How to know if a name of app is copyrighted?

[uaecasher]

is there a place I can look up to know if a name is copyrighted? I had an app before and I had to rename it after I was using the name for months because someone had copyright for the name

[firewood]

For U.S. Trademarks, you can start here: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp

You might also search the domain name and see if there are TM or copyright notices on the web site, if any.

But note that copyright and trademark laws vary from country to country, so your best bet is to consult an IP attorney or lawyer.

Even Apple has problems with this, where they license the U.S. trademark, had to buy some Chinese trademark, and in Brazil the "iPhone" trademark is claimed by some other company, even though Apple has been doing Billions of dollars worth of International sales under the name for several years.

[ArtOfWarfare]

Originally Posted by firewood

For U.S. Trademarks, you can start here: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp

You might also search the domain name and see if there are TM or copyright notices on the web site, if any.

But note that copyright and trademark laws vary from country to country, so your best bet is to consult an IP attorney or lawyer.

Even Apple has problems with this, where they license the U.S. trademark, had to buy some Chinese trademark, and in Brazil the "iPhone" trademark is claimed by some other company, even though Apple has been doing Billions of dollars worth of International sales under the name for several years.

I had a class where we used the USPTO website extensively to search for patents. Weird that I never noticed that it could search for trademarks as well. Great tip, firewood!

[uaecasher]

Originally Posted by firewood

For U.S. Trademarks, you can start here: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp

You might also search the domain name and see if there are TM or copyright notices on the web site, if any.

But note that copyright and trademark laws vary from country to country, so your best bet is to consult an IP attorney or lawyer.

Even Apple has problems with this, where they license the U.S. trademark, had to buy some Chinese trademark, and in Brazil the "iPhone" trademark is claimed by some other company, even though Apple has been doing Billions of dollars worth of International sales under the name for several years.

Thanks!