The Tobermory Cat-Troll

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Mr Flibble

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They have no obligation to work with you - and they offered you free advertising anyway and you turned it down!

Why expect a reward for something you had no hand in? Did you write the book? Did you draw the pictures? Is this your IP? Nope.

So they owe you nothing, and they offered you something anyway and you turned it down.
 

Tobermory Cat

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I believe what you are talking about falls under trademark law, not copyright. Here's the wikipedia for UK trademark law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_trade_mark_law

Did you register Tobermory Cat as a trademark? Because from what I gather, unlike copyright, trademark isn't automatic.

As my work extends beyond a series of books, I did apply. They now challenge my trade mark, I offer a licence - payment going to the village hall. Seemed like a good solution - seeing both works are about a ginger celebrity cat living in Tobermory it could fit.
 

LindaJeanne

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As my work extends beyond a series of books, I did apply. They now challenge my trade mark, I offer a licence - payment going to the village hall. Seemed like a good solution - seeing both works are about a ginger celebrity cat living in Tobermory it could fit.

When did you apply, and was the trademark granted?
 

Mr Flibble

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As my work extends beyond a series of books, I did apply. They now challenge my trade mark, I offer a licence - payment going to the village hall. Seemed like a good solution - seeing both works are about a ginger celebrity cat living in Tobermory it could fit.

So, this work, where can I find it? (I've looked on amazon, etc and I can't find it. Is it just FB? I've asked this before but you haven't answered) I mean, most books aren't trademarked ( I think LOTR Harry Potter and the big stuff is, not anything else) I wonder why you would? So no one can talk about ginger cats in Scotland unless you say so? The cat has no owner, I don't see why any work about him needs to have one.

Also, what terms are you trademarking, or hoping to?
 

waylander

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Which bit of copyright law did you fail to understand? YOU DON'T HAVE A CASE.
Get over it.
 

Polenth

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As my work extends beyond a series of books, I did apply. They now challenge my trade mark, I offer a licence - payment going to the village hall. Seemed like a good solution - seeing both works are about a ginger celebrity cat living in Tobermory it could fit.

Applying for it isn't the same as getting it. The trademark people will look at all previous uses of ginger cats related to Tobermory. Which if you read this thread in detail, you'll see started before you were born, so you couldn't have been present at the time.

If somehow they slipped up on that and gave you the trademark, it does need to be challenged.
 

Buffysquirrel

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Btw folks, the ginger cat in my avatar is totally MY cat, mmkay? No looking at him without my permission!
 

Tobermory Cat

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When did you apply, and was the trademark granted?

March. I had, on many occasions, suggested they take another name, the reason being my work is all based around the name. I think I should be able to protect my work. This may suggests I am some big player, I ride a moped, I live from painting pictures, I make films that earn no money but I make films. ( the BBC suggest I gift them my footage, suggesting it would be good for me. I suggest that if they work for nothing I will work for nothing. It seems reasonable to me, Artists need support.) I am getting rather sick of serving others and not being paid - so I try this Tobermory Cat. Same thing happens!
 

Cyia

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Maybe off topic, and INAL, but:

I mean, most books aren't trademarked ( I think LOTR Harry Potter and the big stuff is, not anything else)


Not sure about UK law, but in the US, only series titles can be trademarked.

Twilight: a novel -- fair game

The Twilight Saga -- trademarked
 

LindaJeanne

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So, this was after the vendetta against Debi began? (I apologize if I have the timeline incorrect. Please correct me if I do).

Was the trademark granted?

I am getting rather sick of serving others and not being paid - so I try this Tobermory Cat. Same thing happens!

I still don't understand why you think she copied your work? Or what her work has to do with yours?
 

buz

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March. I had, on many occasions, suggested they take another name, the reason being my work is all based around the name. I think I should be able to protect my work. [...]I am getting rather sick of serving others and not being paid - so I try this Tobermory Cat. Same thing happens!

Your work seems to consist of paintings and postcards and photographs, none of which were used in the book. So:

But what makes you entitled to anything from the publisher? You still haven't identified any legitimate legal claim.
 

waylander

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March. I had, on many occasions, suggested they take another name, the reason being my work is all based around the name. I think I should be able to protect my work. This may suggests I am some big player, I ride a moped, I live from painting pictures, I make films that earn no money but I make films. ( the BBC suggest I gift them my footage, suggesting it would be good for me. I suggest that if they work for nothing I will work for nothing. It seems reasonable to me, Artists need support.) I am getting rather sick of serving others and not being paid - so I try this Tobermory Cat. Same thing happens!

You may think this, but copyright law does not support your case.
If the trademark was refused, trademark law does not support you either.
You need to sharpen your understanding of both if you wish to make money out of your creative endeavours.
 
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Tobermory Cat;7707204I feel I have a right to earn a living said:
Thanks for your time, now test me, beat me up, help me if you chose. I will try to respond when I have time. Thanks

No one is infringing your intellectual property.

No one is stopping you from making a living.

No one is stopping you from selling your content.

You, on the other hand, are attempting to assert control over intellectual property that you did not create, that you could not create, and that you do not own.

Moreover, you have engaged in trolling, web-stalking and organized harassment of Deb Gilori.
 

James D. Macdonald

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[SIZE=+0]W[/SIZE]riters here seem to be defend the idea that a publisher need not [SIZE=+0]p[/SIZE]ay to use an authors work.

I'm certain that the publisher paid the author/illustrator for her work.

I'm sorry that you couldn't find a publisher to pay you for yours.
 

RichardGarfinkle

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Here's the relevant section of the UK copyright statutes. Infringement is defined here. Note that since you don't have a trademark this is likely the appropriate statute. Can you point out what section of this law applies to your situation as you see it?
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/part/I/chapter/II
 

Bogna

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Saki's did not title his book Tobermory Cat. Two writers write about the same fictional cat, an interesting idea. Mine, as I say, is a construct of 3 cats. If she writes about my celebrity construct I am being flattered.

I'm sorry, but I do not understand what you are saying here. It makes no sense. Your book and Debi's book have nothing to do with each other. The only common factor is a ginger cat with the name Tobermory.

Put this crap to rest.
 

MacAllister

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It's not even THAT tenuous. The cat was a well-known stray, a familiar fixture in the town of Tobermory.

While I could certainly be mistaken, my understanding of trademarks in the case of pre-existing sorts of things (like the well-known and century-long Tobermory stray ginger cat meme) suggests that, while I may be able to register a trademark for a specific symbol I'm using -- like a logo for something like a chain called "Domino's Pizza" -- that just prevents other people from calling their pizza shops the same thing or using my logo -- it doesn't prevent anyone else from using "Domino" or "Pizza" or even making and packaging a rectangular "Domino" pizza with strategically-located toppings to suggest the dots on a domino.
 
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It's not even THAT tenuous. The cat was a well-known stray, a familiar fixture in the town of Tobermory.

Moreover, if you examine the pictures, they are not the same cat, that is, they do not meet the character test by which, for instance, Donald Duck is very distinct from other ducks, like Daffy or Peking Duck.

For trademark purposes ginger cats whether in Tobermory or elsewhere need to be differentiated from other ginger cats.

The characterization of the Tobermory Cat in Mr. Stewart's presentation appears to be several actual cats, engaging in typical feline behavior.

It's not like Saki, Medieval poetry, Lewis Carroll and many others have not already celebrated many famous ginger cats.
 

Stacia Kane

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Is anyone else finding that with every post, "Tobermory Cat" is making it more and more clear that he hasn't got even the vaguest hint of a claim?

By his own statements: his "cat" is not just one cat, but three; the cat and the idea have been around forever; the book idea came from someone who had no idea he'd even created a fan page on Facebook, much less who'd taken the idea directly from any of his work; his cat story and Gliori's cat story differ greatly; his Facebook page isn't even two years old; he was aware of the concept of the "Tobermory Cat" before creating the Facebook page, so claiming he came up with the concept is just silly.

Did I miss anything?
 

Buffysquirrel

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Your kitty has ambushes? My kitty likes to open and close cabinet doors loudly just for the fun of it.

He hides behind the curtains covering the front door and leaps out at you as you walk past. Mind you, it took him months to learn that he needed to *hide* for it to work. It's hard of course for a cat to know whether his tail's sticking out....
 
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