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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

RED is a registered trademark

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Tom Jordan

Tom Jordan

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Maybe someone can help me out here? When I started my RED rental company sometime ago I thought it would be a good idea to contact RED and discuss with the TOP dogs about using the "Name" RED in my company. Well, I was informed that the name RED was a registered trademark name and that I was advised not to use it due to legalities that could arise down the road "Lawyers,Lawsuites....Oh that makes my head. I see LLC companies & individuals using the "Name" RED in the names like for instance RED ??? rentals. How does that work? I can type in RED camera rentals and pull up a whole slue of companies that are using the name quite clearly.
 
See http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17101

One quote:
Dylan Reeve said:
Trademarks are within a specific service industry or field. So RED holds trademarks in relation to various cinematic and digital entertainment things basically.

The point is that any product related to RED that includes RED in it's name is 'confusingly similar' to RED's own name and trademarks - in that it might imply that the product is made my RED or endorsed by RED.

RED is required to defend their trademark against unauthorised use or they could potentially lose it.

That's why neither my company nor product names include any mention of RED.
Click to expand...
 
Last I heard you cannot copyright a household term.
This is why it is Blu-Ray and not Blue-ray Sony wanted a trademark.
I think Red strongly insist that you don't do it and send legal letters but I'd be surprised if they carry any weight.

However it would be stupid to call yourself RED...anything.
It's the obvious thing to do.
Not only that, a lot of people would not bother with you as they would assume you only had RED gear and whilst that might be the case if they want cooke primes over red primes you don't want the client thinking all you have is red only gear and as a rental house have pretty much anything the client requires be it RED or other.
Your rental company should be a digital cinema rental company not a RED rental company because not many truly are.
 
David Ellison said:
Last I heard you cannot copyright a household term. This is why it is Blu-Ray and not Blue-ray Sony wanted a trademark.
I think Red strongly insist that you don't do it and send legal letters but I'd be surprised if they carry any weight.
Click to expand...

Well...

http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/23/patent-office-agrees-to-facebooks-face-trademark/

"Face" is about as household as it gets.

Regardless of the legalities involved, if you are a camera rental facility and want to use "RED" in the title of your business, I'd recommend you square it with RED. If you are making cardboard containers, then it doesn't really matter as it is a totally separate model and industry. But in the same industry... do you really want to antagonize a company that is responsible for at least some (and maybe a lot) of your income?

Just sayin...

Lucas
 
Trademark law is tricky.. they can't trademark the word red, because "red" comes up in every day language such as discussing the color of your favorite sweatshirt. Can they trademark the name Red when it has to do with camera equipment even though its the same word but now its in context? yes they can.

You can actually trademark everything if you think there is a reason to do so. For example, if you go to the University of Maryland, the color red that they use in their clothing is trademarked and can not be used by any other school in their apparel.. the Tiffany Blue color that they use on their boxes is also trademarked...
 
The quote above from Dylan Reeve is exactly correct.

You can say you rent Red cameras ... because that's just a fact.

Your company can't be called "We rent Red Cameras!" or "RedRentals.com" because then Red can come after you.

Trademarks require aggressive defense to maintain their status. So really, Red couldn't let such a name slide without risking their own mark.

Consult an intellectual property lawyer for more.
 
As I said above, that is probably better for your business.
If some guy wants to rent an Arri Alexa you can make money by third party renting it off another rental house.
You never say 'no' to a rental wether you have the kit or not, it can always lead onto something and calling yourself 'red whatever' only misleads people into thinking you are a Red camera only facility.
 
RED does own several ® USPTO Registrations on the term "RED" by itself. An amazing feat if you understand trademark law.

Pick another name.

-michael zaletel
 
Way I understood it, if your business is primarily in existence because of RED and the R1, then your company cannot be called anything with red or r3d in title. Makes sense right?

We started off as R3D Guerilla Productions... Now we're RMS Productions.

Now if you're renting out ARRI's, R1's, Moviecams, etc... And you want to call yourself Red Headed Stepchild Cameras... You're all good.
 
:) Michael...

I actually wanted to call the company Red Headed Stepchild Productions (I am one)... But there is already a production company here in Honolulu with a name like Red Head Productions...
 
At the end the law is not that strict and the power $$$ will win.
There is on the market 2 cameras called Epic from diferent camera makers.

So, who owns the name Epic in the Camera market?

http://epicstealthcam.com/

Same may apply for Red...
 
Christian Munoz D said:
At the end the law is not that strict and the power $$$ will win.
There is on the market 2 cameras called Epic from diferent camera makers.

So, who owns the name Epic in the Camera market?

http://epicstealthcam.com/

Same may apply for Red...
Click to expand...

Its actually rarely about money.

The flat fact is that the folks with the money usually have the budgets to properly protect themselves, while the folks without usually find themselves making due. When that different level of preparation "bumps heads" its no surprise who "wins."

Its about who registered the mark and when, where the mark was registered, market penetration and specific use.

For one, "Epic Stealth Cam" appears to be the name of the product, not the company.

Red is the name of the company, and "Epic" is the name of the camera model.

The Epic Stealth Cam is relatively unknown, so they may lose the right to the trademark in some, if not all areas. More likely it will be highly restricted to this particular model, and this genre of camera. (consumer/prosumer market, "adventure", head mounted camera.)

The flip side of that arrangement is that Red's Epic would be restricted to "professional digital cinema" which I think wouldn't bother Red one iota.

OK .. enough "lawyering" for me. There is a reason I make movies and I do not work as an attorney. So, again, go ask a lawyer.
 
Alexander Ibrahim said:
The quote above from Dylan Reeve is exactly correct.

You can say you rent Red cameras ... because that's just a fact.

Your company can't be called "We rent Red Cameras!" or "RedRentals.com" because then Red can come after you.

Trademarks require aggressive defense to maintain their status. So really, Red couldn't let such a name slide without risking their own mark.

Consult an intellectual property lawyer for more.
Click to expand...

I agree with you Alexander. I spoke with RED on this subject before moving forward in creating my rental company. That's why I don't bite the hand that feeds me!

I appreciate all you gentleman that have posted your remarks on this thread. It seems obvious that certain individuals in this industry purchase a RED camera and start a company or LLC using this name to make money.
 
I am sure RED is aware of these websites. You should not underestimate them. If you think you got something they could have missed....not something on the first page of google...send Jarred a PM.
 
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