Legal Advice

okay, if i want to safe guard my name. use a pen name and have it to be prevented from other people to use it w/ out my primmsision how would one do that. just have copy righted. or is what i'm think of entierly wrong or entierly different?

I have no idea what the laws are in your state, but I don't believe you can copy write a 'name'. I think names would or may fall under trademarks.

Hopefully the name you want to safeguard isn't "John Smith", as there are only about 5 million of them...lol.

good point. that's what i'm think of tradmark. it's by state? i thought it was by country and could also need an internaiontal liencience of such.

Patents, that?s what you?re talking about. That?s meant to cover inventions; not given names. But if you want to try go to your district patents office and ask.

Patents do not cover 'names'. Trademarks would be governed either by state or federal law, which would be a heck of a lot cheaper than registering a trademark internationally.

Still, I am not sure names are covered even under TM's.

If somebody has your name, just kill them off one by one until you are the only one left.

HowardStern.com would fall under the heading of domians and addresses and not 'names' per se.

David Bowie decided to choose the name Bowie b/c he and his marketers did not want confusion esp. when he was just starting out, it had nothing to do with the 'legality' of the name itself.

Companies are separate legal identities and are recognised and can be TMed.

I really doubt a 'name' could be trademarked unless it was for business purposes. If I wished to call my daughter Marilyn Monroe, there is not a damn thing anyone can do to stop me. And if she became famous, I doubt they could prevent her from using her origianl birth name as stated on her birth certificate. You could even change your name by deed poll to MM, Elvis or anything u like.

However, u may be prevented from using names such as those (if u wish to use it in a business context) if those names are already registered as a business and therefore the same rules apply under TM's. It is quite possible and most probable that those names are registered. Still, they cannot legally stop anyone from naming their child those names if used for private purposes.

P.S. Jen Lopez and Mick J would hardly be a TMed name, unlike Elvis and MM.

*Note: the above statement does not necessarily represent the actual opinion of the poster.

J-Lo. . . not Jen Lopez. . .