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Tennessee Copyright Questions & Answers
1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Trademark for Tennessee on
Q: Hey. My name is Sincere. I see that this is no longer in use & I wanted to know if I can trademark my name for my brand.
Floyd Edwin Ivey
Floyd Edwin Ivey
answered on Oct 16, 2020

If your name is Sincere you will likely not be able to have it registered in either a state or with the Federal Trademark Office. Surnames are not protectable by Trademark. See a trademark attorney.

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Tennessee on
Q: Can I put my trademarked brand on characters wearing my brand like Bart Simpson, Goku, or Spider-Man?

Photoshopped or free and drawn.

Barbara Berschler
Barbara Berschler
answered on Apr 4, 2020

Because all of those characters are either protected under copyright on trademark, your proposed activity would result in infringement. To help you better understand the implications of such intellectual property rights, both the Copyright Office and USPTO have excellent informative websites. I... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Tennessee on
Q: Can I have a Business Name, LLC different from my Trademark Brand?

I want to be Legally Registered with my Business Name, LLC but my domain name and product Trademark to be a different name. Is this possible? Also, what legal issues do I need to worry about and any other added information would be amazing. Im selling clothes and the name is a little edgy and dont... View More

Paul E. Tennison
Paul E. Tennison
answered on Mar 23, 2020

I recommend you consult with a business attorney to discuss in greater detail. In general, you could register an LLC as a certain name and use another moniker to denote the business. This is fairly common practice, many businesses operate and trademark certain names while the LLC could be something... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Tennessee on
Q: What do I need to do to have a disclaimer on a personal website? Does it need to be notarized?

I make items from wood and would like to put them on a website to sell. The thing I am unsure about is, some of the items are props designed after video games, tv shows, and/or movies. What would be required far as this goes?

Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Sep 9, 2019

Depending on what you mean by disclaimer, I do not believe you need notarization.

But you should consult with an attorney on that.

Propos may be protected by copyright, and their branding by trademarks. SO I would be careful on making things that are an exact replica and be careful...
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1 Answer | Asked in Bankruptcy, Contracts, Copyright and Estate Planning for Tennessee on
Q: Will Tennessee come get me in Dayton beach Florida if I have a warrant for probation violation
Timothy Denison
Timothy Denison
answered on Jun 9, 2019

If they find out where you are, most likely they will, yes.

2 Answers | Asked in Bankruptcy, Copyright, Arbitration / Mediation Law and Collections for Tennessee on
Q: Attempt to be served after setting up payment arrangement with creditor’s lawyers.

I have had correspondence with lawfirm who agreed to payments on a debt. Today there was a card from a lady who tried to serve me for a lawsuit. I haven’t been able to find anything about the lawsuit yet and am unsure of how i would find this. Any advice? The payments have not defaulted.

Leonard Robert Grefseng
Leonard Robert Grefseng
answered on Jun 6, 2019

If a lawsuit has been filed, it is a public record at the courthouse. However, it will only be filed in one county ( not all of them) and many times, the plaintiff has a choice as to which county they may elect to file in. For example, if the debt is the result of an auto accident, the plaintiff... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Tennessee on
Q: A lot of people call any side by side a RZR. If you Made a shirt that says, "let's go RZRing" would that be infringemen
Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Apr 1, 2019

What is a side by side?

If it is a very common, widely used term, it is probably not protectable, so anybody could use it.

It will also depend if you are filing for protection or just going to make the product without any registration.

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright, Business Formation, Business Law, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Tennessee on
Q: I'm starting a new brewery with friends, and we want to know how soon we need to copyright our products?
Peter D. Mlynek
Peter D. Mlynek
answered on Sep 25, 2018

Congratulations on your new venture! I hope that it is a great success.

You can start to protect your intellectual property right away. The most important for you will likely be trademarking your product names, logos, etc. You can file for federal registrations before you ship your first...
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1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Tennessee on
Q: can I buy decals from graphics printer on line then apply to corn hole boards for resale? Their logos of college,MLB,etc

One of the graphic printers says that as long as I don't market and sale them as license sports boards, I'm fine. They say they have copyright license. I only display them on Craigslist and Facebook.

John Espinosa
John Espinosa
answered on Jun 1, 2018

Selling online is still selling, and selling them with the decal on gives the appearance of being a licensed product when it is not. What you describe is using someone else's brand for commercial purposes without their permission. The printer may have the license to sell the decals, but that... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Tennessee on
Q: copyright a song - to record the song on a cassette, mail it to yourself, make sure it's never opened or seal broken.

will this stand up in court if proof of ownership is ever challenged.

state: TN

Mark A. Baker
Mark A. Baker
answered on Mar 13, 2018

You have described a "poor man's copyright." It's worth about as much as the piece of paper it's written on, but not after you add postage. Under U.S. law, a copyright comes into existence the moment the original idea is "fixed in a tangible medium" - when you... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property, Patents (Intellectual Property) and Trademark for Tennessee on
Q: Patent/Copywrite/Trademark Question... I need some clarification.

I am starting a craft business and I have been looking into the law relevant to that. I recently read a blog post about how a person had to take down their clip art listing from Etsy because it infringed on a patent. The clip art design was a green tractor with yellow wheels. She said that there... View More

Kevin E. Flynn
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Kevin E. Flynn
answered on Jan 19, 2018

There are a lot of people that are pretty unclear on the difference between patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

I cannot see a way for John Deere to own generic images of tractors under a utility patent. They could chase protection for a particular way their actual tractor (or a toy...
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1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Trademark for Tennessee on
Q: I want to file a trademark for a new ministry, I need to know the cost
Benton R Patterson III
Benton R Patterson III
answered on Nov 17, 2017

Filing a trademark application is easy and inexpensive. Expect a $275 fee to the government and a small amount of professional time to prepare the application. The more expensive and complicated part of the trademark application process is responding to the government attorney's legal... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Trademark for Tennessee on
Q: I'm trying to file a trademark for "WORTHY". It will include clothing branding, audio recording and live shows/concerts.

I filed with Legal Zoom before but I can't find the trademark when I search for it. It was over a year ago, so I'm thinking of just finding a Lawyer.

I need help finding an affordable, legal and professional trademark registration if I can't find the original trademark. Any assistance? Thanks.

Will Blackton
Will Blackton
answered on Jun 25, 2017

Did you receive an initial response from the USPTO (usually within about three months of your original application)? It can take a year to a year and a half before your trademark registration is completed.

I would encourage you to find out the status of the application you've...
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2 Answers | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Tennessee on
Q: Copyright/trademark infringement by a third-party who isn't stopping.

I am a Seattle-based freelance designer that created a logo in 2014 for a client in TN. That client is AnchorYourSoul.com, and the logo was discovered to being used by someone else in 2015. We both told her to cease and desist using it in her social media channels and website. She complied, but... View More

Will Blackton
Will Blackton
answered on Feb 3, 2017

Have you filed for copyright protection for the image? If so, it's likely that an attorney would assist you for a portion of any money recovered from the person infringing. Filing for copyright protection for a single work of visual art is $35, it's $55 to file for multiple works.... View More

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