Would it be copyright to do this...

July 11, 2007 @ 11:16ammacman012 says:
I wanted to use a bracelets personalizing company to make a silicon bracelet like the LiveStrong ones, but have it say, "Get a Mac" Would that be considered copyright towards Apple and their ad campaign? Thanks in advance!
July 14, 2007 @ 12:02pmMKardick says:
It could depend on what "Get a Mac" means, what the purpose/message of the bracelet is, will a profit be earned and probably a whole bunch more than that. In order to give any kind of opinion I would need a few more details. Also besides copyright infringement considerations there may be trademark issues, too.
July 15, 2007 @ 5:50amksmith says:
I don't see that there is any copyright problem here at all. To infringe a copyright you have to copy original expression. There is no indication here of what expression is being copied, and the phrase itself is unlikely to be sufficiently original to be protected anyway. This requirement of minimum originality is why there is a long judicial tradition of refusing to protect words and short phrases.

It seems rather more likely that there would be a trademark issue. I do not know if Mac would qualify for trademark protection; it is a pretty generic word (referring to a certain high-caloric and tasteless hamburger as well as a line of computers), but it certainly seems to have the necessary secondary meaning as a source identifier within the computer trade. That, I think, is where macman012 needs to concentrate his concern and attention.

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