Trademarks and writing books

imwavygravy

Hi everyone. I have stumbled upon a strange issue. In 2012, I started writing a book. I have used a name in the book for the place the whole adventure takes place. Last year, someone internationally trademarked the name and was successful. I don't have funds to fight or object. Does anyone know the legal standing on this? I get the sense, I will have the change the name. It is very important to keep it, as it also the name of one of the main characters. 
Does anyone else find being human annoying sometimes?
Thank you for any help.
Peace 

IvanOpinion

Can you change the spelling slightly?  Replace a letter, double up a letter, use an alternative (e.g. ''ck' instead of 'k').

imwavygravy

That is a great suggestion. The name is two common words together. All centred around creativity. So it would look like that is all I have done.
I guess, it was just a case of 'first off the blocks' - I was hoping to publish this year. Nevermind. thanks for your suggestion.

Alderbank

Will you be self-publishing or is an established company publishing the book?

These are the kind of issues that publishers deal with everyday

lincroft1710

If you want to lose a lot of money start a legal challenge against someone who trademarked a name that existed in your head and in an unseen and unpublished work.

If you are tempted to slightly modify this name, be aware that some companies can be very unhappy at a name being used which could be confused with their name or cashing in on their name or could bring their name into disrepute. Threats of and actual legal action are not unknown in such circumstances 

imwavygravy

lincroft1710 said:

If you want to lose a lot of money start a legal challenge against someone who trademarked a name that existed in your head and in an unseen and unpublished work.

If you are tempted to slightly modify this name, be aware that some companies can be very unhappy at a name being used which could be confused with their name or cashing in on their name or could bring their name into disrepute. Threats of and actual legal action are not unknown in such circumstances 

Thanks for commenting. I have printed the book at various stages since 2012 through Amazon KDP and CreateSpace. I have printed copies and have historical proof of my use of the name and the story. I was just wondering how I would get on, now that someone has trademarked it before I published it. Would that stand up in court as case, if it ever went that far?

Thanks for any help.

imwavygravy

Alderbank said:

Will you be self-publishing or is an established company publishing the book?

These are the kind of issues that publishers deal with everyday

I will be self publishing. But was just wondering about a later date scenario. Do you think, as long as I have proof of the use on the KDP platform over the last 12 years, that would suffice? this is new to me. 

thanks for your help.

lincroft1710

imwavygravy said:

lincroft1710 said:

If you want to lose a lot of money start a legal challenge against someone who trademarked a name that existed in your head and in an unseen and unpublished work.

If you are tempted to slightly modify this name, be aware that some companies can be very unhappy at a name being used which could be confused with their name or cashing in on their name or could bring their name into disrepute. Threats of and actual legal action are not unknown in such circumstances 

Thanks for commenting. I have printed the book at various stages since 2012 through Amazon KDP and CreateSpace. I have printed copies and have historical proof of my use of the name and the story. I was just wondering how I would get on, now that someone has trademarked it before I published it. Would that stand up in court as case, if it ever went that far?

Thanks for any help.

Your problem will be proving the trademarker had seen one of your printed copies and even if you couldn't would it be possible for them to have thought up the name independently. Litigation is ridiculously expensive even if you win


Perhaps not quite the same, but in 1958 a low volume car maker introduced a model called the "Stirling". The racing driver Stirling Moss phoned up to complain about the unauthorised use of his name. It was politely pointed out to Stirling that the car was not named after him but Stirling Corner a well known junction on the A1 very close to the car factory. The car was not exactly a success, only 2 were made!

imwavygravy

lincroft1710 said:

imwavygravy said:

lincroft1710 said:

If you want to lose a lot of money start a legal challenge against someone who trademarked a name that existed in your head and in an unseen and unpublished work.

If you are tempted to slightly modify this name, be aware that some companies can be very unhappy at a name being used which could be confused with their name or cashing in on their name or could bring their name into disrepute. Threats of and actual legal action are not unknown in such circumstances 

Thanks for commenting. I have printed the book at various stages since 2012 through Amazon KDP and CreateSpace. I have printed copies and have historical proof of my use of the name and the story. I was just wondering how I would get on, now that someone has trademarked it before I published it. Would that stand up in court as case, if it ever went that far?

Thanks for any help.

Your problem will be proving the trademarker had seen one of your printed copies and even if you couldn't would it be possible for them to have thought up the name independently. Litigation is ridiculously expensive even if you win

Thanks again. I am not bothered about taking them to court. I want creativity not to be tied up in litigation. It stunts progress. They seem to be the kinds of people who would want to protect the name and threaten. I have proof of using the name over the last 12 years. I was wondering if anyone had encountered anything similar. 

theoretica

Is your use of the name in any way similar to theirs?  I guess as it is two words, both uses may have similar ideas of their meaning?  There is clearly no problem writing about apple pie and apple orchards, or a pony called Apple, but applying the name to a tech company might well be a problem.

Any potential synonyms?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

Trademarks are separated into classes which are listed here

https://www.londonip.co.uk/trademarks/tm-classes/

The search

https://www.gov.uk/search-for-trademark

should detail the class, I believe it's class 16 for books, the trademark only applies to the class or classes it is registered with. 

You might get more knowledge on other forums, was just a quick Google but this forum seems to get some replies:

https://copyrightaid.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=2