I was shuffling through some old NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICS, and I noticed the names of firms which have long since ceased to exist…companies like WESTERN ELECTRIC, PACKARD, PANAGRA (airline), and VOICE OF MUSIC (stereo equipment). Are these names still under copyright? Or can anybody incorporate a business and use them?
I’d love to see somebody bring back these names…particularly since people still remember some of them.
So, how do I go about using the WESTERN ELECTRIC name for my itty-bitty little company?:rolleyes:
Ralph, they’re trademarks (or, possibly, service marks); names can’t be copyrighted.
However, they are the property of the firms that they are connected to, or their successors. If Exxon Mobil decided to revive Humble or Enco, or General Motors the REO, they’d be legally entitled to do so.
There may be a period after which disuse frees up the name; a trademark lawyer could give you more information on that.
And, of course, corporate names are only valid in the states where the corporation is formed or where it does business; if you wanted to start up a Safeway Market in Vermont, I think you’d be safe in doing so.
Sometimes people have purchased the name, and still hold rights to it. Some years ago the people who had bought the name “Pan Am” tried to start up a new airline under that name, but didn’t get very far.
You could start by checking the US patent and Trademark Office’s website to see if the trademark has been abandoned. I see Panagra and Western Electric are still active.
Even if you don’t find it, that doesn’t mean you can get it for sure. The USPTO will check their files and let you know.
As always, you would probably want to check with a patent attorney before ordering your letterhead.
Hmmm. This is an awfully chilly topic for the BBQ Pit.
Just needs a flame or two to spruce things up a bit.
“May the OP be serenaded nightly by a laryngitic Yoko Ono.”
Ok, that’s not gonna do it.
Though, IANAL, from what I’ve read, Polycarp’s got it mostly right. If no one is using the name (or holds the rights to it), then you simply contact the US Trademark Office and inform them that you’ll be using the name. Where this gets expensive, is when someone is still holding the rights to the name. For example, there’s an Arizona business man who’s trying to revive the Packard Motor Car Company. He had to buy the rights from a coachbuilder, before he could start using the trademark. If someone has the rights to the name, and they want a lot of money for it, you’re screwed, but if no one has the rights (of course, you’ll have to research this), then it’s pretty cheap for you to start using it.
Moving this to GQ.
Lynn
At the end of South Park, they show a snippet of Braniff Airlines commercial as a joke. From here:
It might not be easy to find the current owner, but if you use a name that someone owns, they’ll find you eventually if it’s worth their while.