johnric Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 yeah and it takes a while to finish the process... but... once its done, its done! and as long as you renew it its yours for good!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WindsorGman Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Yes, as we've seen on other threads, people become hostile when they see something being used, or mis-used without permission. Or is this just a pic of the future of Drum Corps? click on image to see full size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Yes, as we've seen on other threads, people become hostile when they see something being used, or mis-used without permission. Or is this just a pic of the future of Drum Corps? click on image to see full size WindsorGman, you probably haven't been to a drum corps show in a while, notice I left out the word bugle, take a good look at the "Soprano" section, they may look a lot like that trumpet section !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnric Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 We LOVE the Georgia Bridgemen!!!! They always took great care of us back in our junior days!!!! They were one of our biggest supporters!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolf1 Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 wow, flashback there. my hs band competed against Lowndes at the Festival of States in St. Petersburg, FLA............ like way back in 82 and/or 83, and Sprayberry too. It was too long ago but one of those years............. i'll do what I can to locate the shirt................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 If the legal entity that operated the corps has dissolved or has no active/current filings for the past two years (effectively dissolving the corporation without formal action), there can be no claims of infringement unless rights for the name, logo, etc. have been legally transfered and registered to another entity or individual. For an infringement claim to be effective, there would need to be a formal trademark application made and trademark issued as registered. As an example, I could produce and sell anything I wish that has the words 27th Lancers Drum & Bugle Corps or even create a new organization with the same name. There is no trademark issued or even a filing and there is no currently legally incorporated organization that could claim an active use of the name. I can't, however, use the name Star of Indiana (or even anything similar sounding in this context), since is a live registered trademark issued to Star of Indiana, Inc. Actually, if they chose to challenge it, Duke University could prevent The Concord Blue Devils from selling any promotional merchandise that simply said 'Blue Devils' and did not include the full name, since they hold a trademark for name in use on clothing. Word Mark BLUE DEVILSGoods and Services IC 025. US 039. G & S: MEN'S, WOMEN'S AND CHILDREN'S CLOTHING, NAMELY SHIRTS, PANTS, JACKETS, SOCKS, BIBS AND HEADWEAR. FIRST USE: 19490000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19490000 It would be impossible for The Blue Devils to challenge this, since Duke demonstrated first use in commerce as 1949 in the filing, which was accepted, even though the trademark wasn't filed until 1986. Anyway, there is actually little that prevents anyone from doing this if they wished, so long as they do not infringe on active registered trademarks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 It is illegal to try and profit from defunct corps, if the directors of the corps own the names of the corps, which would be copyright infringement. As well as other issues.We have had permission from George B. and family, to put up and sell t shirts on the website, because the website is copyrighted and owned by them, it is a tedious process though. We do have the right to sell t-shirts and other products. It would be nice to have old t shirt designs so we could make some up though. We only have 2, if anyone has more, let us know. We don't owe any bills, but what Jim says is true. You have to find out who owns the name of the corps, ask for permission, and find out if any bills are owed before you venture off into that avenue of business. To be honest, he doesn't actually own the rights to this any more than you do if the organization has been dissolved and there were never any trademark registered (which there wasn't). Since the organization has been dissolved, there can be no challenge of 'first use in commerce'. Copyright issues do not come into play here, as they protect an individual work, for example, a specific t-shirt design. Trademarks are what protect and preserve a name. Anyway, while it is certainly polite and appropriate to ask George for permission to use these, it is not necessary, since, legally, it isn't his right (or anyone else's) to grant or deny you this. Regarding finding out if there are any outstanding debts owed by the organization, this is also completely unnecessary. This has nothing really to do with the business of selling promotional items. If your interested is to re-establish/revive an organization or to establish a new organization to perform a similar activity in the same jurisdiction, with the same name, this requires oversight and approval. Velvet Knights is a good example of this particular issue. If the organization that wanted to call itself Velvet Knights was not intending to have non-profit status or was not intending to engage in a similar activity or intended to incorporate in a completely different jurisdiction... this approval would not be required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 (edited) I do know that the name is still registered, 27th Lancers INC. it isn't considered a "defunct" corps, as far as that is concerned we are still in "Limbo". It just went into an "Inactive" state. But we don't want anyone taking the name and making money from the name. But the copyright issue does apply here. Edited February 18, 2007 by Lancerlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I do know that the name is still registered, 27th Lancers INC. it isn't considered a "defunct" corps, as far as that is concerned we are still in "Limbo". It just went into an "Inactive" state. But we don't want anyone taking the name and making money from the name.But the copyright issue does apply here. If the current 27th Lancer, Inc that you mention has the exact same tax ID# as the originally incorporated entity and has been operating consistently since then... AND the organization is filing current tax forms... AND has not been inactive less than 2 years (can't be in 'limbo' any longer than 2 years... then there could be some issue. This issue, however, would only be a challenge of 'first use in commerce', which could only prevent another organization from some specific activities, provided that you can prove that it creates a current confusion in the marketplace between your currently active product and another. Back to my point... Copyright does not apply here... as it refers to a creative product (a written work, a piece of software, a piece of music, a photograph), not a name. Trademarks protect and preserve names. Anyway, my point is that if I wanted to produce and sell promotional merchandise that said 27th Lancers Drum & Bugle Corps or any other organization that is not holding a registered trademark or showing consistent and continuous first use in commerce and is currently and consistently active since the date of claim... no one could prevent this. Whether it is ethical is certainly a different question than whether it is legal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 (edited) If the current 27th Lancer, Inc that you mention has the exact same tax ID# as the originally incorporated entity and has been operating consistently since then... AND the organization is filing current tax forms... AND has not been inactive less than 2 years (can't be in 'limbo' any longer than 2 years... then there could be some issue. This issue, however, would only be a challenge of 'first use in commerce', which could only prevent another organization from some specific activities, provided that you can prove that it creates a current confusion in the marketplace between your currently active product and another.Back to my point... Copyright does not apply here... as it refers to a creative product (a written work, a piece of software, a piece of music, a photograph), not a name. Trademarks protect and preserve names. Anyway, my point is that if I wanted to produce and sell promotional merchandise that said 27th Lancers Drum & Bugle Corps or any other organization that is not holding a registered trademark or showing consistent and continuous first use in commerce and is currently and consistently active since the date of claim... no one could prevent this. Whether it is ethical is certainly a different question than whether it is legal. Something must've happened, cause he has stopped others legally from using the name before. That's all I'm getting into regarding that aspect of it. :) Edited February 18, 2007 by Lancerlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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