic term and can be used by any company that produces a similar product.
Companys that have come close to losing Trademarks include: Rollerblades / Kleenex / XeroX and many others.
While they enjoy the name recognition that comes with some one saying "Hand me a Kleenex" instead of "Hand me a tissue" they don't what to lose their exclusive right to use that name to identify their product either.
As a writer this is an issue I am concerned with. And, one I have tap danced around also in writing my own Trek fan fiction and editing an online Trek e-zine.
With some of the fan fiction that is out there I know I don't want to see any one and their brother being able to do anything they want with Star Trek. However, I would like to see a little more freedom in the licensing that allows fans more latitude to play in their universe without having to worry if the lawyers are coming after them.
My Two Strips of Latinum Worth
Carol (Lady K'Lyssia) Hightshoe
Don't Write What You Know; Write What You Care About--Passionately!
Available Publications - http://www.klyssia.com/MarketPlace1.html
A Study of Klingon Genetics (Where Did Those Ridges Come From?)
Captain's Log, Stardate ...
Midnight Song (Romantic Fantasy Short Story)
----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 4:00 PM
Subject: Re: trademark and copyright
I'm just curious, if someone were to produce an amateur
Klingon film that was not sold but just posted on a
website, how does this differ from fan fiction using
the Trek universe that someone writes and posts on a
Website? I've seen plenty of examples of the latter,
including some that I _know_ take the characters in
directions that Paramount would not like. Are all of
those illegal? And if these are legal, what distinguishes
a filmed fanfic story from a written one?
-- ter'eS