Is this legal!?

[Himokiri Karate]

Hi, before we start, I want to thank you for making me the member of the month in the month of May. I just logged in and saw it and I greatly appreciate all the kind words.

Now here is something, I saw an extremely funny YouTube series called Cobra Kai about the main antagonist of Karate Kid being the main character. The humor comes from his lack of knowledge of Facebook and modern behavior that people refer to as politically correct or "PC"

That being said, I saw that in real life, there is a cobra kai jujitsu and a cobra kai fitness. It made me wonder... Can real life gyms/dojos name their place after cobra kais?

Like I would love to have my own cobra kai gym (not jujitsu/fitness) but I assumed people would get sued or can you avoid the lawsuit if you make changes to the name?

What I mean is, instead of "cobra kai karate" it could be cobra kai kung fu. Would that avoid the legal left hook sort of peak?

[OneKickWonder]

Depends on two things.

What legal jurisdiction you're in, and whether the name has been protected by trademark or patent within the same legal jurisdiction.

I assume this is in the US?

[sensei8]

OneKickWonder has pretty much summed it up. It's like a song, where the words can't be copyrighted but the music can be. Our own Patrick is, imho, our copyright expert across the board, and has some deep insight in this very area.

If the name "Cobra Kai" is protected, of which I doubt, by trademark and/or copyright laws, and/or patents then no one, not a person and/or an entity and/or a company and/or the like could use that name without specific written permission from its said owner. US copyright does NOT cover names, title, short phrases or listings. However, there are protections available for those areas copyright does not cover, such as trademarks and patents.

The laws surrounding trademark and copyright and patents are so quite specific that before I'd use "Cobra Kai", I'd seek the advice of a lawyer who specializes in these laws.

[JazzKicker]

I've seen "Cobra Kai" t-shirts, so somebody's getting away with it.

As I remember, they were the jerks in that story, so while it's a cute idea, little Johnny's parents might not think so.

Sweep the leg, Johnny!

[Himokiri Karate]

OneKickWonder has pretty much summed it up. It's like a song, where the words can't be copyrighted but the music can be. Our own Patrick is, imho, our copyright expert across the board, and has some deep insight in this very area.

If the name "Cobra Kai" is protected, of which I doubt, by trademark and/or copyright laws, and/or patents then no one, not a person and/or an entity and/or a company and/or the like could use that name without specific written permission from its said owner. US copyright does NOT cover names, title, short phrases or listings. However, there are protections available for those areas copyright does not cover, such as trademarks and patents.

The laws surrounding trademark and copyright and patents are so quite specific that before I'd use "Cobra Kai", I'd seek the advice of a lawyer who specializes in these laws.

Ok so here is a question. Let's say sony owns the copyright in both Canada and us but they don't own the trademark. Does this mean a karate person can open his dojo with the name cobra kai but can't make books and videos that is cobra kai themed?

Like you have your own cobra kai school and the service you offer is instruction. As long as you are not selling anything based on the material of the movie then you are fine. Is that an accurate statement?

Oh and to the poster that said the cobra kai is bad. I disagree, the cobra kai are not good or bad. Their method is based on the reflection of reality and that is a merciless world. I like the zen and calm miyagi approach but yin and yang have to coexist together. Sense John kreese was honorable enough to allow larusso and miyagi to train without disruption of his students. That has to mean something.

I have been in boxing and other combat sports and the people I saw act the way they did would make John kreese look like a sweetheart. Specific example in boxing would be racist insults or bitter local boxers discouraging young boxers with disparaging and false comments to get in to their head.

Sorry didn't mean to get a bit off topic but anyway, I liked the cobra kai because they had effective training and they ran it like a military. No nonsense, solid conditioning program and they had great footwork in the tournament.

[OneKickWonder]

I've seen "Cobra Kai" t-shirts, so somebody's getting away with it.

As I remember, they were the jerks in that story, so while it's a cute idea, little Johnny's parents might not think so.

Sweep the leg, Johnny!

Johnny was just a perfectly ordinary hormonal young man. Daniel was the bully.

[Himokiri Karate]

I've seen "Cobra Kai" t-shirts, so somebody's getting away with it.

As I remember, they were the jerks in that story, so while it's a cute idea, little Johnny's parents might not think so.

Sweep the leg, Johnny!

Johnny was just a perfectly ordinary hormonal young man. Daniel was the bully.

There was an older one that didn't go viral which was a three parter called "crimes of Daniel larusso"

But good to know cobra kai supporters are here!

Assaaaaa!

[tallgeese]

I've seen "Cobra Kai" t-shirts, so somebody's getting away with it.

As I remember, they were the jerks in that story, so while it's a cute idea, little Johnny's parents might not think so.

Sweep the leg, Johnny!

Johnny was just a perfectly ordinary hormonal young man. Daniel was the bully.

There was an older one that didn't go viral which was a three parter called "crimes of Daniel larusso"

But good to know cobra kai supporters are here!

Assaaaaa!

Cobra kai....

Say it.

Cobra kai, never dies!

That's right!

Yeah, I even like the cheesy third one.

[sensei8]

OneKickWonder has pretty much summed it up. It's like a song, where the words can't be copyrighted but the music can be. Our own Patrick is, imho, our copyright expert across the board, and has some deep insight in this very area.

If the name "Cobra Kai" is protected, of which I doubt, by trademark and/or copyright laws, and/or patents then no one, not a person and/or an entity and/or a company and/or the like could use that name without specific written permission from its said owner. US copyright does NOT cover names, title, short phrases or listings. However, there are protections available for those areas copyright does not cover, such as trademarks and patents.

The laws surrounding trademark and copyright and patents are so quite specific that before I'd use "Cobra Kai", I'd seek the advice of a lawyer who specializes in these laws.

Ok so here is a question. Let's say sony owns the copyright in both Canada and us but they don't own the trademark. Does this mean a karate person can open his dojo with the name cobra kai but can't make books and videos that is cobra kai themed?

Like you have your own cobra kai school and the service you offer is instruction. As long as you are not selling anything based on the material of the movie then you are fine. Is that an accurate statement?

Oh and to the poster that said the cobra kai is bad. I disagree, the cobra kai are not good or bad. Their method is based on the reflection of reality and that is a merciless world. I like the zen and calm miyagi approach but yin and yang have to coexist together. Sense John kreese was honorable enough to allow larusso and miyagi to train without disruption of his students. That has to mean something.

I have been in boxing and other combat sports and the people I saw act the way they did would make John kreese look like a sweetheart. Specific example in boxing would be racist insults or bitter local boxers discouraging young boxers with disparaging and false comments to get in to their head.

Sorry didn't mean to get a bit off topic but anyway, I liked the cobra kai because they had effective training and they ran it like a military. No nonsense, solid conditioning program and they had great footwork in the tournament.

Visit a copyright and/or trademark/servicemark and/or patent lawyer for the correct answer(s) to your question(s) because anything I might post might be way off base.I've experienced many, many things along this line, but I am not a lawyer in this field.

Usually you have one or another, not one or more; dependent on what's being protected.

The following info comes from our SKKA's outside law firm, Beckworth. Please consult with a lawyer of your choice. Info here is based on USA law's, rules, and regulations.

Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. Lasts roughly Life plus 70 years in the USA.

A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Unlike patents and copyrights, trademarks do not expire after a set period of time. Trademarks, in the USA, will persist so long as the owner continues to use the trademark. Owner stops using it, then it's no longer valid.

A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years, 14 years for Design Patents, from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the USA.

[LLLEARNER]

There have even been cases of an older business using a name or trademark suing and winning the right to ownership over a newer business.