Snow Cone Flavor Names and Movie Titles

[JAM0228]

A little background... My husband and I are starting our own snow cone business. We plan to call it "Show Cones" with the catch phrase " there's no business like SNOW business". We are planning on making it movie themed where people can get discounts or a free stamp on the frequent customer card if they answer movie trivia questions properly.

Ok, the main question is this. We are wanting to name our snow cone flavors different than the regular flavor names of other snow cone stands. We want it to be catchy and continue our theme. So, we were thinking of naming the flavors based on movie names, characters, song names etc.

For example: instead of Tiger's Blood - call it "Eye of the Tiger".
call some Batman or Spongebob, Superman, Butter Beer, etc.

Could someone let me know if this is copyrighted or trademarked?
I don't want to get sue some how or owe all kinds of fees. I am doing this as a sole proprietorship and I don't want to risk my family in any way.

Thanks for any help you have.

Jessica

[AFFA]

I wish to inform you that if you use character of a film without permission then you can be held liable for violation of Intellectual Property laws including Copyright laws. Recently there has been a case whereby use of character which were having copyright protection of Warner Bros. was being used and the user were held liable.

AFF

[StorageGuy]

Originally Posted by JAM0228:
A little background... My husband and I are starting our own snow cone business. We plan to call it "Show Cones" with the catch phrase " there's no business like SNOW business". We are planning on making it movie themed where people can get discounts or a free stamp on the frequent customer card if they answer movie trivia questions properly.

Ok, the main question is this. We are wanting to name our snow cone flavors different than the regular flavor names of other snow cone stands. We want it to be catchy and continue our theme. So, we were thinking of naming the flavors based on movie names, characters, song names etc.

For example: instead of Tiger's Blood - call it "Eye of the Tiger".
call some Batman or Spongebob, Superman, Butter Beer, etc.

Could someone let me know if this is copyrighted or trademarked?
I don't want to get sue some how or owe all kinds of fees. I am doing this as a sole proprietorship and I don't want to risk my family in any way.

Thanks for any help you have.

Jessica

Ok Jessica here goes. Case law and U.S. Trademark Office rules provide that while the title of a series of creative works like movies, can be registered for trademark protection, but the title of a single work cannot. For example, the title "Rocky" has protection since there were several sequels. However, "Eye of the Tiger" was a single work and therefore would not be protected. This interpretation by the Trademark Office is based on an old, fifty year old case entitled In re Cooper. Entertainment lawyers have developed some work arounds to provided their studio clients some protection, but currently this is the rule.

Characters and logos are obviously protected. For example, you would not want to use Spongbob's likeness as this is protected under trademark law. The reason you want to use terms such as Superman, Batman, etc., is because these names invoke a specific image in the consumers mind. You could conceivably write something about Superman or Batman as a parody and could use their name in the parody and not run afoul of the law, however, in your case, you are clearly using these names for commercial use.

The reality is that it is highly unlikely that a large film studio or comic company would take the time to sue a small snow cone stand. However, often small infractions are used to send a strong message to the rest of the world.

All that being said, I suspect that your customers will not decide whether to purchase a snow cone from you simply because you call it the "Spongebob" special. Customers simply want value for their money, delivered by someone with a smiling face and a resounding "Thank You!"

Good luck....

[adinalee111]

Great....Its really interesting. Thanks for sharing this.