Q: We have an illustration paired with the words, "In loving memory" copyrighted are we still vulnerable for a lawsuit?
We had this package copyrighted before 2010. It was a disk containing some works with phrases paired to them. Everything on the disk was copyrighted. The phrase, "In loving memory", was trademaked recently and they are trying to sue us for selling our copyrighted works.
A:
To do a proper assessment we would need to look at what is being sold, in what format, etc.
A trademark protects the use of words for specific products or services. The key test is whether a person would be confused and think the product you are selling comes from the affected party.
Also even though a phrase is trademarked, previous users may have some common law rights to its use, based on prior use.
You should request a consultation with an attorney to get a better idea of your case.
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