Commenting on Cecil’s column about “copyrighting” one’s name, there’s an interesting story.
When a computer company is developing a new product, they generally give it a code name. The name is usually used strictly in-house, and usually has little or no relation to the final product name.
The original code name for the Apple PowerMac 7100/66 was “Sagan”, after the astronomer Carl Sagan. Sagan discovered this, and sued for damages for copyright violation, unfair competition, and unrequested rights to publicity. He lost the case, but the developers at Apple obligingly changed the code name anyway. The new code name was “BHA”, which stood for “Butt Head Astronomer”. Sagan sued again, saying the name subjected him to “hatred, contempt and ridicule”. He again lost, with a ruling that Butt Head Astronomer is a generic term.
Oh well, I guess even the most brilliant among us are subject to a bit of butt-headedness now and then!
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This question came up in my high school business law class in 1967. I recall the answer, but not the teacher’s name. He said if your name was Howard Johnson, and you opened a motel and/or restaurant, you couldn’t name it for yourself. Another HoJo beat you to it. However, if you wanted to open Howard Johnson’s Auto Parts or Howard Johnson’s Pool Hall and Showgirls Club, the other HoJo probably couldn’t stop you.
Judging by cases I’ve seen in recent years, though, a big company can sue you over a business name, and often it’s cheaper to change the name than do battle with a troupe of hotshot lawyers. As Cecil said, the courts are capricious on this issue.
Interesting situation concerning ownership of a name occurred when an American columnist named ‘Bill Wyman’ was asked by the former Stoner’s lawyers to cease and desist using his own name: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/living/1102/14wyman.html
The funny thing was that Bill Wyman (the Stone) took his name after the columnist was born.
Another story I heard (apocryphal unfortunately) was that an Australian woman with the name of ‘McCaffee’ tried to open up a cafe named after her but was shut down by the evil corporate behemoth, McDonalds, who claimed it was breach of their trademark, ‘McCafe’.
Actually, just yesterday I heard on the radio that a guy in Canada (I forget what province he lives in, but I think it’s Saskatchewan) who had legally changed his name to Jack Assman is sueing the makers of the show Jackass as well as “Jackass: the movie” for damages and harm to his name. You have to admit, though, he had his name before the show started airing.
I don’t think he has a legal leg to stand on. It’s ridiculous on the face of it, especially since he changed his name to Jack Assman especially to call attention to some other issue (allegedly). Thus he deliberately picked a name that already had a bad reputation, and was already a common derogatory phrase. I think a couple of Bugs Bunny cartoons will suffice to prove he has no grounds. Which pisses me off that this case will get into court and suck up valuable time over something that is clearly groundless.
I have a new version of tort reform. From now on, any time the judge finds the case is groundless, he cites the plaintiff’s lawyer for damages.
