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Old 07-13-2019, 04:18 PM   #25
vdubreeze
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Brooklyn
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lokasenna View Post
Because you can't copyright a last name, for one.
That would be a trademark not a copyright. But although you technically can't trademark your name, you can trademark a name as it applies to a certain field or category. And even if you haven't, if you can show, as in the case of a guitar with your name on it that you had nothing to do with, that people will be confused and assume you are endorsing it, and your reputation will be damaged, you can take it to court. You can have a guitar store called Mickey's, or Mantle's, or maybe even Mickey Mantle's, if that's your name. But if you have a store named Mickey Mantle's that was a sport equipment store, Mantle's family would have the right to force you to rename it if they own the trademark as it pertains to anything related to baseball.

I don't know anything about the Hetfield guitar, but it's safe to assume Hetfield owns the trademark on use of the name Hetfield on anything to do with heavy metal music or guitars, things he is associated with by the public. That's not to say he'd ever make them stop or that it would be financially worthwhile to pursue.
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