If a company doesn't contact another company about using its copyrighted product name, is it legal?
by 
Anonymous
ANSWERS: 2
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If one company(A) doesn't contact another company(B) about usage of B's copyrighted protected product name it is not legal...however, there is always some wiggle room... For instance A might get away with the unapproved usage of product name if: B had not perviously protection product name from unapproved usage, thusly, the product name could be argued as use for public domain (free usage!)... Simply put, if it's copyrighted, it's legally owned by someone and you have to get their permission, always.
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Actually, I think you are asking about a Trademark. You can't copyright a name. A trademark is a word or symbol or combined word and symbol symbolizing a particular source or origin of a product. Trademark protection arises from actually using a name. You can have a trademark without registration, but registration gives you more rights and gives you a presumption that you used it first. This is an incredibly complex area of the law. There are many cases in which you can indeed without permission use a trademarked name for your product if there is no liklihood of confusion as to the source or origin. This might be because the products are totally different or because the geographic area is totally separate. Take a look at www.uspto.gov for a FAQ that fully explains trademarks and copyrights. Copyrights protect your intellectual work product. You copyright a book, or a record or a work of art for example. The law is quite different. It's not what you use to protect a name.
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