I have a few questions, and was wondering if anyone could answer them... Could I register/use the domain name SQUAREstore.com if I was going to use it to resell Square products? Could I use the various title names( FF, Xeno, LoM) freely on the site? The site would be making money by reselling Square-related products over the Internet. Would I need to mark off the names with the (c) and tm? Thanks for the help, because I''m lost and have no idea where/who to ask about it Thanks Joe

I would avoid using any copyright name. Expecially the (c) names. Trademarks are weaker, but I would still avoid them.

(Now is a good time for someone who knows what they are talking about to reply =)

Tim

i think you''re safe as long as you''re not claiming ownership of any of square(tm)''s products or doing anything illegal with them.
i am not sure, however, and have had only slight experience with copyright issues.
so did you ask permission for the FF in FFJoe?



crazy166
some people think i'm crazy, some people know it

dont know about using the names but you CAN NOT SELL MERCHANDISE (whatever media it is) OF A COPYRITHED / TRADEMARKED PRODUCT WITHOUT A LICENCE !


be very very careful, you don''t want to have to sell your pants to pay your lawyer do you ?

1. Use of Squarestore - This could expose you to a claim of "passing off" (as it is refered to in the UK). Square could accuse you of trying to pass yourself off as being part of or associated with Square, through the use of their name. Legally It is not the actual use of the name that is the problem but that customers may wrongly think you are Square.

2. Use of product names on your site. This would be OK if you were selling the product or even refering to it. Best to include the TM and state on the site who it is TM of.

3. "Square-related products" - are these officially licensed Square products such as figurines, games etc? If so then you are just selling a product and you are OK. If these are unoffical items then you should think again.


Dan Marchant
www.obscure.co.uk

"Trademarks are weaker, but I would still avoid them."

I don''t think so. Trademarks are like copyrights for a brand name (unless I''m mistaken).

Heres how I understand copyright and trademark:

You cannot copyright a word. Or at least you cannot copyright it and not let anyone use it (otherwise I''d copyright the word "The").

The trademark basically means you can use the word, phrase, however you want, but you cannot claim ownership of that word, or use it to represent something you made.

I wouldnt worry about using those words on your site, I would worry about reselling square stuff...

ratman

thanks for the help.. but I''m even more confused then before

So I COULD use the domain name SQUAREstore.com as long as I placed a disclaimer that this site is in no way part or Squaresoft LLC?

and I would need to put a (c) next to all the products I sell that are manufactured by Square/and or any partners?

I wish I had taken some business courses in college

I think I''ll email Square..

Thanks again
Joe

Putting a (c) in front of every product that is copyrighted by the company (in this case Square) would probably be a great idea, since it''ll make certain you''re not trying to fool anyone into believing it''s yours.

Also, talking to the company would be the best thing to do, because I think computer laws has many loopholes (atleast in Sweden they do).

Ratman: You can copyright words, what would people be copyrighting if not? What you can''t do is to copyright simple dictionary words. A good example of that is Microsoft Word, they''re not allowed to copyright the product with the simple name Word. What you can''t copyright is numbers. That''s why Intel stopped calling their processors *86, and named then Pentium.

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Daniel Netz, Sentinel Design
"I'm not stupid, I'm from Sweden" - Unknown

You can''t really copyright individual words. Just published works, where the copyright tends to cover the arrangement of the words. Single words don''t really count...