I am planning to sell a guidebook, but the images and videos in the guidebook contains a trademarked logo of a well known company. This logo is just a background, and in no way using it to promote the product.\n\nWill i get sued by this company, or tell me to stop selling it, if i sell this guidebook to make money??\n\nFrom what i have read, if i am using it as a teaching tool even if its for commercial use, then it is legal. Correct?\n\nCan anyone help on this.\n\nThanks!
121700
It's legal if they say it is or give you permission for the use.  \n\nYou can go to the website of the company and check their licensing/terms of use regarding their logo. \n\nFor example, click here to see legal information from Pepsi web page: http://www.pepsiworld.com/help/legal/index.php \n\nIf you don't want to or can't get permission from the company to use the logo, and it is not integral to the guidebook, just blur it out.
672409
I am afraid the other respondent (jtucker...) is completely wrong, apparently knowing just enough to be dangerous by offering incorrect advice on legal matters.\n\nCreative writing can be copyrighted.  Even slogans or other very short writings have been deemed unprotectible by copyright by the courts, because the degree of creativity in them is so small and the likelihood of true originality is minimal.  Your one-word wonder could technically be copyrighted, but you have about zero chance of enforcing the copyright.  You should save the $35 filing fee.\n\nTrademarks are only valid if used to designate the origin of a product or service that is currently available on the market.  A personality won't suffice.  Therefore, even if you were willing to spend the hundreds of dollars to register your trademark federally, you would probably find yourself unable to complete the process, because it requires you to identify the product or service you are describing with the mark.  It sounds like you've got very little here that would be really enforceably yours -- at least so far, since we should all hope good things for you.  Once you've started doing something more, then the way you identify yourself might begin to develop some value.\n\nCheck out some legal information websites like findlaw.com for questions like these.  It's shocking how wrong some of the answers you see on this site sometimes are.
143140
A "pyramid scheme" is illegal.  The U.S. government agency that regulates all networking-type businesses is the Federal Trade Commission.  Not all businesses with a pyramidal structure, are illegal.  One of the keys to tell whether an MLM or "networking" or pyramid-structured business, is legal or not, is "Does a product or service change hands, in return for the money invested, and is/are the product(s) or service(s) a reasonable, fair-market value for the money?"  Another key question is, "Where are the profits made?  Primarily from the legitimate sale of fair-market-value products or services (legal), or primarily from entry fees (illegal)?"  A Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) business that is very much legal and ethical, and is used by the FTC as an ideal model for all others, the grand-daddy of them all, is the Amway business, since September 1999 known as the Quixtar business. Both Amway and Quixtar are sister companies and both are still growing by leaps and bounds.  Amway started as a soap sales and mfg concern in the basement of two men's homes in 1959.  Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel.  Both are multimillionaires and they and their eight adult children, who now run the corp. HQ, are very respected in their home community of Ann Arbor, MI and around the world, have met with Presidents, kings and queens, etc., and the business is now in over 80 countries.  I'm in Harrisburg, PA and know nothing about Quest International, but I have been in Amway/Quixtar a while and there's not a better place to be than the team I'm on.  The products are the best in their class and are great value.  The convenience is unparalleled.  the sky is the limit with regard to how much you can earn.  E-mail me if int. in further info.  Jack
179346
You have to find the owner, contact them, and ask for permission.  The owner has no responsibility to provide contact information.  If you do contact the owner, the owner does not have to reply.  If the owner does reply, he can refuse to let you reproduce the work.  If that happens, you can offer to pay more money, but the owner does not have to accept.  In other words, the copyright owner holds all of the cards.\n\nYou should look into whether your use is "fair use," in which case, the owner cannot stop you from using the material and you do not have to pay a royalty.\n\n=====\n\nThe fair use doctrine in the United States is based on free speech rights provided by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In the context of United States copyright law, the doctrine provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test. The term "fair use" is unique to the United States; a similar principle, fair dealing, exists in some other common law jurisdictions. United States trademark law also incorporates a "fair use" defense. While the names are the same, the doctrines are quite different.\n\nPhilippine copyright law has a fair use doctrine based largely, or even exactly, on the doctrine adopted in the United States.\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Use
675748
1. I don't think you need anymore content - the pictures alone sell the product.\n\n2. It's a good idea, and TV Commercials are fine, but what you should do is look into getting your product into stores so people can see it in person, touch it, pick up and have that physical experience with it. I know a lot of people buy things they see on TV and call the number and all that jazz, but I guarantee you will sell more units if you get your product into stores where people will see them while they are doing other shopping and decide they have to have one.\n\nYou have everything priced very nicely too.\n\nGood luck!
627346
A scam as in, not worth the money, or that they take money for products they never deliver?  There's really no way to know other than to inquire whether they have a business license, are incorporated, or whatever.  Are they registered with the better business bureau.  Has the FTC received complaints about them?\n\nIf you're really concerned about them being scammers, then it would be good to contact them, and see if they respond.  Otherwise, it seems they sell coupon and discount books and memberships. There is nothing new or illegal about this business.
459106
I did a quick search at the US Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov) and did not find a registration.\nTrademarks are very different from other intellectual property because USE, not REGISTRATION, determines most of your trademark rights.  And if a trademark owner can say that people associate a particular mark (whether it's a word, a sound [think: Intel], a color [think: John Deere for farm equipment], or product packaging [think: l'eggs pantyhose],) then it might be enforced as trademark rights.\nA registration gives presumptions of validity and enforceability, but generally those may be challenged.\nHere, this mark is particularly weak because it appears to be descriptive: it describes what the service is online ("the leading music download service.")  Generally, that mark is not protectable unless the owner can prove "secondary meaning" (which means that consumers associate those particular words with the owner's particular goods or services, kinda like "General Motors" or "International Business Machines."). \n\nThis business may be trying to develop "secondary meaning" by using those words exclusively for a long period of time.  But until they've done that, they do not have trademark rights in that slogan.  (Interestingly, a google search of "the leading music download service" turns up three hits: iTunes, Ctrax, and Cdigix.  I don't know if any of them actually try to use "leading music download service" as a trademark, or if that's just a description the media uses for them.)\nIf you want to fight this, consult an attorney before you make any decisions.  Plus, the phrase may be registered under state trademark law (which may have some effect on their claim, but not much.) But it seems like their claim to any righs is tenuous at best.
219390
Can you register it?  Yes, probably.  Will it do you any good?  Maybe not.\n\nBecause both products are software products, the other company could legitimately come after you.  Trademark classifications are generally done by the product or service itself, rather than by the industry of its likely users.  The key measure of whether your trademark is too close to someone else's is basically, "Is there any chance that a potential customer might be confused?"  Just the likelihood of confusion is enough to justify a claim of trademark infringement.\n\nI would consider contacting the other company before you start using a similar trademark.  If you can explain to them how your software is different and what steps you're willing to take to help avoid confusion, there is a good chance that they will agree to a contract with you that lays out your rights and theirs.  The contract should contain an "agreement not to sue", which is pretty common in trademark work.  That provision could require, for example, that the other company will not sue to enforce its trademark against you as long as you don't stray into its business-area.  Instead, you can agree to submit any disagreements to private arbitration, which is much cheaper than a lawsuit in federal court ($50k and up just to go to trial!) and which can be kept confidential.\n\nYour "hardball" position with the other company, in case they don't want to give you a contract not to sue, could be that you're going to use the disputed word, etc., in a way that will make it very clear that you're a different company selling a different product, which weakens their chances against you, and they would be faced with the cost and bother of taking you to court if they disagree.  You should know, though, that this would be a risky route.  Trademark cases are often settled at a preliminary, pre-trial stage, because just getting a temporary injunction forcing you to stop work can be a death-blow for most companies.  Add damages and attorney's fees (yours and theirs, if you lose!), and you're looking at an ugly gamble.\n\nI'd recommend using a locally licensed attorney who specializes in trademarks.  General practice attorneys usually don't know much about this area's tricky bits.  I hope that helps.  Good luck.
567631
As a customer it is not your fault to know what is illegal within a business practice... she should have informed you when u ordered it.  I would refuse to pay the fine and simply play the legimate customer rights... however I do not understand what is illegal here in the first place...   what country it envolves... or whether you mean it was against the book store's policy.  This changes the issue a bit...so clairification would be nice!
522066
I don't see where it is a bit illegal for you to make the image as long as you aren't redistributing or reselling copies of the game for profit and gain. That is the copywrite act you hear everyone screaming about. As long as you only copy it for yourself to load up with a virtual drive or something like that to keep the game cd in good condition nobody would ever know unless you tell them.
585814
I believe that Those business have high egos, and wishing eagerly to take much money out of your pocket, I am also a business owner, but I don't think that the people who comes to my business should have to pay anything extreme. It is not right for business owners to have to lie, those who lie in their business do not have JESUS in their business! That is great of you to not sue the people who sold you that product. I once bought a product like that and it costed me some good money. The bad thing about it is that they did not explain everything to me, nor give me some instruction on how to use it. But oh well, I am going to try what you did, Not Sue the theives.
23235
Check out the Small Business Administration web site -- they're a great resource for the small business owner. I listed a couple of other handy links as well. The first two are specific to Austin/Texas.\n\nTry reading up on the subject -- check out Amazon, your local bookstore or library. \n\nPrior to investing your time, money & effort into a business name, it is strongly advised that comprehensive research be conducted to ensure that the name you're interested in is truly available. \n\nThis entails searching the pending & registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files. Then, if clear, you can decide if you would like to file for a Federal or a State trademark. \n\nResearch is needed to make sure your trade name is legally available, before opening, before expansion, before incorporation or before designing your logo. Similarities in sound, appearance and meaning affect you too!\n\nThere are 16+ million trade names in use in the United States. Similar names matter, if close in sound, appearance or meaning. Similar names in related classes, distribution channels and customer matter too. You are affected by Common Law use (14 million), State Trademarks (500,000) and Federal Trademarks (2 million).
203743
I can only comment on our network marketing company that we are distributors for. as we have been going for 27 years , with no debt, every country we open a head office in we buy it cash... We are currently in 114 countries. \nwe dont owe anyone money and our turnover in uk was 34 million and rising.we are ranked the 2nd successful mlm. I cant see any way possible that this would suddenly fold and the distributors lose out. The assets our company own include south fork in Dallas plus a number of other resorts worldwide. \nI feel safe with my company but you never stated which one you are joining and how long they have been going. I would be wary of joining any networking company that did not have a proven track record. before you sign do your homework, get as much info on the co as poss.\nI loved the whole concept of our company and they way that it works, I have since looked at a few other mlm and found their way does not benefit the distributor as much, but that does not mean to say there arent other good ones out there. If you would like to know more dont hesitate in contacting me but include a email for me to contact you back. I think speaking to someone else can help as you get a different view on things and good ideas!!
533313
Will you go to prison? Probably not.\n\nWill you be sued? Probably not without an opportunity to mend your ways.\n\nWill you get a "cease and desist" letter from the brand owner's lawyers? Increasingly likely, as there are more and more crawler systems on the market seeking trade mark abuse.\n\nAre you entitled to use an e-mail address brandname@yahoo.com? No. This is a prima facie case of "passing off". You could ultimately be sued for any income you make from a "passing off" activity. That is income, not profit.\n\nCan you use brand names in your site metatags? No, this is also potentially "passing off".\n\nIt is always best to get approval from the brand owners before generating any income on the back of their names or logos.
277619
it is a way to make money off of you. They really do print the books and charge you though to it isnt a scam.\n\nThey post it for others to read so I like it.\n\nGood Luck and God Bless!!
676559
Obviously someone's sadly mistaken thinking there's nothing illegal about it.  In order to get the license you will have to contact the studio that produces the video.  They'll discuss the pricing (if they're even willing) with you.  You can then agree or disagree.  One point to make though is they will require you use sometime of software to ensure the video is not seen after the time period allowed.
290684
It definately has attractive colors, really pulls the eye in. The font is not plain, most logos are that way. For a t-shirt business it is probably the best I have seen in a while.\nHow do I as the consumer identify with watermala? What goes with the logo to bring in the orders? You have a great hook, how do you entice them to look further at your product?\nGOOD LUCK