I have a question: What if you create something original, you don't trade mark it because you don't have the funds. You successfully publish your original content on KDP. Then 2 years go by (for example) and someone then decides to trademark your original content. What happens then? Can they successfully complain to KDP?
I am not a lawyer, but a while back I recall reading that registering a trademark and getting it approved doesn't guarantee that the trademark is valid if someone can show prior use in commerce. For example I do a trademark search for "Blah blah blah xyz" and determine it is "safe" to use so I register it. A couple years later someone sees that "Blah blah blah xyz" was registered in 2020 for a product that was once sold in 2002, but was never registered by the creator. That person can challenge the trademark registration from what I understand, and will most likely win. (Another reason you see so many "dead" trademarks.) Patent and trademark laws are tricky and sometimes I wish they did not exist as it seems to stifle creativity more than help it. In my world you can create anything you want without having to worry if someone else created something exact or similar as long as it is not an exact duplication, as a totality of work. So yes in my world you should be able to use Disney characters as long as it is only part of the totality of the creation.
Thanks so much - My account is suspended at the moment - rookie error two days ago so hopefully will be back on board soon. I will make sure I triple check everything now! your video has been a big help
My KDP account got terminated out of the blue today!!! Oftentimes, it’s particularly frustrating because a book may be rejected with very little justification and a mere reference to the KDP guidelines. I write only Word Search Books and certainly there would be no logo violations or the like. This is what I wrote to them: “Please tell me exactly what you are accusing me of. I write Word Search Books. I wrote one about “Seinfeld” which you objected to. It was removed and I never tried to republish it. I also told you explicitly that I had written one about “Married with Children” as a tribute which was approved and I never received any comment or objections about it. I also wrote one about my university that I attended, but obviously it should be clear that I don’t own the university. I have used the occasional book title or movie title as clues in my Word Search Books, but only to make them more interesting. I certainly don’t see how that could be a violation. PLEASE RESTORE MY ACCOUNT!!! I DON’T THINK I DESERVE THIS!!!” If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I never have made that much money anyways even though I have written more than 90 books. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. A lot of time and money spent advertising my books… I really think KDP sucks right now!!!
While it's possible it may be trademarked, titles cannot be copyrighted, so the movie critic's journal is not in the wrong. Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. And it IS possible to get seller rights from companies like Disney, Marvel, Coca Cola, NFL, etc.
This is true but unfortunately Amazon doesn't go by this rule and if someone reports your for trademark infringement they just go with it and don't do their own checks or accept the fact that you can't trademark a title. It seems like they don't want to get into any kind of trademark trouble so they side with whoever is reporting you and just remove books or terminate accounts regardless of whether you can trademark a title or not. In terms of seller rights - when I say you can't use trademarked brands I just mean you can use them willy nilly for free and without permission. For people doing low content books the cost of purchasing licensing rights doesn't make sense to be able to use brand names.
I avoid using any positive quotes, affirmations or jokes. Also anything related to a TV series or movies because I've seen Etsy sellers get their account terminated. A good income gone in one day.
Hi Caroline, what would be great is to see an example of something that isn't trademarked so we can see the difference? When I have searched I have seen a page that says "no TESS records were found to match the criteria of your query. Click on the Back button etc...
Thank you for your input and sharing your experience with us. I've read in copywriter books mostly in songs, it has been written that titles of a song cannot be copyrighted....for eg: a song tittle called 'My Love" Justin Timberlake wrote asong called 'My Love'....Wings wrote a song called 'My Love'. Petula Clark wrote a song called 'My Love'. If I write a song tomorrow titled "My Love", there is nothing stopping me from using that title. It's the content that is copyright. So why is "Colouring Book" be trademarked or copyright infringement? You colour in a book...it would be the content of what you are colouring...a title is really nothing. Hope this makes sense, I'm still trying to understand all this.
I immediately put a shortcut to the USPTO search page into my KDP folder on the browser, so I can make sure I'm not infringing on someone's name. I did, once, when I chose a username for my store, used if for two years, and then got a notice that it was trademarked and I had a week to change the name to something else. Well, I made the mistake of inserting this username into every page of my documents, but such was life, and I stopped doing that. I changed my store name and did what was recommended, checking first to make sure the name was copyrighted, registered, or a domain name already in use. Yep, excellent advice, again.
Great video, I uploaded my UK copyrighted Children's books to Amazon KDP in 2019, and it only took a few days for an eBay seller to cut and paste the copyright cover and place it on their page, they listed my two books as brand new unopened at a silly high price, I was not sure to be flattered that they even chose my books or annoyed that they listed the books at a high price. A later view on their page said that they only had one left, if that was the case, then whatever happened to my royalties?
I think what happens is they list every book they can find. If they sell one at their really high price, they simply order from you. You get your royalty, but they get a profit as well. Not sure if that strategy works, but I'm fairly sure that's what is going on. Particularly if its print on demand.
@@jcc5018, Thanks for your reply; I never did see any Royalties from this because, at the time, my only Amazon sales were from people who I had signed my books. I later found another eBayer selling my books, I sent a message as an interested customer enquiring if they had any of the books available, and they replied that they had several job lot copies that are selling by the pallet load; they did not realise I was the author
I am just preparing my next book release. I created the manuscript in 2005 and used it for 1 workshop at that time. Yesterday I found out that in 2019 a website published my exact manuscript. I think it would be too costly in effort and time to get after this website. I must stop my book from being published. Really a sad moment. Luckily I check all my manuscripts for plagiarism. I know I write orinal text, but today it's easy to get it copied.
Hi Caroline, I have a quick question. I watched one of your videos last October and now have around 20 puzzle and word search books online after stumbling across your video. I’m noticing more and more people posting their KDP accounts have been terminated. I take a little longer to create my puzzle books as I try and make them as unique as possible both content and covers. The question. If I create a word search puzzles that lists brands ie. fast food places to eat. Does that infringe if the words are known brand words to find ? Love your advise and guidance regards Peter - Melbourne -Australia
This is gud video n full of knowledge about trademark and copyright but my question is- it is easy to avoid phrases but it is not easy to avoid using words because some of the words are very common like notebook, journal, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, spooky, happy halloween etc. These are common words n all these words are registered under niche 016 category. but we have to use these words directly or indirectly so how can we avoid using any trademark infringement using these words. Because they are common words and all of the books use these words and we are not completely free from copyright n trademark words. What's yr opinion about it or how do u handle these types of situations. For example happy halloween is trademark then if we use happy halloween notebook as a book title is it safe or not. It just a example
Back in the days when the US and other countries created patent, trademark and copyright laws they probably did not envision the world in which we live in would become so complex.
mam, i searched uspto just ' coloring book' and even it is showing trademark. That is make my mind confusing. It is a global niche of kdp how someone can trademark this? Though it is not copyrighted how can i define which uspto result is really trademarked and which is not?
Hi there, thank you for doing this video, it is great. I have a question about Japanese characters. In your video about some ideas of profitable niches, you mentioned "KAWAII" notebooks was a good option. These are Japanese characters. Is this something that we should be avoiding because of copyright? Or can we freely use their characters on our low content books? Another popular Japanese character is ANAMIE....what are your thoughts on this? Thank you
Hello and thank you for this video. I just recently started creating low-content books. I have created a few books using clip art I download from a subscription service that I have. It appears that the clip art can be used for a variety of purposes but it wasn’t entirely clear if I am violating any copyright or trademark infringement. Can you give me any advice on the use of clip art in the design of my book covers?
If you use clipart from a website that you have a subscription with then you would need to check their license agreement to see what you are allowed to use the images for. They will have one on their site somewhere that you can read.
I've seen people making videos just showing people how to copy a bestselling journal that is selling well on Amazon. Personally I stay away from Tangent templates. I stick to making original journals. It is taking me more time but I dont want the same interior as anyone else.
Hi, i have a doubt can i use another ones book description to my book with some editing bcos i don't have that much knowledge in the English is there any solution kindly please reply 😢
South Africa doesn't provide copyright for books, what happens then? My book was blocked because I've created similar covers but in different colors yesterday but I cant copyright it as the laws are different in South Africa. Will my account get canceled?
Great video, I never thought about book titles being trademarked. Quick question, when looking at book titles if they are trademark or not, do you search both the title and subtitle as a whole or just the main title?
Usually just the title but it depends on what's in the subtitle. If there's a word or phrase in the subtitle that I'm a bit unsure of, I'd check it too.
When you typed in the words "coloring book" it shows the word "coloring book" is live and trademarked. And 95% of every coloring book I see on Amazon has the words coloring book on it. So I'm really confused. Same thing with Kawaii.
I am so confused I just started on kdp and have been overwhelmed with just understanding using text and graphics with submitting license verification to use the graphics and text I have been using on my covers and interior. I just recently made a TH-cam VLOGMAS PLANNER after researching on Amazon because I am going to be participating in the Vlogmas Countdown to Christmas and was looking all over for a content creator planner for this specific time of the year couldnt find one anywhere so I made one. Kdp gave me so much trouble for using the word "TH-cam" in my title. NOW they have temporarily suspended my accout telling me to review my content and remove any content that goes against copyright. Well after they blocked two of my planners I had NO WAY of deleting them. I tried several times to even understand their emails since alot of time they are just templates and dont tell you what EXACTLY to correct. Anway they wanted to to put in a response email that I had to rights to use the content I am creating. I do have commerical licenses for all graphics and text I use but as far as using the word TH-cam thats where I am confused. I SEE SEVERAL TH-cam CONTENT CREATOR planners on Amazon up and live. PLEASE HELP! I am soo confused!
I am a bit confused here :( So I checked the word ‘meditation’ and there seems to be an IC 016 trademark on it. However there are many listings named: meditation journals on kdp. And if you search the words 'Meditation Journal' together for trademark, there is none. So How do we manage this issue when it comes to using the words in the title, description, etc. how does this work on Amazon? Can you enlighten me on this issue?
I just did a search for meditation and I couldn't see a trademark for it for books - but if you want to name a book meditation journal and it's not trademarked then you are free to use it.
I was reading Amazon's "Conditions Of Use" and it stated under the heading - COPYRIGHT "All content included in or made available through any Amazon Service, such as text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, audio clips, digital downloads, data compilations, and software is the property of Amazon." Does this mean... Any Image, Wording, (my) Logo, etc... becomes that property of Amazon, and I can not "use" any of these on "any" product "outside" of Amazon? Thank You!
so if I want to make a journal that is a diet or weight loss journal, it seems the word "journal" is trademarked. So I cannot use this word at all in my title or subtitle?
Great video, thank you for all the valuable info! What if the name I want to use pops up a few time for different company's other than a book. Would I be able to use it?
You're welcome! 😀 You can use it if it isn't trademarked for use in books. When you do a trademark search it'll tell you exactly what's it's trademarked for.
SKETCHBOOK is a trade mark so how do we use the sketchbook in the title? however, everyone made low-content sketchbooks can we use them like these kids' sketchbooks, my sketchbooks, etc (but trademark word they used to put some words next or some words behind) if we can not so how can we make low-content sketchbooks???
Excellent video! I’ve tried researching but I couldn’t seem to find the answer. Let’s say someone wrote a book about counting to ten in Chinese and English. Basically learning to say the Chinese version of the English word. I also had an idea of writing fruits with English and Chinese words on the book. An educational book. Would that be considered infringement or be violated for copyrights?
Referencing the author doesn't always protect you - you'd still want to make sure you are only using a small/short quote and then double check it isn't trademarked or anything like that.
You mentioned in the video that the phrase "five minute journal" is trademarked. What if the title of my book is "5 minute gratitude journal"? Is it also trademarked? Does it matter if I write it 5 or Five and if I add the word "gratitude" between the words "minute" and "journal"?
Hi I'm new and designing my own covers and interiors, my question is what if I design sommet and its just something that I've never seen but then a few months later the design crops up on sommet and it is stupidly similar, I have an issue where I won't see things go draw sommet and it'll crop up suddenly and I get disheartened as I put 3/4 hours for this design to find someone else as done it and I thought it was unique.
And just to add, with journals , planners ect , what are we supposed to do I we design sommet we havnt seen a version of (chances are slim slim I know) and turns out it's someone else's book y just didn't see I as it wasnt as high rating ?
Hello! You can still have similar designs to other books - whether you knew about the other book or not - and it not be a problem. There's a difference where people copy someone else's book exactly and that's a problem. I know it can be disheartening when you create something you think it unique then later on find out there are other similar books and the reality is that it's hard to create something totally unique these days with anything. There are so many books on KDP you'll find it hard to really make something totally unique. Just keep doing what you're doing, if these things happen you sort of just have to accept it and move on and don't let those little hiccups get you down too much. 😀
I used "Bullet Journal" in my description of my notebook that used grid paper inside. I had no idea that I couldn't use those words. I've seen those words all over Amazon. I emailed the company with the link amazon provided. I'm waiting for their reply. Do I need to contact Amazon that I contacted that company?
Great video! I purchased all my pics online. However I am concerned about seeing those pics in a book which has a similar topic to mine. Will that be classified as copyright infringement?
Hi Caroline, I published 2 notebooks with Boss Babe and Boss Lady on the cover. I didn't even think about this trademark thing before (I'm new) so I checked. Seems like it is trademarked for cosmetics, mugs, t-shirts etc. but not under 016. I unpublished anyway to be safe. Is that sufficient? I haven't sold any copies of it yet so not too worried.
Copyright question. I want to do a Halloween book where my original cat character dresses up like a few pop culture characters. Would this be infringement and if so why? For example if I draw him dressed in a generic yellow sponge costume to imitate SpongeBob. (He would still have his cat face and not spongebob's). so not using any copyrighted names, and my art would be original. just parody. Thanks
I am a beginner. I am already uploaded two design and I am use trademark keywords in title and subtitle. Keywords is : money, tracker, budget, and sunflower. what do i do now? Please help me.
I just did a search and my book title is available, but if I made my book without trademarking the name, and then someone shady comes along and trademarks it after I put it up for sale, would I then be the one in trouble even though I was first? If so should we buy a trademark fore each book title? Also I'm not in the USA, I'm in Australia and it says on uspto that foreign funds are not accepted, so only USA citizens can buy a USA trademark? i should just google this but thought i'd ask here first, tbh it would be so devastating if some deliberately stole your book title because you couldn't trademark it in the first place, and now I've seen this vid it seems that putting your book up with no trademark is kinda risky... so divided lol
There is a chance someone can get a trademark for a book you already have published but you can't get in trouble for that, they can ask you to remove the book from sale thats all. In Australia, we can't buy US trademarks ourselves, you need to find a US Trademark lawyer to do it for you.
am kinda confused here, I just completed my book (non fiction-self help) and I've took references and stats from the internet, can I avoid copyright issues by providing the link and sources under "reference" at the end of the book ?
Yes, you can use information, stats etc in your book in small amounts and then reference where you got that information from. The problem is when you copy other people's work and just copy and paste it in to create a whole book. As long as the majority of your book is in your own words then there should be no problem.
Great video like always! I have a question about copyright and coloring books. I've noticed so many Disney, Horror and Cartoon coloring books that use copyright characters seamlessly without any consequence. Coloring Book Cafe just put out a book called Classic Horror Coloring Book filled with copyright movie horror characters. Can you possibly make a video explaining how they are allowed to get away with it? Maybe characters in black/white aren't in violation of copyright or it's considered a parody? Thanks a lot.
Thank you! 😀 There is a copyright law which says that you can use other's creation for art. They specifically class art as in traditional art (such as paintings). So, you can create an acrylic or oil painting of a disney character on canvas and sell it and you are not infringing on copyright. Does this apply to coloring pages? Possibly (not sure if coloring pages are classed as traditional art) and it's possibly how they get away with it. If you want to go this route I'd probably check with a copyright lawyer first because the other scenario may be that they are all just slipping through the cracks of KDP's review system and there's a chance the copyright owner could get the books pulled or sue the author for copyright infringement.
@@MyFreedomEmpire Thanks for your reply. Another long term example of this are the Garbage Pail Kids which sometimes take famous characters but draw them in a cartoon like style and I think call it parody. They have been doing it for close to 40 years and and no real issues. If I take popular horror characters for example and make them in a cute/kawaii style do you think that's parody since horror characters aren't meant to be cute? Also it seems Coloring Book Cafe didn't get away from it since their book is no longer on sale at Amazon. Thanks for your time and help with my question. All the best.
I am writing a book and have taken a pcture of a building as cover for the book i am writing about my life. Will this be an enfringment or copyright issue? Also i mentioned in my story that i listened to Ray Charles " hit the road jack". Is by mentioning this an enfringment?
No, it's your image to use as you like. And no, mentioning a brand or person in a story isn't infringing on trademarks. If you took the song and tried to publish it as your own then yes, but if a story talks about listening to the song or something that's ok.
Ooh woaaa thank you for this! I need to go and add the copyright to all of mine then. I just started making the sketchbooks with my own original art. I’ll go check on the titles I added just incase. Does this go for the keywords also?
I Love your videos so thank you... I am however, confused with how words can be copywrite... eg the words "let it go" in the example in the video... I accept this if it is also backed with pictures or other things to do with the disney stuff... but as 3 words "let it go" could be multi-use... can you help with this please? also with the words "gratitude journal" - is this a copywrite? can you basically copywrite the dictionary and then we are all in trouble? Can you add clarity to my thoughts on this please... where do I find out the rules on this?
Thank you so much! Honestly, there are no set rules about this. All we have seemed to figure out is that Amazon is hell bent on not getting into trouble for any kind of copyright issues so if they receive a copyright complaint from someone, regardless of whether its valid or in line with laws, they don't care they will terminate books and accounts. At the very basics of it, as long as you are not misrepresenting your book and making customers think it's a disney book (or whatever), you'll generally be ok.
Somewhere I read that if I publish a book on the US market it is automatically sold in Canada as well. Should I also check brands in the Canadian market?
Hi love your videos. I am planning to upload a low content book to kdp. Don’t want to sue my name. I don’t have any brand name or pen name decided and nothing trademarked. I am confused what should I use on the copyright page? Shall I just come up with any random name and start using? It’s confusing
Yes, similar to my response to your other comment - whatever name you decide you are going to use as your pen name, just pop that on the copyright page.
I published some low content composition notebooks with Pokémon in the title. Initially Amazon kdp approved my books. I even got a few sales from a few of these books. But eventually Amazon KDP temporarily suspended my account for having Pokémon in my title. I am wondering if I can create a title with anime images
Great video! Do you happen to know... in writing non-fiction content, let's say - in the self-help genre, if you mention another author's phrase that they have coined and written about, are you safe from trademark infringement if you mention in your writing that the phrase was created by them? As in... "Dr. Susan Brown wrote about (mention the phrase) in her book (mention the book)." Thanks!
Thanks 😀 You can reference other people's material in your book if you need to include it to make your content make sense to your readers. You then need to reference where you got the information from somewhere in your book. It falls under the "fair use" section of using copyright material. Under the "fair use" defense, another author may make limited use of the original author's work without asking permission. Certain uses of copyrighted material "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." I would check up on what exactly fair use entails just to make sure you're doing the right thing first.
I'm still learning ads so wouldn't feel confident doing a video on this but Paul Marles, Ben Chinnock, The Home Boss all have great video's about ads if you haven't seen them already.
Mam thank you very much for your beautiful explanation and informative videos regarding KDP book publishing. But I have some questions. 1) If a person A has published his book in KDP with an unique name without any trademark registration then after that can another person B use the same title for his own business purpose and register it for Trademark? 2) Many people are using free design websites for the cover page or interior of their books. Now if coincidentally someone use a design or template from a free website which is already in use in another book's cover or interior then what will happen? How can I assure myself that the design I have used is not already in use? Please help me. Thank you.
You're welcome! 😀 1. Yes, they can. 2. If it's from a free website with a license that allows it to be used on KDP books then yes anyone can use it, its not exclusive to only one person. You can't really find out if someone is already using it. That's a risk you take using any kind of stock image website.
My instruction s from Amazon print on demand says it s yours, meaning mine as one about to submit a manuscript surely would protect before being seen by readers. Good spots on you tube on copyrighting.
What if the trademark is generalized and is part of a phrase that is not a TM and there are no TMs similar to it, is it possible to use this phrase? At the same time the phrase fits well into another phrase. For example: "real men"(TM all country, classes, just for example) and "real men love cats"(no TM and no similarity), can i use "real men love cats"?
I guess you don't. You'd just have to pick someone who has lots of good reviews and hope they are doing the right thing. Usually if they were doing the wrong thing, they'd have bad reviews.
You're welcome. Quotes are ok to use if they are in the public domain. I haven't had a lot of experience with bible quotes though I do think they are ok to use in the right way. If you google using bible quotes in books there is heaps of info out there on it.
what be illegal to put a business name inside a crossword puzzle or word search puzzle? like making crossword puzzle with bunch of business names or word search.
I have a question: What if you create something original, you don't trade mark it because you don't have the funds. You successfully publish your original content on KDP. Then 2 years go by (for example) and someone then decides to trademark your original content. What happens then? Can they successfully complain to KDP?
Did you find the answer?
I am not a lawyer, but a while back I recall reading that registering a trademark and getting it approved doesn't guarantee that the trademark is valid if someone can show prior use in commerce. For example I do a trademark search for "Blah blah blah xyz" and determine it is "safe" to use so I register it. A couple years later someone sees that "Blah blah blah xyz" was registered in 2020 for a product that was once sold in 2002, but was never registered by the creator. That person can challenge the trademark registration from what I understand, and will most likely win. (Another reason you see so many "dead" trademarks.) Patent and trademark laws are tricky and sometimes I wish they did not exist as it seems to stifle creativity more than help it. In my world you can create anything you want without having to worry if someone else created something exact or similar as long as it is not an exact duplication, as a totality of work. So yes in my world you should be able to use Disney characters as long as it is only part of the totality of the creation.
Thanks so much - My account is suspended at the moment - rookie error two days ago so hopefully will be back on board soon. I will make sure I triple check everything now! your video has been a big help
@Joselynn Lukow Thanks so much for replying I reached out to them and explained what I had done. Now back up and running :)
thank you. whenever I think to create something, i wasn't sure if it already created by someone else .
Very informative. I just submitted my first book for publication. I'm gonna go back and check. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! And good luck with your KDP business! 😀
I'm just binge-watching all your videos for my first publishing book 😂😂thanks dear! 🧡🧡🧡
Thank you!! Hope I can help!
My KDP account got terminated out of the blue today!!! Oftentimes, it’s particularly frustrating because a book may be rejected with very little justification and a mere reference to the KDP guidelines. I write only Word Search Books and certainly there would be no logo violations or the like. This is what I wrote to them:
“Please tell me exactly what you are accusing me of. I write Word Search Books. I wrote one about “Seinfeld” which you objected to. It was removed and I never tried to republish it. I also told you explicitly that I had written one about “Married with Children” as a tribute which was approved and I never received any comment or objections about it.
I also wrote one about my university that I attended, but obviously it should be clear that I don’t own the university.
I have used the occasional book title or movie title as clues in my Word Search Books, but only to make them more interesting. I certainly don’t see how that could be a violation.
PLEASE RESTORE MY ACCOUNT!!! I DON’T THINK I DESERVE THIS!!!”
If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I never have made that much money anyways even though I have written more than 90 books. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. A lot of time and money spent advertising my books…
I really think KDP sucks right now!!!
ik there is a site for merch called tmhunt is there anything to quickly check for books?
Thank you - I needed to see this (It helps me out BIGTIME).
You're welcome!
Very helpful. Thank you. I have been wondering about this topic.
While it's possible it may be trademarked, titles cannot be copyrighted, so the movie critic's journal is not in the wrong. Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. And it IS possible to get seller rights from companies like Disney, Marvel, Coca Cola, NFL, etc.
This is true but unfortunately Amazon doesn't go by this rule and if someone reports your for trademark infringement they just go with it and don't do their own checks or accept the fact that you can't trademark a title. It seems like they don't want to get into any kind of trademark trouble so they side with whoever is reporting you and just remove books or terminate accounts regardless of whether you can trademark a title or not. In terms of seller rights - when I say you can't use trademarked brands I just mean you can use them willy nilly for free and without permission. For people doing low content books the cost of purchasing licensing rights doesn't make sense to be able to use brand names.
This video has great volume. I hope all the rest of your videos will have this volume from now on. Thank you.
Thank you!
I avoid using any positive quotes, affirmations or jokes. Also anything related to a TV series or movies because I've seen Etsy sellers get their account terminated. A good income gone in one day.
Exactly, it's just not worth it.
What's wrong with positive quotes here
@@ezyunboxing6823 positive quote can be trademarked.
Thanks for this sensitive information!
Well that was a valuable and extremely helpful breakdown. Thank you !
You're welcome 😄
*My account was recovered successfully by KHALYHACK on Instagram. That genius is perfect.He's amazing......*
Hi Caroline, what would be great is to see an example of something that isn't trademarked so we can see the difference? When I have searched I have seen a page that says "no TESS records were found to match the criteria of your query. Click on the Back button etc...
Thank you for your input and sharing your experience with us. I've read in copywriter books mostly in songs, it has been written that titles of a song cannot be copyrighted....for eg: a song tittle called 'My Love" Justin Timberlake wrote asong called 'My Love'....Wings wrote a song called 'My Love'. Petula Clark wrote a song called 'My Love'. If I write a song tomorrow titled "My Love", there is nothing stopping me from using that title. It's the content that is copyright. So why is "Colouring Book" be trademarked or copyright infringement? You colour in a book...it would be the content of what you are colouring...a title is really nothing. Hope this makes sense, I'm still trying to understand all this.
I immediately put a shortcut to the USPTO search page into my KDP folder on the browser, so I can make sure I'm not infringing on someone's name. I did, once, when I chose a username for my store, used if for two years, and then got a notice that it was trademarked and I had a week to change the name to something else. Well, I made the mistake of inserting this username into every page of my documents, but such was life, and I stopped doing that. I changed my store name and did what was recommended, checking first to make sure the name was copyrighted, registered, or a domain name already in use. Yep, excellent advice, again.
Great video, I uploaded my UK copyrighted Children's books to Amazon KDP in 2019, and it only took a few days for an eBay seller to cut and paste the copyright cover and place it on their page, they listed my two books as brand new unopened at a silly high price, I was not sure to be flattered that they even chose my books or annoyed that they listed the books at a high price. A later view on their page said that they only had one left, if that was the case, then whatever happened to my royalties?
I think what happens is they list every book they can find. If they sell one at their really high price, they simply order from you. You get your royalty, but they get a profit as well. Not sure if that strategy works, but I'm fairly sure that's what is going on. Particularly if its print on demand.
@@jcc5018, Thanks for your reply; I never did see any Royalties from this because, at the time, my only Amazon sales were from people who I had signed my books. I later found another eBayer selling my books, I sent a message as an interested customer enquiring if they had any of the books available, and they replied that they had several job lot copies that are selling by the pallet load; they did not realise I was the author
I am just preparing my next book release. I created the manuscript in 2005 and used it for 1 workshop at that time. Yesterday I found out that in 2019 a website published my exact manuscript. I think it would be too costly in effort and time to get after this website. I must stop my book from being published. Really a sad moment. Luckily I check all my manuscripts for plagiarism. I know I write orinal text, but today it's easy to get it copied.
Also just to say, this and all your other videos are superb, thank you :)
Hi Caroline, I have a quick question. I watched one of your videos last October and now have around 20 puzzle and word search books online after stumbling across your video.
I’m noticing more and more people posting their KDP accounts have been terminated. I take a little longer to create my puzzle books as I try and make them as unique as possible both content and covers.
The question. If I create a word search puzzles that lists brands ie. fast food places to eat. Does that infringe if the words are known brand words to find ?
Love your advise and guidance
regards
Peter - Melbourne -Australia
Excellent and very informative video, thank you!
Thanks so much! 😄
This is gud video n full of knowledge about trademark and copyright but my question is- it is easy to avoid phrases but it is not easy to avoid using words because some of the words are very common like notebook, journal, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, spooky, happy halloween etc. These are common words n all these words are registered under niche 016 category. but we have to use these words directly or indirectly so how can we avoid using any trademark infringement using these words. Because they are common words and all of the books use these words and we are not completely free from copyright n trademark words. What's yr opinion about it or how do u handle these types of situations. For example happy halloween is trademark then if we use happy halloween notebook as a book title is it safe or not. It just a example
Yes you are right.. I have the same problem
Back in the days when the US and other countries created patent, trademark and copyright laws they probably did not envision the world in which we live in would become so complex.
No, probably not!
mam, i searched uspto just ' coloring book' and even it is showing trademark. That is make my mind confusing. It is a global niche of kdp how someone can trademark this? Though it is not copyrighted how can i define which uspto result is really trademarked and which is not?
If you do a search and its says Live next to the phrase, then it's trademarked.
Hi there, thank you for doing this video, it is great. I have a question about Japanese characters. In your video about some ideas of profitable niches, you mentioned "KAWAII" notebooks was a good option. These are Japanese characters. Is this something that we should be avoiding because of copyright? Or can we freely use their characters on our low content books? Another popular Japanese character is ANAMIE....what are your thoughts on this? Thank you
Hi may I get a response please? Thank you
I want to know also.
Hello and thank you for this video. I just recently started creating low-content books. I have created a few books using clip art I download from a subscription service that I have. It appears that the clip art can be used for a variety of purposes but it wasn’t entirely clear if I am violating any copyright or trademark infringement. Can you give me any advice on the use of clip art in the design of my book covers?
If you use clipart from a website that you have a subscription with then you would need to check their license agreement to see what you are allowed to use the images for. They will have one on their site somewhere that you can read.
Thank you for the great video! Was there a more recent where you say you got an email for using tm keywords in your ads and that rule has changed?
I've seen people making videos just showing people how to copy a bestselling journal that is selling well on Amazon.
Personally I stay away from Tangent templates. I stick to making original journals. It is taking me more time but I dont want the same interior as anyone else.
It's definitely the way to go. You need to make your book different and unique from what's already available.
Tangent is great for inspiration but I think it’s better to do your own variation. Also their web site drives me insane.😂🙏🏽
This is very helpful. Thank you so much. But, how did those books get through the review of KDP team at the first place though? They are so obvious.
You're welcome! I know, it's frustrating.
*My account was recovered successfully by KHALYHACK on Instagram. That genius is perfect.He's amazing......*
But i'have a question for exemple coloring tiger is tradmarked what if i'use it in a phrase like coloring tiger for lovely kids
I would stay away from anything remotely close to what is trademarked.
Would like to understand more about covers and including graphics, pictures , artwork, public domain artwork. How do I know for sure I can use it?
Great information, thank you
Hi, i have a doubt can i use another ones book description to my book with some editing bcos i don't have that much knowledge in the English is there any solution kindly please reply 😢
So if it's trademarked in the US but you're publishing in Canada that still means you can't use that name in your title right?
fantastic - thanks Caroline
South Africa doesn't provide copyright for books, what happens then? My book was blocked because I've created similar covers but in different colors yesterday but I cant copyright it as the laws are different in South Africa. Will my account get canceled?
Wow -- didn't know about 'bullet journal' -- eye opening -- ty!
Yes, there are probably lots of things trademarked that we don't realise! 😄
Great video, I never thought about book titles being trademarked. Quick question, when looking at book titles if they are trademark or not, do you search both the title and subtitle as a whole or just the main title?
Usually just the title but it depends on what's in the subtitle. If there's a word or phrase in the subtitle that I'm a bit unsure of, I'd check it too.
Can you mention the names of restaurants, songs, or actors in a novel?
I believe that you can as long as you're not using that name/brand to sell the book or make people think that brand is connected with the book.
My question is how did KDP approved this to begin with... like for example the Hallmark book or the Frozen coloring book?
When you typed in the words "coloring book" it shows the word "coloring book" is live and trademarked. And 95% of every coloring book I see on Amazon has the words coloring book on it. So I'm really confused. Same thing with Kawaii.
Thank you! Amazing information here
I am so confused I just started on kdp and have been overwhelmed with just understanding using text and graphics with submitting license verification to use the graphics and text I have been using on my covers and interior. I just recently made a TH-cam VLOGMAS PLANNER after researching on Amazon because I am going to be participating in the Vlogmas Countdown to Christmas and was looking all over for a content creator planner for this specific time of the year couldnt find one anywhere so I made one. Kdp gave me so much trouble for using the word "TH-cam" in my title. NOW they have temporarily suspended my accout telling me to review my content and remove any content that goes against copyright. Well after they blocked two of my planners I had NO WAY of deleting them. I tried several times to even understand their emails since alot of time they are just templates and dont tell you what EXACTLY to correct. Anway they wanted to to put in a response email that I had to rights to use the content I am creating. I do have commerical licenses for all graphics and text I use but as far as using the word TH-cam thats where I am confused. I SEE SEVERAL TH-cam CONTENT CREATOR planners on Amazon up and live. PLEASE HELP! I am soo confused!
I am a bit confused here :( So I checked the word ‘meditation’ and there seems to be an IC 016 trademark on it. However there are many listings named: meditation journals on kdp. And if you search the words 'Meditation Journal' together for trademark, there is none. So How do we manage this issue when it comes to using the words in the title, description, etc. how does this work on Amazon? Can you enlighten me on this issue?
I just did a search for meditation and I couldn't see a trademark for it for books - but if you want to name a book meditation journal and it's not trademarked then you are free to use it.
@@MyFreedomEmpire Thank you so much for the clarification
@@MyFreedomEmpire i have some doubt on this anwser
I'm so curious if you can make Disney inspired (like Disney bounding) covers. Without having any actual characters or lyrics or anything
No you can't use anything related to Disney.
I was reading Amazon's "Conditions Of Use" and it stated under the heading - COPYRIGHT
"All content included in or made available through any Amazon Service, such as text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, audio clips, digital downloads, data compilations, and software is the property of Amazon." Does this mean... Any Image, Wording, (my) Logo, etc... becomes that property of Amazon, and I can not "use" any of these on "any" product "outside" of Amazon? Thank You!
I wouldn't have thought so, but legal jargon is very confusing. I would double check that with a lawyer if you're worried.
so if I want to make a journal that is a diet or weight loss journal, it seems the word "journal" is trademarked. So I cannot use this word at all in my title or subtitle?
Great video, thank you for all the valuable info! What if the name I want to use pops up a few time for different company's other than a book. Would I be able to use it?
You're welcome! 😀 You can use it if it isn't trademarked for use in books. When you do a trademark search it'll tell you exactly what's it's trademarked for.
@@MyFreedomEmpire Awesome! Thank you!
thank u caroline, i find the phrase mother's day coloring is trademark so we can't use this phrase in mother's day coloring book ?
SKETCHBOOK is a trade mark so how do we use the sketchbook in the title?
however, everyone made low-content sketchbooks
can we use them like these kids' sketchbooks, my sketchbooks, etc (but trademark word they used to put some words next or some words behind)
if we can not so how can we make low-content sketchbooks???
Excellent video! I’ve tried researching but I couldn’t seem to find the answer. Let’s say someone wrote a book about counting to ten in Chinese and English. Basically learning to say the Chinese version of the English word. I also had an idea of writing fruits with English and Chinese words on the book. An educational book. Would that be considered infringement or be violated for copyrights?
Thank you! No, that's not infringing on copyright.
Hi, how can i include a ASIN number for my upload copyright page but you only get the ASIN number after the book becomes active? Thank you.
Thanks for the video! Can I write a quote from someone, for example in a gratitude journal, and then reference the author?
Referencing the author doesn't always protect you - you'd still want to make sure you are only using a small/short quote and then double check it isn't trademarked or anything like that.
Thanks for the info. Very interesting! Love your work! :)
Thank so much! 😀
You mentioned in the video that the phrase "five minute journal" is trademarked. What if the title of my book is "5 minute gratitude journal"? Is it also trademarked? Does it matter if I write it 5 or Five and if I add the word "gratitude" between the words "minute" and "journal"?
Personally, I would do anything with the word five or number 5 to be safe.
Hi I'm new and designing my own covers and interiors, my question is what if I design sommet and its just something that I've never seen but then a few months later the design crops up on sommet and it is stupidly similar, I have an issue where I won't see things go draw sommet and it'll crop up suddenly and I get disheartened as I put 3/4 hours for this design to find someone else as done it and I thought it was unique.
And just to add, with journals , planners ect , what are we supposed to do I we design sommet we havnt seen a version of (chances are slim slim I know) and turns out it's someone else's book y just didn't see I as it wasnt as high rating ?
Hello! You can still have similar designs to other books - whether you knew about the other book or not - and it not be a problem. There's a difference where people copy someone else's book exactly and that's a problem. I know it can be disheartening when you create something you think it unique then later on find out there are other similar books and the reality is that it's hard to create something totally unique these days with anything. There are so many books on KDP you'll find it hard to really make something totally unique. Just keep doing what you're doing, if these things happen you sort of just have to accept it and move on and don't let those little hiccups get you down too much. 😀
I used "Bullet Journal" in my description of my notebook that used grid paper inside. I had no idea that I couldn't use those words. I've seen those words all over Amazon. I emailed the company with the link amazon provided. I'm waiting for their reply. Do I need to contact Amazon that I contacted that company?
Thanks for useful video but this (upsto) not give us the data what you explain something change in the site what should I do ?
Do you mean if something gets trademarked after you have made a book with that trademark? If so, you need to change or unpublish your book.
So helpful. Thanks 😊
You're welcome 😄
Great video! I purchased all my pics online. However I am concerned about seeing those pics in a book which has a similar topic to mine. Will that be classified as copyright infringement?
Thanks! Not if the images have a license which allows you to use them in books, then it's not copyright infringement.
Hi Caroline, I published 2 notebooks with Boss Babe and Boss Lady on the cover. I didn't even think about this trademark thing before (I'm new) so I checked. Seems like it is trademarked for cosmetics, mugs, t-shirts etc. but not under 016. I unpublished anyway to be safe. Is that sufficient? I haven't sold any copies of it yet so not too worried.
Yes, there should be no problems with this. 😀
@@MyFreedomEmpire So leave them unpublished correct?
Copyright question. I want to do a Halloween book where my original cat character dresses up like a few pop culture characters. Would this be infringement and if so why? For example if I draw him dressed in a generic yellow sponge costume to imitate SpongeBob. (He would still have his cat face and not spongebob's). so not using any copyrighted names, and my art would be original. just parody. Thanks
I am a beginner. I am already uploaded two design and I am use trademark keywords in title and subtitle. Keywords is : money, tracker, budget, and sunflower. what do i do now? Please help me.
I just did a search and my book title is available, but if I made my book without trademarking the name, and then someone shady comes along and trademarks it after I put it up for sale, would I then be the one in trouble even though I was first? If so should we buy a trademark fore each book title? Also I'm not in the USA, I'm in Australia and it says on uspto that foreign funds are not accepted, so only USA citizens can buy a USA trademark? i should just google this but thought i'd ask here first, tbh it would be so devastating if some deliberately stole your book title because you couldn't trademark it in the first place, and now I've seen this vid it seems that putting your book up with no trademark is kinda risky... so divided lol
There is a chance someone can get a trademark for a book you already have published but you can't get in trouble for that, they can ask you to remove the book from sale thats all. In Australia, we can't buy US trademarks ourselves, you need to find a US Trademark lawyer to do it for you.
@@MyFreedomEmpire ok cool ty 🤩
am kinda confused here, I just completed my book (non fiction-self help) and I've took references and stats from the internet, can I avoid copyright issues by providing the link and sources under "reference" at the end of the book ?
Yes, you can use information, stats etc in your book in small amounts and then reference where you got that information from. The problem is when you copy other people's work and just copy and paste it in to create a whole book. As long as the majority of your book is in your own words then there should be no problem.
@@MyFreedomEmpire thank you
Great video like always! I have a question about copyright and coloring books. I've noticed so many Disney, Horror and Cartoon coloring books that use copyright characters seamlessly without any consequence. Coloring Book Cafe just put out a book called Classic Horror Coloring Book filled with copyright movie horror characters. Can you possibly make a video explaining how they are allowed to get away with it? Maybe characters in black/white aren't in violation of copyright or it's considered a parody? Thanks a lot.
Thank you! 😀 There is a copyright law which says that you can use other's creation for art. They specifically class art as in traditional art (such as paintings). So, you can create an acrylic or oil painting of a disney character on canvas and sell it and you are not infringing on copyright. Does this apply to coloring pages? Possibly (not sure if coloring pages are classed as traditional art) and it's possibly how they get away with it. If you want to go this route I'd probably check with a copyright lawyer first because the other scenario may be that they are all just slipping through the cracks of KDP's review system and there's a chance the copyright owner could get the books pulled or sue the author for copyright infringement.
@@MyFreedomEmpire Thanks for your reply. Another long term example of this are the Garbage Pail Kids which sometimes take famous characters but draw them in a cartoon like style and I think call it parody. They have been doing it for close to 40 years and and no real issues. If I take popular horror characters for example and make them in a cute/kawaii style do you think that's parody since horror characters aren't meant to be cute? Also it seems Coloring Book Cafe didn't get away from it since their book is no longer on sale at Amazon. Thanks for your time and help with my question. All the best.
May be The Garbage Pail Kids have bought a special license from those big companies, it can be done I think.
I am writing a book and have taken a pcture of a building as cover for the book i am writing about my life. Will this be an enfringment or copyright issue? Also i mentioned in my story that i listened to Ray Charles " hit the road jack". Is by mentioning this an enfringment?
No, it's your image to use as you like. And no, mentioning a brand or person in a story isn't infringing on trademarks. If you took the song and tried to publish it as your own then yes, but if a story talks about listening to the song or something that's ok.
Ooh woaaa thank you for this!
I need to go and add the copyright to all of mine then.
I just started making the sketchbooks with my own original art. I’ll go check on the titles I added just incase.
Does this go for the keywords also?
You're welcome! 😃 The keywords that are used in your ads, if you run them, is the only place you can use trademarked words.
Are there common titles that everyone can use. The word notbook any company that makes notebook calls it a notebook.
Yes, thinks like notebook or journal everyone can use.
Thank you. What is the rule for quotes?
Can you for exeample use the 5 minute gratitude journal as a key word in your 7 boxes ?
No, you can't used trademarked terms or other book title in your 7 keyword slots. You can use them in ads though.
I Love your videos so thank you... I am however, confused with how words can be copywrite... eg the words "let it go" in the example in the video... I accept this if it is also backed with pictures or other things to do with the disney stuff... but as 3 words "let it go" could be multi-use... can you help with this please? also with the words "gratitude journal" - is this a copywrite? can you basically copywrite the dictionary and then we are all in trouble? Can you add clarity to my thoughts on this please... where do I find out the rules on this?
Thank you so much! Honestly, there are no set rules about this. All we have seemed to figure out is that Amazon is hell bent on not getting into trouble for any kind of copyright issues so if they receive a copyright complaint from someone, regardless of whether its valid or in line with laws, they don't care they will terminate books and accounts. At the very basics of it, as long as you are not misrepresenting your book and making customers think it's a disney book (or whatever), you'll generally be ok.
So I can’t use “coloring book” for one of my key words?
Id like to know also
Somewhere I read that if I publish a book on the US market it is automatically sold in Canada as well. Should I also check brands in the Canadian market?
Yes, you need to check the trademark status from each country/marketplace you are selling on.
i want to write a story for my book about the magic compass, How I can know it is legal to write about it?
Great video, thank you❤️!
You're welcome 😃
Is it okay if I copied a quote from another notebook with making a whole change in the design ?! Will my account be terminated ?
Depending on what quote it is. If it's a quote in the public domain, then it's ok but otherwise I wouldn't copy anything from another book.
Also, what happens if something is trademarked afterward?
So would you have to add some words to the title e.g. something something Gratitude journal? Not using one of the trademarked titles.
Yes, you would need to change or add to it in some way to make it different to what's trademarked.
What are the guidelines for using quotes, if it includes the source
Copyright law says you can't copyright short words or phrases. They can be trademarked though so that's something to check on.
Hi love your videos. I am planning to upload a low content book to kdp. Don’t want to sue my name. I don’t have any brand name or pen name decided and nothing trademarked. I am confused what should I use on the copyright page? Shall I just come up with any random name and start using? It’s confusing
Yes, similar to my response to your other comment - whatever name you decide you are going to use as your pen name, just pop that on the copyright page.
Can i write a book about ww2 warships ? Like names and informations about ships and some historical events related to it
how we can check the trademark in 7 slots do we put every single word to check?
Yes, check each one.
I published some low content composition notebooks with Pokémon in the title. Initially Amazon kdp approved my books. I even got a few sales from a few of these books. But eventually Amazon KDP temporarily suspended my account for having Pokémon in my title. I am wondering if I can create a title with anime images
As long as they are original and not using someone else's anime characters/designs (unless you have permission of course).
Great video! Do you happen to know... in writing non-fiction content, let's say - in the self-help genre, if you mention another author's phrase that they have coined and written about, are you safe from trademark infringement if you mention in your writing that the phrase was created by them? As in... "Dr. Susan Brown wrote about (mention the phrase) in her book (mention the book)." Thanks!
Thanks 😀 You can reference other people's material in your book if you need to include it to make your content make sense to your readers. You then need to reference where you got the information from somewhere in your book. It falls under the "fair use" section of using copyright material. Under the "fair use" defense, another author may make limited use of the original author's work without asking permission. Certain uses of copyrighted material "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." I would check up on what exactly fair use entails just to make sure you're doing the right thing first.
@@MyFreedomEmpire Thank you! That is some great information. Much appreciated.
Is the word "Sudoku" a trademark violation?
Trademarks can be viewed on this site trademarkia?
Could you talk a bit more about running ads and whats allowed?
I'm still learning ads so wouldn't feel confident doing a video on this but Paul Marles, Ben Chinnock, The Home Boss all have great video's about ads if you haven't seen them already.
Mam thank you very much for your beautiful explanation and informative videos regarding KDP book publishing. But I have some questions.
1) If a person A has published his book in KDP with an unique name without any trademark registration then after that can another person B use the same title for his own business purpose and register it for Trademark?
2) Many people are using free design websites for the cover page or interior of their books. Now if coincidentally someone use a design or template from a free website which is already in use in another book's cover or interior then what will happen? How can I assure myself that the design I have used is not already in use? Please help me.
Thank you.
You're welcome! 😀
1. Yes, they can.
2. If it's from a free website with a license that allows it to be used on KDP books then yes anyone can use it, its not exclusive to only one person. You can't really find out if someone is already using it. That's a risk you take using any kind of stock image website.
Ok.Thank you very much mam.
*My account was recovered successfully by KHALYHACK on Instagram. That genius is perfect.He's amazing......*
Why could not they do a reverse image search on Google?
My instruction s from Amazon print on demand says it s yours, meaning mine as one about to submit a manuscript surely would protect before being seen by readers. Good spots on you tube on copyrighting.
What if the trademark is generalized and is part of a phrase that is not a TM and there are no TMs similar to it, is it possible to use this phrase? At the same time the phrase fits well into another phrase.
For example: "real men"(TM all country, classes, just for example) and "real men love cats"(no TM and no similarity), can i use "real men love cats"?
Can I use photos downloaded from Google (creative commons licences) in my pdf KDP?
If you create a dot grid journal, do you list bullet journal as backend keyword?
No, you can't use any trademarked terms in your keyword slots. The only place you can used trademarked terms is in ads.
What if you hire a designer on fivver to create a book cover, how do I know they aren’t copying anyone or using a trademark?
I guess you don't. You'd just have to pick someone who has lots of good reviews and hope they are doing the right thing. Usually if they were doing the wrong thing, they'd have bad reviews.
Thank you for the in depth information. Not sure if you’ve already answered this…But what is the deal on using quotes? Or maybe Bible verses?
You're welcome. Quotes are ok to use if they are in the public domain. I haven't had a lot of experience with bible quotes though I do think they are ok to use in the right way. If you google using bible quotes in books there is heaps of info out there on it.
@@MyFreedomEmpire ok Tnx soooo much! Blessings 🙏🏽
@@MyFreedomEmpire how to check if a quote is in public domain or not
Quotes fall into the public domain when the person has been dead over 70 years.
Excellent information! Thank you for sharing =)
You're welcome 😀
what be illegal to put a business name inside a crossword puzzle or word search puzzle? like making crossword puzzle with bunch of business names or word search.
Do you have a video on how to get a trademark, and what it costs?
Hi, do a person need to get the copyrights for publishing a book or journal on KDP?
Hello, no - in terms of a book with content in it, it's has a level of automatic copyright when you make it.
@@MyFreedomEmpire Thank you