Publishing House?
A few months ago I applied for trademark registration with the governments of Canada and the United States. The USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) has replied to me enumerating a number of problems with my application and I have six months to amend it. This is not really a surprise, since I deliberately made my application broad, trying to cover information products information delivery as much as possible. I will probably need to get a lawyer who specializes in this sort of thing - although, first off I will start with Sofia. She is a lawyer (granted, her principal work has been in the area of women's issues and human rights and most recently in protection and preservation of traditional knowledge), so we will see how that goes.
Of course, I think it would all be simpler if I was a publishing house, then I could apply for general coverage. I did apply for general publishing coverage and this was their response:
In addition, “non-fiction books on a variety of topics” and “series of fiction and non-fiction books on a variety of topics” is an acceptable identification of goods only if the applied-for mark is for a publishing house. It does not appear from the record that applicant is a publishing house. Therefore, this wording must be deleted from the identification of goods.Perhaps a publishing house is in my future. Hmmm ... how does one become a publishing house? What is the difference between a publishing house and a printer? More fundamentally, what is a publishing house? Does running off a dozen copies of a newsletter qualify me as a publishing house? If wonder if Conrad Black could offer some advice?
Definitely food for thought.
Note: a definition I got from the Internet for Publishing House is:
Any of the large commercial publishers that purchase manuscripts through agents or from authors, or pay an advance. Publishing Houses make all editorial decisions regarding content and style, pay all production and distribution costs, and own the copyright. When the book sells, the Publishing House may deduct advances paid from royalties due the author at the rate of 5-10% of wholesale or retail prices depending upon the contract.
Image nabbed from here.
Comments
I'm curious about what it is that you are applying for trademark on, but appreciate that given the fact that you are in the process of seeking trademark registration, it needs to remain confidential for now. Very exciting. Keep us posted and best wishes with it!
I didn't realize Sofia was a lawyer..thought she was a social worker for some reason. I hope she can help you.
what exactly is the trademark that you applied by the way?getting so curious here...
It seems like definitions do not cover up with modern, digital technology....
MOI: I definitely need to be open to what is going on around me. Sofia cannot work as a lawyer in Canada and her work has always been towards human rights.
bee: what is a day without learning somethign new.
ghee: sorry, I am not revelaing that yet. A trademark is an identifier for a product. For all I know, it may be a stupid identifier that nobody cares about (except me).
Sofia practiced law in Peru for several years at a femminist organization. She got her master in International Human Rights in Canada. And she now works on Traditional Knowledge at the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity.
rennyba: blogger is actually the publisher of my blog, I am just the author. I think a publisher renders and delivers another persons' work.
tin-tin: I hav eno idea. I talk about a lot of things. So it is possible I have talked or hinted, or whined or dreamed about this in someway.
toraa: I am not giving up. I have 6 months to respond. I am thinking about actually forming a small publishing house. Sofia is making me go through the pros and cons.
pls update us the details next time :)
seems u r busy,Richard..no updates lately.
ghee: yes, work has kept me occupied. As has thinking about my latest post.