Name conflict/legality

[george]

lets say i have a program that is the same name as a magazine or other type of media like movie or book. lets say i make a program called "PC Magazine" which lets you create magazines on your computer. Is this legal since there is a famous magazine called "PC Magazine"?

[James Gwertzman]

You need to educate yourself about copyright/trademark law. Nolo publishes some excellent books on the subject, including "Patent, Copyright, Trademark: An Intellectual Property Desk Reference".

Titles are generally protected by trademark law; a trademark in one area (like a magazine) doesn't automatically apply to another area (like a game) unless the holder of the trademark has used it in the other areas or protected it through filing for a copyright registration.

The specifics of your case, however, totally depend on the actual name in question.

[Nutter]

Even if it is legal, don't forget that using the same name as something that is quite well known makes it hard for people to search for your product.

[Greg Squire]

It basically boils down to "would the name create significant confusion in the marketplace". I'm no lawyer, but in this case I'd have to say "Yes". One is a magazine about software, the other software to make magazines. My recommendation would be avoid that name.

You can do a simple trademark search at the US trademark and patent's website here.