Copyright Office DENIES American Airlines Request to Copyright its Logo
The United States Copyright Office has just denied American Airline's efforts to COPYRIGHT its logo. The Copyright Office stated that the logo did not contain the requisite creativity in it's opinion. The Copyright Office has denied the Airline's application three times dating back to 2016. Although American Airlines does have TRADEMARK protection, COPYRIGHT protection/registration would provide a much broader set of protections.
Specifically, section 102 of the Copyright Act provides as follows:
(a)
Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in
original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression,
now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived,
reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid
of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following
categories:
(1) literary works;
(2) musical works, including any accompanying words;
(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;
(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
(7) sound recordings; and
(8) architectural works.
(b)
In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship
extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation,
concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is
described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.
When a work is registered, a copyright owner is given the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
1. Reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords
2.
Distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or
other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
3.
Display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic,
and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or
sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or
other audiovisual work
4. Prepare derivative works based upon the work
5.
Perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic,
and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other
audiovisual
works
6. Perform the work publicly (in the case of sound recordings) by means of a digital audio transmission
Call Johnson Dalal today and speak to a Florida Copyright lawyer today to assist you in obtaining the Copyright Protection you need.
