[ggchappell]

(IANAL; ignore me if you wish.)

First of all, trademark & copyright law are completely separate. Don't depend on any general principles to apply to both.

Second, it's probably better if you don't think in terms of "ownership". In Berne-convention signatory nations (i.e., just about all nations, including the U.S.), copyright exists in most works on their completion, with the legal author(s) holding the copyright until it expires. That would usually be the actual authors, unless it is a work for hire, in which case it is usually the employer.

So if the work is created by employees of a corporation as part of their work, and there is no contract stating to the contrary, then the issues you bring up do not arise; the corporation is the sole legal author.

In a work with multiple legal authors, all authors would have to agree to any licensing. One way to do this is for all authors to agree formally that some particular party may act as their agent in such matters. If this is not done, then, whenever any licensing or publishing issues come up, they need to be run by all authors for their approval.

As for trademarks: couldn't say.

[tci22]

Is the paperwork involved laborious? I ask this because I think it would be interesting to streamline the process and create a marketplace where conceivably tens or hundreds or more people could 'own' a copyright and/or trademark, grant licenses and divvy the profits among themselves whenever the license is evoked

[ggchappell]

> Is the paperwork involved laborious?

Depends on what you mean.

As I said in the GP, under the Berne Convention, copyright exists in a work when it is created. There is no paperwork required. For example, thousands of people hold copyright to portions of Wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation makes the license, and the terms under which contributions are accepted, clear, and that's it.

But if you want to be dividing up money, then you'll need to carefully consider the issues of whether the licensing terms would hold up in courts in various jurisdictions, how to prove at a later date that authors did indeed agree to the license terms, and how the licensing terms might be changed, if necessary, without all authors needing to be contacted individually. For that, you need to talk to a real lawyer (which, once again, I am not).

And then there is the issue of just how you're going to collect money and get it to all those people ....

[micks56]

I am a lawyer, and what ggchappell said is correct.

The work required to license either isn't difficult. Arguing back and forth on terms is how the legal bills add up. It all boils down to how much money must be paid.

Your product is mostly the underlying asset, not the streamlined process.

Remember, every licensee of the copyright or trademark will be selling the same thing (mostly). How do they differentiate themselves in the market? Probably price, in a multitude of ways.

[maresca]

I just filed for a trademark. It took about an hour to do on the patent trademark office's site. It costs about 300 per class of trademarks. The owner of the trademark is listed as the LLC, not me individually.

[tci22]

Just to be clear: you filed on behalf of someone? And would the office allow you to add/update with additional owners?

[maresca]

I filed on behalf of my business, of which I am the owner. The online process has a spot where you list your business name.

Check out http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/teas/initial_app.jsp

At the bottom, Collective Trademark/Servicemark Application

[tci22]

Thank you both for the info

[micks56]

Yes, copyright and TM are different, but both can be handled similarly. Let's start with similarities.

You can register both individually, and then execute a licensing contract for each afterward. You sign and the new party signs. Terms of the agreement ae mostly up to both of you.

Trademarks allow for extra assignment recording rights. You can check the USPTO website for those or contact an attorney for specifics.

Basically, you creat a license, like GPL or a CC license or a custom one (how most are done).

You can charge a flat fee, ongoing royalties, or other. Whatever fits your goals and the market.

atty here btw.