Trademarks and Such

Does that mean that one of the main characters of a super-geeky comedy TV show is in hot water? How about the website that shows off the various T-Shirts he and his friends wear? Will they now have to bow to your superioritude?

Or are we talking about the combination of the name Sheldon, the blue sircle, and the smiling face?

@ Dave, as a patent and trademark attorney, I can tell you that that is exciting to more than just you.

@Patjade, no, trademark registrations are limited to their specific areas of use in commerce, so there should not be any conflict between this webcomic (and the Sheldon Store items) and a character name from a tv show. The character name itself is a "fair use" anyway, and any rights to the characters themselves is covered by the copyright laws, which require "substantial similarity" (among other factors) to establish an infringement. From what I observe, there are only basic, common similarities between Sheldon of the webcomic and Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, and that the major individual characteristics are significantly different. So no worries for the Chuck Lorre fans out there.

Just think of how much Dave could get siphoning just a small amount off Mm. Lorre and Prady's torrent o' cash. It would probably be enough to start development on the Sheldon MMORPG.

Oh, well. I guess we'll just have to hope for a mention in a vanity card.

That's terrific, Dave! It somehow just makes the package that much more complete, making it more your own. Congratulations on the little big milestone.

Congratulations on another level of achievement.