Im interested in manufacturing a product similar to something which i have seen but im not sure if that item has a copyright on it. How should i go about checking it if the item of interest is made by a french designer? But does not have a "C" logo on its product name.
2007-01-07 18:23:01 · 3 answers · asked by M&M 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I listed some links where you can do some preliminary name checking. However, please be aware that this is merely scratching the surface of what's out there.
Only comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available. But, these links are free & a great place to start, so I'd try them out first.
Comprehensive research consists of looking at marks that are similar in Sound, Appearance or Meaning in the pending & registered Federal AND State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files.
There are other sites that offer free searching capabilities in conjunction with their commercial services, so I'm not able to post those links due to the Yahoo! TOS. You'll also want to check domain names & yellow pages, so simply do a search for "free domain name search" and "national yellowpages" and the appropriate links will pop up.
Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
2007-01-08 07:08:04 · answer #1 · answered by TM Express™ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you're talking about a trademark, or brand name, rather than a copyright. You can search the database at the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), for unregistered marks look for "TM" or "SM" on the label, registered marks would have an encircled letter "R". Be careful, producing anything that is likely to be confused by the average consumer with the original article can be considered trademark infringement.
2007-01-07 18:45:38 · answer #2 · answered by LoFlo 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The US Patent Office will have all patent, and trademark registrations for the US.
2007-01-07 18:31:18 · answer #3 · answered by Colonel Sturgeon 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋