And whether the video is a live band performance or a toddler singing from her high chair, most of those cover songs are posted without permission from the song’s copyright holder—meaning they’re infringing someone’s copyright. In rare instances, you might even be sued for copyright infringement.

First, a copyright owner can still sue for copyright infringement if the parody “conveys a discriminatory message.” For instance if the parody changes the main original characters in a copyrighted film to KKK members, the holder of the rights has a right to make sure that their work is not associated with this type of …

Yes, assuming you have made a parody, then you are the author of the work and your authorship extends only to your original creation. Any rights in the underlying work would remain with the original author.

Both copyright law and trademark law allow the use of parody as an exemption to infringement. This is significant when it comes to shirts and logos because it means that you can use a logo that parodies an existing logo without being accused of copyright or trademark infringement.

This might change the moment they do create sales. They are not allowed to infringe copyright, Redbubble is strongly distancing themselves with IN-YOUR-FACE pop up disclaimers and it is not legal and can be pursued for damages at any time.

By law, you need not request permission to use a trademark belonging to another if it is for an editorial or informational use. Trademark law protects distinctive words, phrases, logos, symbols, slogans, and any other devices used to identify and distinguish products or services in the marketplace.

The short answer is: Yes, you can . But we get it. Using third-party logos and other Intellectual Property (IP) assets can feel risky. But such very limited, non-infringing, and non-commercial use of third-party logos on your website is okay under account-based marketing campaigns.

If you use someone’s trademark without first obtaining express consent or without a legal right to do so pursuant to the fair use doctrine, the trademark owner can sue you for trademark infringement. Trademark infringement damages may include monetary compensation based on loss of profits and economic harm.

A trademark owner who believes its mark is being infringed may file a civil action (i.e., lawsuit) in either state court or federal court for trademark infringement, depending on the circumstances. However, in most cases, trademark owners choose to sue for infringement in federal court.

Just because a company has trademark rights, those rights do not absolutely prohibit anyone else from using the same name, logo, or tagline. The same exact trademark you use can be used on a substantially different product or in a substantially different industry.

A phrase, word, symbol, device, or even a color are all eligible for a trademark. Anything that distinguishes the goods of your party or company from another qualifies. However, the item must be used in a commercial setting to obtain protection from the law. Trademarks have a 10-year protection span.

Go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website. Check the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) database. Make sure the slogan isn’t already registered in the same category.

Taglines such as “Think Green” or “Proudly Made in the USA” have been denied protection by the USPTO for being merely informational. Accordingly, so long as a tagline or slogan is either inherently distinctive or has developed secondary meaning, a tagline is protectable as a trademark.