lawyer who filed cocky trademark

Is the word “cocky” trademarked?

Trademarks are a matter of public record, so it didn’t take long for Smith and Jane to confirm that Hopkins was telling the truth: She did hold a trademark on the word “cocky.” Technically, Hopkins actually holds two registrations on “cocky” through the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Who is the author of the cocky cowboy?

Tara Crescent, the author of Her Cocky Doctors and Her Cocky Firefighters, says she received a letter from Amazon suspending her sales without ever receiving a letter from Hopkins. (Her books have since been reinstated.) Jamila Jasper, the author of The Cocky Cowboy, says she received a similar takedown notice.

Can You claim trademark rights on a common word?

McKenna is a law professor at Notre Dame who specializes in intellectual property law. “It’s not necessarily a problem to claim trademark rights on a common word,” he explains. “The way trademark law works is you only acquire rights in relation to certain goods and services.

What happened to Faleena Hopkins?

Author Faleena Hopkins, who yesterday surrendered her trademark registration for the word “cocky,” has posted a video statement on her decision. She explains that she filed for the trademarks because her books are like family to her and her readers, but after coming under attack, she decided to relinquish them.

What's the book cocky?

This book on English crime baron Curtis Cocky Warren is a nice look into European organized crime. Cocky was a major player in importing ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana and heroin into England through his Liverpool base and on England terms he was a John Gotti type figure.

Where is Curtis Warren now?

One of the UK's most notorious criminals , Curtis Warren is serving a jail sentence for attempting to smuggle cannabis into Jersey. He was sentenced to 13 years over the £1m conspiracy - though Interpol's former most wanted has always maintained he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

What is the cocky hero Club?

Cocky Hero Club is an all new world inspired by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward's blockbuster New York Times bestselling series of standalones that all began with the smash hit Cocky Bastard.

Who is the author of The Cocky Cowboy?

Jamila Jasper, the author of The Cocky Cowboy, says she received a similar takedown notice. She changed her title to The Cockiest Cowboy to Have Ever Cocked. In a series of tweets, Hopkins argued that her trademark helps protect her readers from unscrupulous copycats.

Who is John McKenna?

McKenna is a law professor at Notre Dame who specializes in intellectual property law. “It’s not necessarily a problem to claim trademark rights on a common word,” he explains. “The way trademark law works is you only acquire rights in relation to certain goods and services.

Did Jane Hopkins have a trademark on the word "cocky"?

Trademarks are a matter of public record, so it didn’t take long for Smith and Jane to confirm that Hopkins was telling the truth: She did hold a trademark on the word “cocky.”. Technically, Hopkins actually holds two registrations on “cocky” through the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Is the Magic School Bus book a trademark?

McKenna points to the Magic School Bus books, which have a trademarked title. “But even those claims are a little questionable,” he says, “because it’s telling you about authorship and not the production of the physical good.”. The way Hopkins was using her trademark, however, is not a gray area.

Do books get trademarked?

Trademark, meanwhile, is designed to protect a brand, so that consumers don’t confuse one similar-looking product with another. You don’t trademark a book series title unless you can prove that the title is part of your specific brand. That said, book series titles do get trademarked.

Did Jane Smith get a notice from Amazon?

Smith and Jane aren’t the only authors who received notices of infringement. Tara Crescent, the author of Her Cocky Doctors and Her Cocky Firefighters, says she received a letter from Amazon suspending her sales without ever receiving a letter from Hopkins. (Her books have since been reinstated.)

Did audible sell Cocky Fiancé?

They’d sold Audible the audio rights for their collaboration, Cocky Fiancé, and everything was going well until Audible emailed Smith and Jane to say that it had received a notice that they were infringing on someone else’s trademark. Two days after Audible’s email, they say, they heard from Hopkins herself.

Who denied the injunction to publish cocky books?

In a decision handed down late last week, Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York denied a motion by an author requesting that a preliminary injunction be issued to prevent publication a number of books that include the word “cocky” in the title.

What did John Hopkins do before he filed suit?

Before filing suit, Hopkins sought to block the sale of other romance books that included "cocky" in their title, and sent letters to authors telling them to change the title of their books. Hopkins also asked Amazon to pull other books featuring "cocky" in their titles from sale.

Who is the author of the Cocker Brothers?

This spring, author Faleena Hopkins obtained a trademark registration of the word “cocky” in connection with her series of self-published romance novels, each featuring one of her Cocker Brothers characters.

Can a series title be trademarked?

Although Hopkins had obtained her trademark, the law only allows trademarks in limited cases. The law prevents individual titles from being trademarked, only series titles, and allows that common words cannot be trademarked at all, unless they develop an association in the minds of the public with a particular source.