copytrademarkright

Bob Kennedy's post on phonoloblog brings up the always interesting issue of trademark and copyright. after reading the article, i was as confused as Bob appeared to be. for almost two years now (ever since ICS 131), i have known that copyrights are different from trademarks, yet the author of this article does not make a distinction. so is it copyright or trademark that "kills [a] movie title"?

i agree with what Bob and the United States Patent and Trademark Office(USPTO) say, that "you need to have a product first, and then name it, and then trademark the name". however, just to make sure the rules are the same in Toronto, i looked up how the Canadian Intellectual Property Office(CIPO) defines trade-mark. apparently CIPO distinguishes between copyright and trademark the same way USPTO, and requires "wares or services".

So i see four possibilities of how to interpret the article:

1. the woman heard the word "wannabe" from her husband and labeled a product or service she had developed "wannabe", thereafter trademarking "wannabe".
2. the woman heard the word "wannabe", and copyrighted the word as a literary work.
3. the author of the article is not writing truth.
4. i am misunderstanding how copyright and trade-mark law interact in Canada.

being prideful, i don't think it's the last one. :) i don't know how to figure out which of the other ones it is (without contacting Robin Devine, CIPO, or CP). also, i may have missed another possibility for interpretation. my inclination, though, is to assume the author was writing truthfully, and that there is some fact the article is based on. of the remaining possibilities, i don't see which is more likely because there's no quote of Robin Devine "trademarking" or "copyrighting" the word.

Bob, assuming that the third possibility is not true, points out that this has implications for band names and movie titles. he suggests to the phonolobloggers to trademark names now lest a similar thing happen to one of them. i agree, but of course you have to have a product. the simple way is to put whatever you have up on e-bay for bid, and then submit the trademark application (along with fee)...or is there a better way?

wannabee appears in the canadian trademark office as being in use since the 1980s....
i know i bought this persons products.

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