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<blockquote data-quote="Marius Delphus" data-source="post: 4953656" data-attributes="member: 447">You can claim any name you like as a trademark, but unless you've marked something that's being traded (read: sold) with it, the declaration is most likely to be entirely inconsequential (you wouldn't be able to defend the mark).You generally see character names trademarked when character-specific merchandise is offered for sale. Thus, Elminster™ miniatures or Legend of Drizzt® novels (set in the Forgotten Realms®), but Elminster's statistics (no trademark declaration) and Drizzt's now-cliche storyline (no trademark declaration).(In the US. the ™ is for when you're declaring something as a trademark; the ® is for when you've actually gotten the trademark registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office (<a href="http://www.uspto.gov" target="_blank">United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page</a>).)Personally, I wouldn't bother declaring your characters' names as trademarks. If you later go on to publish or create character-based merchandise, then marking those objects with the characters' names and declaring the names as trademarks should suffice. But remember that if you need specific legal advice, you should consult an intellectual property attorney and not an Internet messageboard.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Marius Delphus, post: 4953656, member: 447"] You can claim any name you like as a trademark, but unless you've [B]marked[/B] something that's being [B]traded[/B] (read: sold) with it, the declaration is most likely to be entirely inconsequential (you wouldn't be able to defend the mark). You generally see character names trademarked when character-specific merchandise is offered for sale. Thus, Elminster™ miniatures or Legend of Drizzt® novels (set in the Forgotten Realms®), but Elminster's statistics (no trademark declaration) and Drizzt's now-cliche storyline (no trademark declaration). (In the US. the ™ is for when you're declaring something as a trademark; the ® is for when you've actually gotten the trademark registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office ([URL="http://www.uspto.gov"]United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page[/URL]).) Personally, I wouldn't bother declaring your characters' names as trademarks. If you later go on to publish or create character-based merchandise, then marking those objects with the characters' names and declaring the names as trademarks should suffice. But remember that if you need specific legal advice, you should consult an intellectual property attorney and not an Internet messageboard. [/QUOTE]

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