# Where can I look up copywritten characters?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-look-up-copywritten-characters/433185>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 11, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-look-up-copywritten-characters/433185 "2008-01-11T21:11:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-look-up-copywritten-characters/433185/1 "2008-01-11T21:11:06Z")

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By which I mean is there a website where I can plug in the names of, say, Doc Savage and see who owns them now? I’m idly curious about some obscure comic properties.

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**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-look-up-copywritten-characters/433185/2 "2008-01-11T22:37:01Z")

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Well, they won’t be copywritten either way. Trademarked, maybe. Just to help you in your search.

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**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-look-up-copywritten-characters/433185/3 "2008-01-11T22:42:25Z")

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No firm answer to your question, but a clarification: the word is copy **right** , as in “the right to make copies.” The adjective is “copyrighted”.

Now, for a half-answer… It appears that for Doc Savage (Man of Bronze!) the trademark and perhaps the copyright is held by [Conde Nast](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=doc+savage+copyright&btnG=Google+Search). The comments in [this article](http://www.boingboing.net/2006/04/08/conde-nast-sues-over.html) included references to several sites where you can peruse renewal records and look to see which properties have / have not been renewed. And yes – the stories and works of individual art _would_ be copyrighted. The characters would be trademarked.

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**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-look-up-copywritten-characters/433185/4 "2008-01-12T07:19:01Z")

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[QUOTE=Love Rhombus]  
By which I mean is there a website where I can plug in the names of, say, Doc Savage and see who owns them now?  
[/QUOTE]  
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: [Trademark Electronic Search System](http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=g4sab4.1.1).

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**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-look-up-copywritten-characters/433185/5 "2008-01-12T08:21:28Z")

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[QUOTE=Jurph]  
Now, for a half-answer… It appears that for Doc Savage (Man of Bronze!) the trademark and perhaps the copyright is held by [Conde Nast](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=doc+savage+copyright&btnG=Google+Search). The comments in [this article](http://www.boingboing.net/2006/04/08/conde-nast-sues-over.html) included references to several sites where you can peruse renewal records and look to see which properties have / have not been renewed. And yes – the stories and works of individual art _would_ be copyrighted. The characters would be trademarked.  
[/QUOTE]

Good lord! Are they going to make the Man of Bronze model for VOGUE?!