Lebowski
Superstar
Joined on: Nov 9, 2008 15:05:32 GMT -5
Posts: 765
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Post by Lebowski on Aug 8, 2007 13:23:24 GMT -5
My brother is starting his own Cabinet Making business, and for a logo he'd like to be able to use the WWE WrestleMania font, or a different WWE logo font. Of course, he can't slap the WWE logo on the van, but what I am curious of is, can he use their font? I understand that WWE own the rights to the names " WrestleMania, BackLash, SummerSlam" etc. but is it possible for them to own the style of writing? I don't think it is possible to trademark a font or anything like that. Like if he wanted to put "Maguire" on the side of a van in the " Hulkamania" font, would that be OK? If anyone has any idea it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you  |
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Post by Mr. Old School™ on Aug 8, 2007 13:44:09 GMT -5
I don't think WWE can trademark a font. It's possible, but doubtful.
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Post by HR2X on Aug 8, 2007 13:57:13 GMT -5
They can trademark logos not the actual font. The Stone Cold shirts with the font Wolfsbane was the same font that Marvel has been using for years on the Wolverine comic.
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Post by nickshade on Aug 8, 2007 13:59:24 GMT -5
Haha, if you could trademark a font, www.dafont.com and other font sites wouldn't be running  |
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Nitro
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 29, 2006 18:50:40 GMT -5
Posts: 3,839
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Post by Nitro on Aug 8, 2007 14:08:20 GMT -5
i guess its alright
as long as you dont make it obvious
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Rated NC-17
Main Eventer
Joined on: Dec 31, 2006 1:33:58 GMT -5
Posts: 1,160
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Post by Rated NC-17 on Aug 8, 2007 14:10:58 GMT -5
What font is it on the Austin "Arrive. Raise Hell. Leave" shirt?
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Post by mcjoshuav1 on Aug 8, 2007 14:16:41 GMT -5
yah, i dont think they trademark'd the font (they could have though, prolly), just the actual logo.
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Post by martinlutherking on Aug 8, 2007 14:23:31 GMT -5
I do not know the answer to that question. although people say that my speech was copied from someone else which is unacceptable.
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Lebowski
Superstar
Joined on: Nov 9, 2008 15:05:32 GMT -5
Posts: 765
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Post by Lebowski on Aug 8, 2007 15:02:41 GMT -5
Thanks guys, appreciate it |
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Post by GreatJunta36 on Aug 8, 2007 18:04:33 GMT -5
Actually, when applying for a trademark, the owner of the mark can claim that the font makes their trademark unique and if they have a specific style of font used for the logo, they have to list that in the application details. So if they wanted to argue that there was "confusion" based on the style of your brother's logo, they could. Remember one thing about lawsuits above all else. The other side doesn't need to win the lawsuit in order to cost you a lot of money. Hypothetically, WWE could sue you, make you retain a lawyer, spend years on court costs, and then lose. You'd still be out of pocket by tens of thousands of dollars. The only way you could sue WWE for your court costs would be if you could prove that they "malisciously and puposely" cost you a court battle when they KNEW that they were not going to win. Here is another example. When Hulk Hogan entered into his licensing agreement with Marvel for the use of the Hulk name, one of the conditions of the agreement was that the name Hulk Hogan could NEVER appear in the type of font that The Hulk's name used in the comic book (the broken rock type of font). So a trademark fight could definitely be brought to court with a claim of confusion due to font style. Here is what I found on the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Organization) site. From what I can tell, they let the old type of logo (WM 1-10) expire. They have however trademarked the new WrestleMania Logo used for this years event and submitted a sample of the logo, which they could then use to file suit against your brother if they wanted to. portal.uspto.gov/external/PA_1_0_V9/OpenServletWindow?serialNumber=73543858&scanDate=2007032059953&DocDesc=Specimens&docType=SPE¤tPage=1&rowNum=3&rowCount=10&formattedDate=19-Mar-2007Go to the USPTO site and search the name WrestleMania. You'll get about 14 hits. Use the 3rd link down called "free form search (advanced) tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=j0ap3n.1.1BUT... he can always say he's using it as a "parody" in which case it's almost totally legal But no you can't copyright a font unless you're the actual creator of it... and I've got a reputation of remaking logos with official fonts. I do it all the time |
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Post by GreatJunta36 on Aug 8, 2007 18:49:08 GMT -5
BUT... he can always say he's using it as a "parody" in which case it's almost totally legal But no you can't copyright a font unless you're the actual creator of it... and I've got a reputation of remaking logos with official fonts. I do it all the time For arguement's sake, I doubt he'd win any court case where he tried to say that his professional company logo was meant to be a parody and thus not taken seriously. If he went into court saying that, he shouldn't be in business and he'd be laughed right out of the courtroom. Here is an article about the legality of copyrighting Fonts. It's very legal and WWE could come after the brother in the initial post. www.adobe.com/devnet/opentype/archives/legal.htmlAlso, Coca-Cola has been involved in MANY trademark infringement cases where they went after people who made up new logos using the Coca-Cola design. So the original question was whether WWE could come after the brother. The simple answer is yes. If they want to, they could legally do so. Yeah it's basically saying the creator(s) of the design (the font) is copyright holder. I fully understand that a logo and all things that went into creating the overall design can be property of whoever the owner is, but at the same time it's essentially the design that's got copyrights. Let's take soccer/football jerseys as an example. I'm font-obsessed and obviously I wanted to have the World Cup font... but alas, it's a privately created font used specifically for FIFA and the World Cup, yet the typeface itself is still copyrighted to Whitestone. Same as the font used on all Puma jerseys... it's copyrighted to someone else yet only Puma has the rights to use it Edit: I guess it's fundamentally the "identity" that's the issue. You recognize a certain look and you classify it with whatever it is that it reminds you of |
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Post by Wato Stan Account on Aug 8, 2007 19:13:07 GMT -5
Seeing as how it's a local business I presume, there really shouldnt be a single problem. WWE I dont thik is aiming a small cabinet making company. But if WWE starts making cabinets, you're  ed. |
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Lebowski
Superstar
Joined on: Nov 9, 2008 15:05:32 GMT -5
Posts: 765
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Post by Lebowski on Aug 9, 2007 9:14:15 GMT -5
WOW...
But theres another local cleaning business, and they have their van black, with a red stripe through it and red wheels (ala the A-Team) and i am sure that would be more serious? i mean, if you can trademark a font, surely that design would have been trademarked?
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Deleted
Joined on: May 5, 2024 22:44:45 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2007 9:16:31 GMT -5
i dont think you can trademark a font i would go ahead and do it
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Lebowski
Superstar
Joined on: Nov 9, 2008 15:05:32 GMT -5
Posts: 765
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Post by Lebowski on Aug 9, 2007 9:50:00 GMT -5
Sure even if he uses a WWE font, if they do anything about it, cant he just change it and then say "i didnt realize". and if it goes to court he can just say "well i had that font, but when i realized there was a problem, i changed it."
Would that work?
Also, Stoppin' By and GreatJuna36, thank you for the detailed help.
Thank you to everyone!
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Dwight
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 10, 2007 11:02:46 GMT -5
Posts: 2,686
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Post by Dwight on Aug 9, 2007 12:02:56 GMT -5
All I can say is send this to wwe.com.
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Lebowski
Superstar
Joined on: Nov 9, 2008 15:05:32 GMT -5
Posts: 765
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Post by Lebowski on Aug 9, 2007 13:10:07 GMT -5
they wont reply. they never do.
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Post by gin on Aug 9, 2007 13:23:52 GMT -5
You can't trademark a font. Look at the spiderman font and the sp3 font. Same thing.
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Post by GreatJunta36 on Aug 9, 2007 18:12:56 GMT -5
You can't trademark a font. Look at the spiderman font and the sp3 font. Same thing. 1 problem there... Sony owns both the Spider-man movie franchise (hence the logo) and the PS3... they can't sue themselves |
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Post by Mr. PerpetuaLynch Motion on Aug 9, 2007 19:29:11 GMT -5
You can't trademark a font. Look at the spiderman font and the sp3 font. Same thing. I really hate it when people post in a thread without reading the posts before theirs in the thread. HEY JUNIOR, IF YOU BOTHERED TO CLICK ANY OF THE LINKS THAT I POSTED, YOU'D SEE THAT YOU CAN IN FACT PATENT A FONT AND IT'S LEGAL TO TRADEMARK YOUR LOGO IN A PARTICULAR FONT STYLE! To Kane: We could go through hypotheticals all we want but here is a question for you. Why would you brother even bother spending the money to get a professional design made if he knew there was a possibility that he would have to change it? All of this "couldn't he make the logo and then change it if WWE contacts him?" doesn't make any sense from a businessman's point of view. Why not simply create an original design and save the headache? You've already acknowledged that your brother wants to rip off the WWE in a sense because he wants people to recognize the WrestleMania font. If he's not trying to get people to think WWE by having that font, then why does he want it? You've admitted that he at least partially wants people to make a connection to WWE, which is infringement and the whole purpose of trademark law. Hypotheticals get us nowhere. A smart businessman would skip the font and create something distinctive and original. Not just to avoid a lawsuit but so his customers will recognize his business for it's own merits, not because of a resemblance to a wrestling fed. Wow you sure know alot about the law... This post reminds me alot of one that used to be posted by a certain big time jerk wad... |
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