Los Angeles, CA asked in Patents (Intellectual Property) and Trademark for California

Q: What kind of rights would I need so nobody can duplicate my idea or what I’m want to do.

I want to create a toy or some kind of figurine of a public figure (not a celebrity)that hasn’t been created yet. As far as my knowledge they don’t have a patent or a trademark on it.

What kind of rights do I need so I can protect my idea and get royalties if it’s every duplicated

1 Lawyer Answer
Peter D. Mlynek
Peter D. Mlynek
Answered
  • Patents Lawyer
  • Moorestown, NJ

A: This is going to be a bit tricky since you are in California. The reason is that California has a law about the Right of Publicity (Calif. Civil Code 3344), which prevents a person from appropriating for his/her own advantage another person's name or likeness. This is somewhat unique to California, due to the strong movie and entertainment industry presence in the state.

You will need a California lawyer to help you with this.

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