|
Author
|
Topic: Trademark on portrait and autograph ??
|
spaceflori
Member Posts: 999
From: Germany
Registered: May 2000
|
posted December 09, 2003 10:37 AM
   
I just read with interest the latest article on collectspace about the trademark on Yang Liwei's portrait and autograph.Question to all legal experts onboard, is this "legal" - I mean can someone put a trademark on his portrait and especially his autograph ? Will this only be valid for China or worldwide ? Now don't tell that a couple of astronauts !
 Florian IP: Logged |
072069
Member Posts: 163
From: Sayreville, NJ USA
Registered: Oct 2003
|
posted December 09, 2003 11:16 AM
What's funny about this is that China is one of the largest copyright abusers in the world. Millions of bootleg CDs, Video CDs, DVDs and computer software bundles are churned out by factories there faster than you can say, "You want this Mickey Mouse picture on 300,000 T-shirts? Sure. No problem.":-) Bernie IP: Logged |
chet
Member Posts: 800
From:
Registered: Nov 2000
|
posted December 09, 2003 12:32 PM
Seems to me a trademark for an autograph is redundant. I don't think a forger is going to honor a trademarked autograph anymore than an untrademarked one.-chet IP: Logged |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 12465
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted December 09, 2003 12:41 PM
I don't think the concern is forgeries -- they are already illegal. Rather, this was spurred by companies using facsimile autographs and portraits to imply endorsement by Yang of their products. A similar restriction is enforced by NASA (though not by a trademark) for the use of current astronauts in advertising and on commercial products. What is yet to be answered though, is if this trademark could prevent the commercial sale of Yang's autograph by dealers who are not authorized by the Beijing Space Medical Engineering Institute. With this trademark, for example, the BSMEI could file paperwork with eBay prohibiting eBay's users from selling Yang's signature. It would be the responsibility of the BSMEI to find and report each auction, but once reported, they would be immediately removed. For more information on the eBay program that allows this type of automatic refusal, see: http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/vero-rights-owner.html [This message has been edited by Robert Pearlman (edited December 09, 2003).] IP: Logged |
chet
Member Posts: 800
From:
Registered: Nov 2000
|
posted December 09, 2003 12:56 PM
Good point.
I've become reflexively used to responding to any questions about autographs in the context of potential forgeries! -chet IP: Logged |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 723
From: Toms River, NJ,USA
Registered: Aug 2000
|
posted December 09, 2003 02:11 PM
quote:
Originally posted by spaceflori:
Question to all legal experts onboard, is this "legal" - I mean can someone put a trademark on his portrait and especially his autograph ? Will this only be valid for China or worldwide ?
Florian
Reminds me of the story I heard of Paramount putting a trademark (I believe - not a copyright) on the words "USS Enterprise" and then suing the US Navy because they had a USS Enterprise. The Navy's response? "Try us...." IP: Logged |
Russ Still
Member Posts: 408
From: Atlanta, GA USA
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted December 09, 2003 05:29 PM
This trademark thing is an interesting twist. My take on it, as a layman, is that trademark law is not meant to protect an item itself, but an icon that represents the item. Take the Ford automotive logo for example. You can't put a Ford logo on the hood of your Honda and sell it as a Ford (and who would want to?...). Following that reasoning to the next step, I guess you might say that you could not put a facsimile of his trademark (autograph) on a product and sell it as his. But if you have an autograph of his, I can't possibly see how trademark law would prevent you from selling it. In that case, it really IS his signature and there is no misrepresentation involved. That doesn't mean that some sheister lawyer might not argue the point and force someone to simply forget about trying it, though. All sorts of suits are settled where the person who was legally in the right simply had to fold under the financial pressure of the fight. Here's an interesting question though. If he really could get trademark protection for his autograph, wouldn't a forger be committing trademark infringement in addition to forgery? IP: Logged |
spacecraft films
Member Posts: 644
From: Columbus, OH USA
Registered: Jun 2002
|
posted December 09, 2003 10:10 PM
First of all, let me just say I was flabergasted (sp?) to see this story. China, of all countries, seeking to protect something under intellectual property laws! I wasn't aware they understood the concept! (Or perhaps they do and just decide it doesn't apply to them)...Problem here is... he can easily be deemed a "public figure," and as such the waters become more murky on legit uses of image. Naturally it cannot be violated by unauthorized commercial endorsements, but this would leave a lot of other uses open without legal problems. I suspect as a "public figure" they'll have some difficulty defending the image... probably more defending the autograph. I suspect the biggest result will be that he (company) will be limiting supply of autographs closely. Of course, I'm no lawyer... but I try and listen closely to mine. Mark IP: Logged |
