What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Vermont
Problem:
Approximately 6 years ago I created a superhero character named Captain Vermont. I basically drew up some cells with a goofy story. Long story short my friends used to call me Captain America, I moved to Vermont, and they called me Captain Vermont. I created a superhero character based off that. Fast forward 3 years and I created a costume and would go to friends' parties dressed as the superhero.
I posted a couple of youtube videos with goofy stories about my crazy real life adventures, but I did them in character. Four months ago I received a message from someone else who said they had also had created a character with the same name as my superhero. The two did not look anything alike..but they shared a name. He basically said he was claiming the name, not the character, as his intellectual property... He stated I needed to stop using the name immediately.
I filed for a US copyright and it was granted for visual arts. Unbeknownst to me, he also applied for one two days before. He cited creation of the works as 2007, I cited 2004, which is accurate.
Any ideas? Should I contact a lawyer about this or does my copyright protect my use of the character, name, and likeness which is copyrighted?
Problem:
Approximately 6 years ago I created a superhero character named Captain Vermont. I basically drew up some cells with a goofy story. Long story short my friends used to call me Captain America, I moved to Vermont, and they called me Captain Vermont. I created a superhero character based off that. Fast forward 3 years and I created a costume and would go to friends' parties dressed as the superhero.
I posted a couple of youtube videos with goofy stories about my crazy real life adventures, but I did them in character. Four months ago I received a message from someone else who said they had also had created a character with the same name as my superhero. The two did not look anything alike..but they shared a name. He basically said he was claiming the name, not the character, as his intellectual property... He stated I needed to stop using the name immediately.
I filed for a US copyright and it was granted for visual arts. Unbeknownst to me, he also applied for one two days before. He cited creation of the works as 2007, I cited 2004, which is accurate.
Any ideas? Should I contact a lawyer about this or does my copyright protect my use of the character, name, and likeness which is copyrighted?