Clarification of Usage

New York, NY Viewed 23 times. Posted about 1 month ago in Trademark Infringement

Thank you Ms. Koslyn and Mr. Ballard for you timely responses.

To further clarify, the song is about a scorned woman who uses technology to stalk her ex-lover. "Twitter" is a direct reference to the use of the twitter.com application to help her to follow him around. I also refer to Blackberry, Facebook, Caller ID and GPS. The "tweet, tweet" (background vocals) refers to receiving or sending a "tweet" using Twitter. I just want to make sure that it is understood by both of you that I am actually referring to this and other applications.

Answers (3)

Jonathan H Levy

This attorney is licensed in California and 1 other state. Posted about 1 month ago.

Parody is generally a defense to trademark infringment. As long as you were not disparaging the brands, I think you would be OK. But that's not to say, you might not get sued anyway. Good luck.

Pamela Koslyn

This attorney is licensed in California. Posted about 1 month ago.

My guess is that your use of those brand names in your song is ok, but that doesn't mean those trademark rightsholders will agree.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.