EU Copyright advice please.

[skid]

Hi,
Can anyone shed light on the following.

If a specific word is copyrighted in general in EU law (regardless of logo design or font around it) to stop it being used to sell merchandise, is there a loophole allowing the protected word to be used if it is significantly minimal to the main design, and perhaps on the reverse?

Any loopholes that can be exploited?

Thanks in advance.

[StevieBee]

Do you mean 'Trade Mark'?

Copyright is automatically assigned the creator of something, the ownership of the copyright being protected under law.

I don't believe you can claim copyright for a word unless a word was invented for the purpose in which it is being used in which case it would more likely be trade marked which is also the only way you could protect the use of a word used in common language in the context of a commercial operation.

i.e: You could start a business called Holidays for Virgins but you couldn't start an airline called Virgin Pacific.

[skid]

Thanks for the chat Steve

[Grrbang]

It does sound like a trade mark.

Furthering what Stevie says, freedom is a function of the similarity of the marks and the similarity of the goods/services being offered, among other things.

The less similar the goods/services, the more similar the name can be.

However, before you launch your Holidays for Virgins business , bear in mind that some marks are broad and some proprietors really swing their weight around (whether they're provably right in court or not).

[Simpo Two]

A phrase that comes to mind is 'passing off'. For example if you started an airline called 'Vorgin' you might well get a call from Virgin's legal department. But if it was a coffee shop, you probably wouldn't because there's no intention to cash in on the similarity.

It's remarkable, and also rather sad, how much influence a sabre-rattling letter from 'bd & bd Solicitors' can have, whether or not there are any grounds for it.