words and copyright issues

I don't think you can copyright a word. But is "hume" a trademark? If not, I think you're free to use it. But don't look at me -- I'm not a lawyer.

Leesee ...

I think I'd speak of hume as a word, rather than a phrase.
A word or a short phrase can't be copyrighted.

My advice would be to use the word hume as a placekeeper for now.

When you've finished your final draft, submitted, and pulled yourself up an agent ... go find out if the word 'hume' is trademarked and how far the trademark protection extends. If you're infringing on the trademark in your use, do a universal search in your draft and replace hume with hyume or hemma or hom or genem or something else.

I don't have any insight on the legal issues, but my first reaction to this was concern for another reason. Regardless of whether it is legal to use a term or word that has been used elsewhere, you might want to consider the consequences of appearing to copy someone else's lexicon.

Is this a game that is very popular among folks likely to read your genre? Are the readers of your book going to be annoyed that you've "recycled" the term or worse yet feel angry that you "stole" it? Genre fans and gamers strike me as two communities that get quite proprietary about such details.

Just something to think about. How closely is the term associated with the game? Obviously, we're not talking about a term with cultural saturation such as "wookie" or "muggle," but it still could get some blogger's knickers in a twist, I suppose.

maestrowork said:

I don't think you can copyright a word. But is "hume" a trademark? If not, I think you're free to use it. But don't look at me -- I'm not a lawyer.

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As I understand it, trademarks apply not just to a word or name, but to that word or name associated with a certain use or product. "Pampers" is trademarked only in association with its use as a disposable diaper. "Dove" chocolate bars are trademarked for the company that makes the candy, but "Dove" soap products are trademarked for the unrelated company that makes soaps and cosmetics. Anybody can freely use the work "pampers" to describe their relationship with their children, or the word "dove" to describe the bird Dick Cheney mistook his best friend for while they was out shootin'.

In short, I can't imagine you have any problem to worry about. Not even the descendants of philosopher David Hume are likely to give you any trouble.

But, as others have said, it might not be your best possible choice. For now, however, worry more about what the humes are doing in your story.

caw

maestrowork said:

I don't think you can copyright a word. But is "hume" a trademark? If not, I think you're free to use it. But don't look at me -- I'm not a lawyer.

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He's lying. Have you read his posts? He IS a lawyer, and lurks on this forum in hopes of suing people like you!

I question whether "hume" is all that cool in the first place. Especially when there are folks like Maestrowork just waiting to pounce on you for making that mistake....

estermish said:

o rly?
Should I consider myself heading for trouble then?

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If you deal with lawyers, yes indeed!

In all seriousness, this is an issue for you and your editor. Write the book and then sort it out later. Whether you use "hume" or not won't make or break the book.

Unlike neurosurgery or launches of the Space Shuttle, one of the cool things about writing is that you don't have to get it perfect the first time. Just perfect enough to get an editor. And your editor will be focussed on bigger issues than the use of the term "hume."

In other words, relax. Tell your story. And don't hire lawyers.

Though if you must, Maestrowork is one of the best, and has a very competitive contingency-fee structure...

Heck, you can use the word if you want. It's no big deal. Heck, you can use the word superman with no problems. (Though DC's lawyers would want to speak with you very quickly if you tried using the Superman logo on your cover.)