Legal issues when naming themes and layouts?
We're working on an art gallery builder for photographers (shotstories.co), and we need to come up with names for our themes and layouts. We were thinking of using city names (like Florence) that evoke an artsy feel. Or mountain names (like Patagonia or Everest) because landscape photographers can relate to those.
But I'm wondering about a few things:
- What if there is already a theme with this name in another product (Wordpress, Squarespace, Wix, etc)?
- Could a city come after us if we used their name?
- Could countries come after us for using the names of their mountains or rivers?
- Could a company like Patagonia come after us if we named a theme Patagonia?
Naming has been way more time-consuming than we thought! Appreciate any input.
I was looking up trademark law info a while back.
A lot of your protections can come if: 1. it's not trademarked 2. it's a generic word (such as mountain) 3. you're selling an unrelated product: Apple (Cupertino)vs. apple (gala)
Might be worth paying a lawyer if you're worried about it.
Looks like are in the U.S.? You should be able to look up trademarks pretty easily here from the patent trademark office. https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search
Thanks a lot, this is helpful!
The answer is it depends—where do you live, what are you trying to name it after, what industry are you in, and more. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to copyright, trademarks, and patents. That’s why lawyers make as much money as programmers.
Honestly though, do your due diligence and learn about the laws that apply to your particular use case. If the answer seems like a no, treat it like a no. You’re not trying to convince yourself you can use it, you’re trying to ensure other people think you can use it.
I agree! My former housemate studied law in the UK and we discussed this exact question whilst she was studying for her IP exam. If you're based in California, you'll need to check what the state laws say there. I do know that even if something is Trade Marked in a particular region, protection only extends to the region in which the company does business. This being said, I wouldn't call your company "Patagonia" - that's a global brand...also, not particularly unique or distinctive so I don't think you're be doing yourself any favors.
In the UK, for example, (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/unacceptable-trade-marks):
"The company name may not qualify as a trade mark because, for example:
It is not considered distinctive
It is a descriptive word or term
It may indicate geographical origin
It may already be registered in someone else’s name"
My housemate was telling me about a "Champagne" company that was sued (I'm pretty sure by France) for calling their "Champagne" Champagne. Apparently, it can only be called that if the grapes literally come from the Champagne region in France - same with Cava (in Spain) and Prosecco (in Italy).
So, all in all, yeah, to be safe, I'd say - stay away from anything that sounds like anything else. Call yourselves something unique - you'll stand out more that way anyway!
Thanks for the input. Just want to clarify one thing...I'm referring to naming a theme within our product, not our company name.
Analogy: your product is to theme as McDonalds is to Big Mac
Haha, got it, thanks!