Dear Lawyer, Sir or Madam,
I'm Leonard M., professional writer, journalist and composer. I just registered a trademark pertaining to my new food product idea - the name and design of the container. Previously I registered my text, music and audio of the commercial for the prospective product with the Library of Congress Copyright Office.
Now I found actual manufacturers who are willing to license this idea, name and commercial from me. What is the right way to "rent them out"? Can they steal the name of my product registered under specific International Class and register it under different class?
Thank you in advance for your advice!
I agree with all that FlyingRon said if you are in the United States. What is the name of your state or, if not in the U.S., what is the name of your country?
Ideas on their own cannot be copyrighted. Once an idea is expressed in tangible form, as your text and music and commercial have been, then you can register the copyrights in the works. Copyrights are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office (if in the U.S.). See
http://www.copyright.gov for more information.
The "design" of the container could be protected under copyright, trademark and/or patent laws - or, perhaps, receive no protection at all. It depends on the container.
A trademark can be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office once there is use of the trademark in commerce - although you can file an "Intent to Use" application if you intend to use the mark in the near future. For trademark laws, see
http://www.uspto.gov.
A trademark identifies your business, product or service and there can be other businesses, products or services that have either established rights in the same name already or that can use and/or register and use the same name for their business, product or service without interfering with your own rights to the name. It depends on all of the facts.
In the U.S., it is the use of the trademark in commerce that confers rights in the mark, with the first to use the mark considered the owner of the mark (under most circumstances). In other countries, it is the first to register the mark who will own in the mark (under most circumstances). As with anything in law, it will depend on the specific facts.
Licenses to use copyrighted material can provide either exclusive rights or non-exclusive rights to the material. Basically a license is permission granted by the owner of the rights to another to use the material in a specific way as outlined in the license. These licenses can be structured to meet the needs or wants of both parties.
Any license that is granting exclusive rights to material needs to be in writing and signed by the rights-holder and should be recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office. Non-exclusive rights, on the other hand, can be as simple as oral permission given by the copyright holder to another (for example, to use the material for a limited time or in a limited way). It is always smart to have all agreements of any kind in writing and signed by the parties involved, however, to avoid potential disputes over the terms of the agreement later on.
Because your questions indicate you are not familiar with, or at least not comfortable with, intellectual property laws, and because you are apparently starting a new business, I think you would be smart to sit down with an attorney in your area who is.
One final note: A journalist is also a professional writer.
