It appears to be a world where you can get held up at the drop of a hat...
An author who has a legal copyright is totally ignored when he or she complains that someone is infringing on a copyright by pirating his or her books...while a huge conglomerate corporation can trademark a person's first name and then start threatening anyone else who possesses the same name. What seems to be wrong with this picture?
A friend of mine was threatened with legal action simply because her first name supposedly infringed on a trademarked name claimed by a multinational conglomerate. Seems she was infringing on Sony's trademark when she dared to use her REAL LEGAL NAME on a promo for one of her many books. HUH? A lot of us rose up shouting "FOUL" and it went national. Seems like a company should NOT be allowed to "trademark" a one-word name that is common enough to be in everyday use in the world. I mean, suppose a person decided to trademark the name Shirley. That's pretty silly, because there are literally thousands of Shirleys in the USA alone, and heaven forbid any of these non-trademarked Shirleys use their name on anything!
Names are pretty important stuff to folks. Being told you are not to dare to use your real name promoting books you have written because somebody MIGHT mistake you for that British pop diva (can't even say I ever heard of her until this fiasco arose) is totally absurd.
What on earth makes Sony think that an erotic romance author might be mistaken for a pop singer? And the author was writing and publishing books many years before the singer was even popular.
I was joking about trademarking my own name on a Facebook post to show how silly people can be...and out of the blue, I got an EXTREMELY nasty message via Facebook from a man named Fran Stambu...if you have delicate sensibilities, please read no further:
| Fran Štambu | 12:36pm May 13 |
U FUCKING JERKOFF
Hmmm...this dude didn't bother to even check out WHY I was thinking about trademarking the name Fran...he just reacted in a typical knee-jerk response as if I were attacking HIS right to use HIS name. Sigh. But then, his reaction would seem to be normal (although a bit nasty) to the idea that someone was making it impossible for him to use his own name.
I read up on trademarking...very interesting stuff. Seems trademarking is meant to protect a person's right to the exclusive use of a product name...but it stipulates that the product name must be significantly different (like Kleenex (tm), Band Aid (tm), Bisquick (tm), etc) than the common name like tissue, latex bandage, or biscuit mix. So that makes me understand that instead of simply trademarking the name "Fran", I must trademark the specific USE of the name, like Fran Lee, Author (tm), or Fran Lee Romance (tm). It also states that you can effectively begin to trademark your desired product name by inserting the (tm) directly behind your name whenever you use it. This is sort of like the intended copyright thingy that happens when you put a book into e-product or print. You can then legally pay several hundred bucks to legally trademark your desired name and only then can use use the symbol of a capital R in the center of a circle (R).
So if Sony (R) wanted to trademark their diva's single name, they should have done it like this: Adele, Pop Diva for Sony Entertainment (R) instead of just her first name, which has about 4,000 users in the USA today. (Ooops...USA Today (R)).
So don't worry Mr. Stambu...I will not take your right to use your name away like Sony would...unless you decide to change your last name to Lee and start writing hot romance.
Fran
LOL! Very interesting, Fran! And wow... what a crazy world, eh?
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is crazy. I never thought you could trademark a single word name. Absolutely wild.
DeleteLOL, Fran, at least you made me laugh about this.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe that man when he just sent me that message. I have to laugh because his response was exactly the response so many authors had when they heard about the problem.
DeleteHugs!
Fran Lee (tm)
This is great and so true. I think Fran, from facebook, should get out more. He jumped the gun pretty quick. Loved your post. I needed a good laugh today.
ReplyDeleteLynda
LOL! I think so, too. Thanks!
DeleteThanks for your support and the laugh, Fran. It's the first I've had in several days.
ReplyDeleteBest--Adele (My real name. Honest.)
Anytime...just don't start singing pop songs in the UK and all will be well, sweetie! Snort! And if that OTHER Adele starts writing erotic romance, I will let you know.
DeleteGees, the whole thing seems crazy. At least for now my name is safe. The only singer named Janice I know is the late great Janice Joplin.
ReplyDeleteAnd that other Fran needs to relax.
Janice~
It's totally unusual for a man to have the name "Fran". Usually it's shortened from Francis or Frank. And I am sure Janice Joplin would have scoffed at trademarking her name, when it was her voice that was the thing. LOL!
DeleteRight to the point! Marianne is trademarked! So are lots of other first names. Makes you wonder why these companies think they can OWN a first name...should those names be banned from use completely? Have we gone nuts in this country with Trademarking?
ReplyDeleteThe trademark process is so involved it's confusing. Solution, but costly...hire a trademark attorney. Geez. I can't afford that so I'll continue to use my name, Marianne!
If this stuff ever happens again, I vote we trademark the name RBRUS (tm)... Snort!
DeleteThat whole situation was absurd. Great post, Fran!
ReplyDeleteHow true. Thanks, dear.
DeleteMy first name is unusual - BonSue, derived from the name my southern mother gave me, which never fit my personality (I'm more 'Bonsai' than Bonnie-Sue, so I cut out the middle). I was always mystified when I would try to type BonSue in as a user name for various things on the Internet and found it was already in use. Later, I discovered that Bonsue is a form of popular drum music in Africa. I guess that means I can't trademark my name, but then again, Sony/Google can't trademark it either, right?
ReplyDeleteYou could trademark it, dear, if you did it the way YOU spell it BonSue (tm).
DeleteI feel that a name is extremely important, but why trademark something that obviously belongs to far more than one human being? If I tried to trademark "Fran" it would be preposterous...but if I trademark it as "Fran Lee Romance", that sets me aside from Fran Lee of Pooper-Scooper fame, or Fran Lee Caterers, or Fran Lee Realty Co. A trademark should be something that distinguishes a product or celebrity from any other. Like maybe "Cher". LOL!
Great post Frannie! And as usual you get right to the point the only way that Frannie can. I loved the point you made, I wonder if Sony will "get" it. I love some of Adele's songs, but for a company to say that no one else can use the name Adele is ridiculous. That's like saying no one can use the word, word! Maybe everyone needs to see how ridiculous they can be to make a point.
ReplyDeleteLuv ya!!