E-Book copyright/trademark basics

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

I have published multiple e-books that were all my own original work, with no trademark or copyright issues to address. Now I am working on a project that touches on those areas, and I'm a little lost.

Basically I have two questions -

1. What is the relevant law regarding titles of books and trademarks. For instance, would using the words 'World Series' (as in baseball) in a title be a violation of the MLB trademark?

2. In the body of the book, I would be using names of teams and players/coaches in discussing the games. Is that permissable? The content would be orginal, the usage of names and teams would only be in describing the events as they happened.

Any insight into these areas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time,

Matt Ristine

Using names and trademarks in a descriptive sense in the text of a book, to add context and color, is generally okay from an intellectual property law standpoint.

The use of a trademarked name in your book title, however, can be problematic. The trademark holder may object to your use of their trademark for a variety of reasons - as trading off the famous mark to attract consumers to your eBook, confusing consumers as to the origin of the work (implying your book is endorsed or supported or connected in some way with the trademark owner), tarnishing the reputation of or dilution of the trademark. It really depends on how the trademark is used and for what purpose.

Another area of concern for you may be in what you write about the players, coaches, teams. You must be careful not to portray them in a false light or defame them or infringe on any of their publicity or privacy rights.

If your book is fictional and you are creating a fictional life for these real people, this would be especially legally risky. If it is a non-fiction book, you must be careful about your facts. And in either case, you should run your story idea and manuscript by a publishing law expert prior to publication.

The Knight Community News Network has a site that provides help to online writers and the following information may help you avoid areas of greatest legal risk: http://www.kcnn.org/legal_risk

Good luck.

Quincy - Thank you for your detailed reply.

The project I have in mind would be completely non-fiction. Basically it would be a recap/analysis of the games, and putting them in context with baseball history. Pretty much the same kind of stuff you can find on a hundred different blogs after every game, just organized and compiled into ebook form. There would be no personal attacks on anyone, although there would likely be critisism regarding on field performance of players or coaches.

I tend to think that using the trademarked name in a title is an idea best avoided. If I went ahead with the book, I could creatively title the book to avoid that issue.

Thanks again Quincy, and anyone else who would like to weigh in.

Matt