Don't Get Cocky

[Bramblethorn]

A romance author has claimed a trademark on the word "cocky" and is attempting to stop other authors from using it.

Legally this is flagrant bullshit, but at least one author has reported that Amazon took down one of her stories after Ms. Hopkins made a trademark complaint.

*eyeroll*

 

[Handley_Page]

A romance author has claimed a trademark on the word "cocky" and is attempting to stop other authors from using it.

Legally this is flagrant bullshit, but at least one author has reported that Amazon took down one of her stories after Ms. Hopkins made a trademark complaint.

*eyeroll*

Part of routine English in my experience.

 

[lovecraft68]

Amazon is always happy to take down any independent book for any reason.

Even though this is total bullshit, she's going to get away with it at least with indy writers because A, who has money to go to court over their $2.99 e-book and also as just mentioned Amazon enjoys any reason to pull books and there is no arguing with them.

 

[ausfet]

What a cunty act.

 

[JasonClearwater]

What a cunty act.

So, she's trademarked 'cocky' as a 'wordmark' (word written in a specific typeface used in a specific context), and is now doing the rounds threatening other writers with lawsuits, some of whom had used the word in their titles (in different typefaces) prior to her use of it.

I have a friend who has Touertte's who'd have just the right words for this FUCKBITCHWHORECUNTWHORE.

Oh, hey mate, cheers.

 

[weftandwarp]

Help. I've lost my identity. I'm a cocky.

 

[ThatsTheGuy]

I guess it's okay to be 'Cocky' instead of 'cocky'?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Tell it to the boids.

https://jeaninelucienne.wordpress.com/tag/white-parrot/

What's she going to do, take on the hundreds of noisy bloody birds that fly over my roof every evening? Good luck with that. Silly bitch.

 

[RocketLauncher]

There is no such thing as bad publicity.

 

[JasonClearwater]

There is no such thing as bad publicity.

I think that really depends who you are.

I suspect [this author, whose name I can't be fucked remembering], Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby might disagree with you on that... in the long run.

[Edited to remove unnecessary language]

 

[Alice_Rosaleen]

Well there goes my plan to publish "Cocky Cocks, a Cock's Tale"....

 

[ThatsTheGuy]

Tell it to the boids.

https://jeaninelucienne.wordpress.com/tag/white-parrot/

What's she going to do, take on the hundreds of noisy bloody birds that fly over my roof every evening? Good luck with that. Silly bitch.

My thoughts exactly. You're words are so much kinder than the ones I can't say in polite company.

 

[weftandwarp]

I guess it's okay to be 'Cocky' instead of 'cocky'?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Yep. A cocky is a farmer. I have problems with cockies. They fill their crops with my crops.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Well there goes my plan to publish "Cocky Cocks, a Cock's Tale"....

Maybe we should all go and write her a bunch of crap fan fiction, Lit style.

 

[ChloeTzang]

There is no such thing as bad publicity.

I think in her case their might be. She is getting a huge backlash over this.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Amazon is always happy to take down any independent book for any reason.

Even though this is total bullshit, she's going to get away with it at least with indy writers because A, who has money to go to court over their $2.99 e-book and also as just mentioned Amazon enjoys any reason to pull books and there is no arguing with them.

Looks like Romance Writers of America is lawyering up on behalf of its members, so hopefully they'll stomp it into the ground.

So, she's trademarked 'cocky' as a 'wordmark' (word written in a specific typeface used in a specific context), and is now doing the rounds threatening other writers with lawsuits, some of whom had used the word in their titles (in different typefaces) prior to her use of it.

She seems to have two trademarks: one for the wordmark, as you describe, and another for "cocky" in relation to her books regardless of typeface.

 

[KCWinter]

Her trademark apparently only applies to the use of "Cocky" in a *series* title, because in the US you can't legally trademark the title of a single book. (I'm not a legal expert; I'm getting that info from blogs written by lawyers who do know how this works.) But even though her trademark applies to series titles, she's still using it to report single books to Amazon and to send fairly threatening letters to the authors of some of those books. According to her, it's "easy" to change a book title... except it isn't, because you have to change that title on all files, get a new book cover done, etc., and it can get expensive.

For her, I think this publicity is bad publicity, because there are a whole lot of people who had never heard of her before who have now added her to their "never buy" lists.

There have already been a few parody books done, including one that's selling quite well on Amazon.

 

[Hypoxia]

Create a 'Bastard' series: The Bastard of Troyes; The Bastard of Vienna; The Bastard Tromp; The Unholy Bastard. File for wordmark protection on 'bastard'. Try the same with 'bitch' or 'cunny'. See how it goes.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I guess I'm lucky, I've never in my life used the word 'co**y' and I'm not about too in the future.

 

[Oblimo]

Wait.

Does this mean Dr. Chuck Tingle can trademark “Pounded”?

 

[JasonClearwater]

Wait.

Does this mean Dr. Chuck Tingle can trademark “Pounded”?

SHITE! I bet he bloody can too!

 

[JasonClearwater]

You know, there is an easy solution to this. We all start releasing short stories on Amazon, at 0.2c per story, all with 'Cocky' in the title. Hundreds of them. Thousands of them. Same cover image, different titles, all under different alts. Let her crack(ed up) legal team pursue every single one of them.

 

[ChloeTzang]

You know, there is an easy solution to this. We all start releasing short stories on Amazon, at 0.2c per story, all with 'Cocky' in the title. Hundreds of them. Thousands of them. Same cover image, different titles, all under different alts. Let her crack(ed up) legal team pursue every single one of them.

As far as I know you can use the same titles too. So use the same titles as her books. Make them freebies too.

 

[ElectricBlue]

As far as I know you can use the same titles too. So use the same titles as her books. Make them freebies too.

I want the owner of the script she used for the brand graphic to pursue her for breach of contract. One of the lawyer babbles noted that it's a term of their permission to use the script, that nothing was to be trade-marked from it.

 

[Bramblethorn]

As far as I know you can use the same titles too. So use the same titles as her books. Make them freebies too.

Did you ever see "Spending the Stephen King Money"?

It's a blog by an author who released a novel called "Joyland" several years before Stephen King put out a book of the same name. He didn't release an e-book version, so she suddenly started getting a lot of e-book sales followed by angry reviews from people who didn't read the listing very carefully. Looks like she got about $3k from it.

She wrote a blog about how she was spending the money. Eventually King found out about it, wished her well, and bought a copy of her book. Nobody sued anybody.

https://stephenkingmoney.tumblr.com/