[thelist] Re: Logo design...

[Mattias Thorslund]

Stephen Rider wrote:

> For those interested in copyright law as pertains to web design:
>
> If you're in the USA, you might find this book from Nolo Law useful --
> <http://tinyurl.com/6abhp>


Thanks

>
> FYI -- it seems this can apply to copyright as well.  An anecdotal 
> story, to be sure, but...  I know a person who writes fiction on a 
> mailing list.  At one point he was tying his work into an established 
> professional author's world (that of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, if it 
> matters to you).  At some point, he actually met Ms. Yarbro and as 
> soon as she became aware of what he had done, she asked him to remove 
> all references to her work.  The argument was effectively that she 
> _had_ to ask him to remove it, or lose protection of her characters.  
> Someone who came along later and infringed her copyrights could point 
> to her knowing about the earlier fan fiction and not stopping it as a 
> legal argument that since she had knowingly not blocked such 
> infringement before, she had given up the right to do so later.


I don't think this has anything to do with copyright - it seems to me 
that a fictional character would rather be considered an Idea, which is 
not protected under copyright.  What the author did was more consistent 
with defending a trademark, since trademark law works like that. I have 
no idea what law protects fictional character, it may not be trademark law.

But no, I'm not a lawyer either.

/Mattias

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