Trademark and the Scratch online community

hppavilion

The_Grits wrote:
Wow… this would make for a funny newspaper article… “Multimillion dollar complex demands name change of a Children's Online Studio” XD

I'm going to submit this story to a major news company.

gdpr29d59c4578b8c11b8198b49f

when green flag clicked
if <[A Scratch Webpage] = [A Huge Mulit-Million Dollar Museum]> then
    say [The laws of logic have been upturned...]
    say [Now <[20] = [21]>]
forever
go nuts
end
end

gdpr29d59c4578b8c11b8198b49f

Whoops… I meant

when green flag clicked
if <[A Scratch Webpage] = [A Multi-Million Dollar Museum]> then
    
say [The laws of logic have been upturned...]
say [Now 20=21!!!]
forever
    GO NUTS ALOIEMWOIUXQWUNVIOREUIMOWOEIMODYA
end
end

gdpr29d59c4578b8c11b8198b49f

forever
    
say [hi]
end

lmjangellyric

Isjee594 wrote:
I think this was all a silly thing to get upset about. There are both kids and adults on this website, and you can't expect everyone on here to always pay attention to copyright. Just because there's a studio that has the same name as a famous place doesn't mean you have to change the studio name - it's just a joke, a random connection between two different things. I do that all the time, and I'm sure several other people do, too. It isn't something to get all riled up about, instead it's something to laugh at and move on.

Exactly. If your looking for the name of a famous place, then i am pretty sure you not going to click on a mostly kids website!

Ethsim2

Lightnin wrote:

Recently the owner of the registered trademark for “Animation Hall of Fame” contacted us to request that we rename or remove a Scratch Studio titled “Animation Hall of Fame”. Apparently when one Googles “Animation Hall of Fame,” the link to their organization is first, but the results also include a link to a Scratch Studio with the same name.

We see the value of trademark law: We wouldn't want anyone else to be able to create a programming language called Scratch. That could lead to a lot of confusion, and wouldn't be fair. However, there are limits to how broadly trademark should be applied. For example, if someone created a skateboard called Scratch, I don't think we'd have much reason to complain (as long as they weren't using our logo, or claiming some kind of association or endorsement from us.)

But in this case, we don't feel that this trademark claim is reasonable or fair. According to the About page on their website, their “Animation Hall of Fame” is:

“To be located in the Central Florida area of the United States, the Animation Hall of Fame, Inc. complex will be an international interactive, entertainment attraction honoring the history and heritage of Animation from around the world. This state of the art high-tech complex and each of its venues will be designed to educate and entertain animation fans and non-fans alike from around the world.”
( http://animationhalloffame.org/about.html )

The Scratch studio formerly titled “Animation Hall of Fame” is, well, a Scratch studio: A webpage, created by a Scratcher, that shows projects made by kids who are learning to program animations with Scratch, a free programming tool created at MIT.

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/346625/
(Check it out- there are some good Scratch animations in there!)

Is it really reasonable to demand that we rename this Scratch studio to avoid possible confusion between a multimillion dollar complex in Florida, and a webpage with some Scratch projects? We really don't think so. But because taking legal action to contest this would be very expensive and time consuming, we agreed to change the title of the studio formerly known as “Animation Hall of Fame” to: “Scratch Hall of Fame - Animation.” I guess this clarifies what should be pretty obvious: A webpage with some Scratch projects is not likely to be confused with a multimillion dollar museum.

Sorry, i didn't quite get that

Happiny-64

cinaparadox wrote:
Happiny-64 wrote:
cinaparadox wrote:
Happiny-64 wrote:
veryeasytoremember wrote:
*sudden realization* wait, can you really use HTML on this? Let me test:

:0 That isn't normal HTML, it's different… (like different brackets, [ instead of < )
I can't even put my pictures from Hatena Fotolife on the forums… HOW DO YOU DO IT
Hatena probably isn't whitelisted on Scratch. You'd need to put the pictures onto a site like imgur or photobucket for them to show up here.
Do you need an account to upload pictures on those websites?
You don't really need one for imgur. I use it to upload stuff and then I keep the url. If you want to keep tabs on them an account is recomended.

wellokeiden

This account is dead. The user associated with this account has left this website. If you wish to continue seeing animations from this user, click on this link.

wkelly42

Sirmentio wrote:
There's one thing I want to know though, if there were say, a Sonic fangame made here, would Sega take action? or would the “fair use” action still apply?

No. This is a fair-use issue in using a trademarked character on an educational website. Different issue entirely, as far as copyright and trademark law is concerned.

AND I'm thinking the Scratch team should give the guy who wrote this letter a call ;-) http://abovethelaw.com/2013/06/how-to-write-a-great-response-to-a-cease-and-desist-letter/

Last edited by wkelly42 (March 25, 2014 15:23:47)

My Retro Arcade:
COMPLETED: Frogger, Missile Command, Computer Space.
IN DEVELOPMENT: Barnstorming, Time Pilot, Defender, River Raid, Karateka

burnout35

it supid because how do people know if they are useing copyright?

horsedog1

burnout35 wrote:
it's stupid because how do people know if they are using copyright?

agreed. But seriously, I wonder how that multimillion dollar complex found out that the name of a children's online studio was copyrighting their name?

when green flag clicked
if <(childeren's online studio) = (multimillion dollar complex)> then
say [what is happening?]
play sound [ultimate confusion v]
set [sanity v] to [-100000000000000000]
end

define life
repeat until (death)
switch costume to [being v]
adapt
evolve
end

Mr_Skater

i dont get it

when green flag clicked
forever
[I Really Dont Get It
end

Last edited by Mr_Skater (March 25, 2014 16:58:14)

Its_Kaeyi

Mr_Skater wrote:
i dont get it

when green flag clicked
forever
[I Really Dont Get It
end

I think you meant to do this:

when green flag clicked
forever
    
say [I really don't get it!]
end

scimonster

horsedog1 wrote:
burnout35 wrote:
it's stupid because how do people know if they are using copyright?

agreed. But seriously, I wonder how that multimillion dollar complex found out that the name of a children's online studio was copyrighting their name?

Probably by Googling their name.

Also, the Scratch studio wasn't “copyrighting” their name. They were using it.

Retired Community Moderator
BTW, i run Google Chrome 41.0.2272.101 on a Linux system - Ubuntu 14.04. NEW: iPad 4th gen. w/retina.

418 I'm a teapot (original - to be read by bored computer geeks)
THE GAME (you just lost)
; THE SEMICOLON LIVES ON IN OUR SIGS

isabeljane

when green flag clicked
say [this is still stupid.... WHY IS THERE SUCH A FUSS ABOUT A SCRATCH STUDIO, MULTIMILLION DOLLAR COMPANY?????!!!!!!!!!!!]
stop [BEING STUPID v]

i'm dat boi and also i'm gay

wkelly42

We need to make sure we understand terms here.

Copyright: According to the US Copyright Office: “Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.” (from this link.

Essentially, if it's been written, it is copyrighted by the person who wrote it. This post is copyrighted by me, for example. That does NOT mean that nobody can use it – it means that if you take what I write and try to make money off it I can take you to court because you are stealing my words/ideas. If you try to take what I've written and pass it off as your own, I can come after you. You do NOT have to register for copyright, though many people do.

Trademark: From the same source as above: “A trademark protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs identifying the source of the goods or services of one party and distinguishing them from those of others.”

This is a company or product name. Good example: Kleenex. If you write something that uses the word kleenex as a generic noun to describe a facial tissue, you will get a polite note from the legal team at Kimberly-Clark, who make Kleenex brand facial tissues. They protect their brand; if they don't protect it, it could quickly become a generic word used for anybody's facial tissues, and that could cost them money. Companies are VERY protective of their brands. You have to register a trademark.

The Animation Hall of Fame registered their trademark, and so they have to protect it. That protection can get a little stupid, and there are websites that are full of cease and desist letters that have been sent out to small companies and individuals in efforts to protect a trademark. But they have to demonstrate that they are enforcing their trademark against anyone who may be infringing against it so that if someone decided to open another Animation Hall of Fame in another state, they could take them to court, whether there was any danger in anyone confusing the two or not. MOST companies don't go after educational sites like Scratch, if for nothing else than the PR nightmare that could follow if it is ever made public. And I suspect that if the Scratch team had the time and resources to fight it, the Animation HoF would probably lose this one. But that's why companies do things like this.

And the Animation Hall of Fame is NOT a multi-million dollar company. It IS a 501 c 3 non-profit organization, which you can find out on their website ;-)

Last edited by wkelly42 (March 25, 2014 18:34:30)

My Retro Arcade:
COMPLETED: Frogger, Missile Command, Computer Space.
IN DEVELOPMENT: Barnstorming, Time Pilot, Defender, River Raid, Karateka

FirstSkyler1

If I was the guy in charge of Animation Hall of Fame, I would (kindly) do the same thing. It makes sense, they're protecting their trademark!

Last edited by FirstSkyler1 (Dec. 18, 3013 7:45:49)

scratchisthebest

Lightnin wrote:
"To be located in the Central Florida area of the United States, the Animation Hall of Fame, Inc. complex will be an international interactive, entertainment attraction honoring the history and heritage of Animation from around the world. This state of the art high-tech complex and each of its venues will be designed to educate and entertain animation fans and non-fans alike from around the world."
( http://animationhalloffame.org/about.html )

We were here first?

I am a Lava Expert

bigben321

TM_ wrote:
The_Grits wrote:
Wow… this would make for a funny newspaper article… “Multimillion dollar complex demands name change of a Children's Online Studio” XD

Better: “Multimillion dollar complex demands name change of a quite unknown Children's Online Studio with 7 Followers”

I could understand them if it would have a lot of followers, but really? They want a name change just because it exists and does not make any damage to their company? Okay, since now it will be a famous studio because it is a good one and everyone has it one his front page So the studio owner could also thank the ST and the real Animation Hall of Fame for causing this trouble and make it appear on Front page

Although I think that title is quite harsh on the owner, I agree about the thanking ST and Animation Hall of Fame. But I don't get why they requested to change the name of that studio, I mean, imagine in court the sue-er saying: Well on this free programming website called Scratch, mostley used by children, there is a studio that has the same name as our company…sounds more like a childish complaint than a valid court case. I have to say, I am quite ticked off about it.

nerdy-squirrel

If we wanted to if we had a logo reverse-googled it and no one else had it could we put TM or R by it?

retsamekop10

I understand why they would want us to change it, sort of. I mean, it's a name. And thousands of search results will show up on Google no matter what. You can't stop every-single-result that has the words “Animation” “Hall” or “fame” from existing.

when i start as a clone
Scratch on!
Scratch more!
Create clone of [myself]
Keep on Scratching and never stop!

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