We’ve all heard any number of “Urban Myths”, such as there are alligators living in the sewers in New York City and Little Mikey from the “Life” cereal commercial died because he mixed Coca-Cola with pop rocks. There are plenty of widely-held general legal myths too: “possession is 9/10 of the law” and “a verbal contract isn’t any good” are two common legal myths. In our experience, there are dozens of legal myths pertaining to trademarks – as well as other forms of intellectual property such as copyrights and patents. In our new weekly blog series we will be introducing the top ten most common myths we have heard over the years. Each week will feature a new Myth, so here is Myth #10:
Myth #10: “If I trademark my idea for book, movie or TV show then nobody else can steal it”.
Reality: No, trademarks (and service marks) are brand identifiers such as a word (or combination of words) and/or logo design (and even a sound or smell) that identify a product or service and distinguish it from other similar products or services. For example, both Famous Amos® and Mrs. Fields® are trademarks for cookies that identify the source of the cookies and distinguish them from other cookies. The same is true for McDonald’s®, the golden arches and Burger King®. On the other hand, the best way to protect a book, screenplay, movie or TV show is by a copyright registration. And, by the way, ideas by themselves can rarely be protected in the abstract.