There is an interesting “citation” made by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in reference to trademarking a character. Essentially, the USPTO claims that a mark can be trademarked when the mark is a character and that character identifies services or goods. The USPTO claims that a mark cannot be trademarked when the mark is merely the name of a character in a movie or story.

Registration is refused because the proposed mark, as used on the specimen, solely identifies a particular character and does not function as a trademark for the identified goods. Trademark Act Sections 1, 2 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1052 and 1127. The name of a character is registrable as a trademark only where the record shows that it is used in a manner that would be perceived by consumers as identifying the goods in addition to identifying the character. In re Caserta, 46 USPQ2d 1088 (TTAB 1988); See In re D.C. Comics, Inc. 689 F.2d 1042, 215 USPQ 394 (C.C.P.A. 1982) and Paramount Pictures Corporation v. Romulan Invasions, 7 USPQ2d 1897 (TTAB 1988). USPTO

When Did “The Brent Corrigan Series” Surface?

In communications from The USPTO, the USPTO appears to have sought PROOF from Cobra Video that the mark BRENT CORRIGAN was used to identify a series of videos and that BRENT CORRIGAN was not merely the name of a character in one or more videos. The Million Dollar Question then is, was there a BRENT CORRIGAN SERIES of videos in existence PRIOR to the date the BRENT CORRIGAN trademark application was submitted to the USPTO?

The applicant has indicated that the mark is used in a trademark manner on two video tapes. Therefore, the applicant is request to provide evidence that the mark is used to identify a series of video tapes, rather than merely to identify a character in the videos. Evidence of a series includes copies of multiple covers or packaging for prerecorded works that show the mark used as a source identifier for the series and show the mark as distinguishable from the individual titles of the works. USPTO

It will be interesting to see if The Delaware Cobra Video LLC continues to pursue the trademark application for the mark BRENT CORRIGAN. Especially when there is a date of first use on the application that is BEFORE The Delaware Cobra Video LLC existed.

It is also interesting that no one appears to have yet informed that Federal Judge in San Diego that there were TWO Cobra Video LLCs (assuming that the existence of two Cobra Videos was not make clear in the Judge through the pleadings in the case).