Hi everyone. I've posted a video on YouTube in order to create more awareness that the character name "Canadian Crusader" is my registered trademark. I really don't like having to contact people to tell them that they are infringing on my trademark, it's totally an unpleasant thing to do, but I will do whatever is necessary to protect my trademark... which is why I registered it in the first place.
Here's the video:
It's unfortunate (and very frustrating) that some people don't bother doing any research before they start using a fictional character name for their online content, or for other media such as cosplay, mascots or illustrated characters. Some people simply don't care about respecting intellectual property rights and so they use whatever name they want to. However, if a fictional character name that you use as your persona online, for example, is actually someone else's registered trademark then you are guilty of trademark infringement.
Granted, sometimes the infringement is totally unintentional and no ill will was intended by the person responsible, that's fine and I get that. However, ignorance of the law is not a valid defense, and as such the trademark owner has the right to request financial compensation if they feel the infringement caused damage to their trademark. Once made aware of the infringement, the decent thing to do is to stop using the name rather than to cause a fuss and refuse to give it up. The person who has the name registered as a trademark isn't the one causing the problem, the person who is using the name without permission is. And it's totally avoidable.
It only takes a few seconds to do a Google search to see if a fictional character name belongs to someone else. If it pops up, don't use it! When people do a search, it avoids so much fuss and bother for everyone involved! It's also simply the professional thing to do if it's your plan to create your own character and start promoting that character in various media formats, or to start licensing that character on T-shirts and so on. It's not just your job as a creator to do your research to make sure the name you want to use is in the clear, it's your legal responsibility to do so.
So, to those of you who do care about respecting someone else's trademark rights, I sincerely thank you! The world needs more people like you! People who care enough to do their homework.
It's kind of ironic, people often complain when big businesses have too much control of the market, yet how many of those same people couldn't be bothered to do an easy online search to make sure that they're not infringing on an independent artist's trademark? And doing a quick google search is such a simple thing to do! Or better yet, go to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) website and do a trademark search. It's just as easy and fast as a Google search. And since you're at the CIPO website, do a copyright search too just to be on the safe side. It's so easy peasy!
And I have to say, the elephant in the room is that the folks who don't care about respecting intellectual property rights would be foaming at the mouth if something they created was copied or taken from them and used by someone else without permission. It's so hypocritical!
Well, hopefully this posting will have some positive influence, we'll see!
-Mikey Artelle
aka: Owner of "Canadian Crusader" trademark registration
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