Movie Titles

[davo]

I live in California and am currently producing a documentary titled "Boardheads." A Comedy film with the same title was released in 2003.

The main question is: If there is a film in a different genre that apparently is not trademarked, can I use the same name legally?

When I searched the government's patent and trademark office's computer it found another trademark for the same name but it seemed to specify only the original artwork to be used in clothing. It was a very stylized version of the word "boardheads"

Thank you for your input.

davO

 

[divgradcurl]

If there is a film in a different genre that apparently is not trademarked, can I use the same name legally?

Maybe -- how's that for a straight answer?

Even though the original movie has not registered a trademark with the USPTO, that doesn't mean that they won't try and assert common-law trademark rights against you.

There is no legal reason, other than trademark, that you can't use the same name for your movie as someone else.

It might be worth a few bucks to talk with a local lawyer experienced in trademarks who can perhaps do some research to determine whether or not the other entity appears to be claiming trademark rights, and perhaps you might want to think about pursuing a federal trademark registration yourself.

 

[davo]

thanks for your input. I am currently waiting on a reply from my entertainment attorney on this.