Re: To all you lawyers

["John Danahy" <JDANAHY@turbonet.com>]

But why does my name have to be linked to some creative work to have
property value?  (Re: tom trail's letter on Privacy)  Doesn't the fact that
some company has sold my name to another company automatically assign value
to my name? Should t I then be compensated?

John

John and Laurie Danahy
jdanahy@turbonet.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "William K. Medlin" <dev-plan@moscow.com>
To: "Bob Hoffmann" <escape@alt-escape.com>
Cc: <JDANAHY@turbonet.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2000 8:49 PM
Subject: Re: To all you lawyers


> I think you're right on this, Bob, tho I too am not a lawyer. A name
> is not intellectual property unless it is part of some creative work
> that adds a marketable value (a property value) to the name. Tiger
> Woods as a name has no commercial value until it is linked with a
> creation of something -- the name then becomes a label for marketing
> purposes. That's my feeling about it. Ken M.
>
> >At 01:28 PM 09/13/2000 -0700, you wrote:
> >>Who owns the property rights to my name?
> >
> >According to my knowledge of copyright law (and I'm not a lawyer),
> >no one owns the property rights to your name.  It is a fact that you
> >are John Danahy, and facts cannot be copyrighted.  Only Creative
> >Works can be copyrighted.  If someone compiles a big list of our
> >names and addresses and buying habits, that compilation is a
> >creative work, with property rights.
> >
> >"Jimi Hendrix" can be considered more than a name, but a brand, so
> >to speak, so that can be covered under copyright law, because
> >everyone associates his name with his music.
> >
> >Nice try; let me know if you have better luck with someone else's
> >opinion, I'd like to cash in too.
> >
> >
> >Bob Hoffmann
> >846 Mabelle St.
> >Moscow, ID  83843  USA
> >Phone: (208) 883-0642
> >Fax: (877) 495-2279
>