Copyright of name in movies
There are many movies that take original Lord of the Rings characters. Such as human, orcs, and elves. One of these movies is Bright with Will Smith
To make such movie, do they need copy right approval from anyone? Or can anyone use any character they want without permission
Would it be ok if they used Harry Potter's characters?
Best Answer
For a character to be protected by copyright, it must be an original creation. Tolkien never had a copyright on elves or orcs, because both of those creatures existed in literature prior to The Lord of the Rings. On the other hand, Hobbits were an original creation, so the use of a Hobbit character would require a license from the Tolkien estate. That's why Dungeons and Dragons, for example, refers to Hobbit-like creatures as "Halflings".
Extending that to Harry Potter, we see a similar mix of established and original characters and creatures. Anyone can tell a story with a basilisk, or a centaur, or a hippogriff, because these creatures are all derived from classical antiquity. On the other hand, I could not include a Death-Eater or a Horcrux in a new work, as those would be protected by copyright.
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Can I use a movie name?
Therefore, at least under the Copyright Act, you can use an existing title or slogan for the title of your movie. But wait! Intellectual property protection is more than copyrights. It also includes trademarks for identifying the source of goods and services.Can you use the same name for a movie?
According to this article I found (written in 2010) - individual movie titles can not be copyrighted. However, there can be a trademark granted if there is a certain level of recognition of the title to the specific movie. The author of the article cites "Star Wars" or "Citizen Kane".Are names subject to copyright?
No. Names are not protected by copyright law. Some names may be protected under trademark law. Contact the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov or see Circular 33 "Copyright Protection Not Available for Names, Titles, or Short Phrases".Can 2 movies have the same name?
There have been a lot of movies throughout history that have the same title as an already existing film. While it is not unusual to see such coincidental movie titles, it says something about its marketing that producers would want to use the same title over again.COPYRIGHT a SCRIPT or FILM | Protect my Screenplay
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Answer 2
Names and titles are not protected by US copyright. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics.
You may be thinking of trademarks; I suggest searching TESS to find out what protections exist for a given name. If you want to make commercial use of an existing character you should definitely get a lawyer.
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