4 ms·

A name can't really be trademarked in such a broad way, afaik (though, IANAL). This would prevent you from using James Bond as a trade name, obviously, but can'

• logfromblammo 12y ago
  A character name can be trademarked if that character appears in copyrighted works, particularly if it appears in a series. James Bond can thus be trademarked, in the same way that Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, Sherlock Holmes, et al are trademarked. But the name is only protected in the sense that it is attached to the character. The character has to be distinct and unique, not a trope or stereotype character (except, obviously, the prototype character). And the character has to be integral to a copyrighted story. The courts are far from agreed on this standard, obviously, so that's as much as I can say about it. And it isn't really even a full trademark. It's more like an artificial "name and likeness" right of publicity. Those rights vary by state. That creates some interesting scenarios. Say, for instance, that author E.R.R. Fartin kills beloved serial character Guy Trademarked. Some states define personality rights such that they terminate relative to the year of the person's death. Would that be the year of publication, or the year copyright ends, or some other year? Essentially, no one can correct you, because no one really knows what the law allows yet.