July 2003
Mother Teresa enters the world of Intellectual Property
The order of nuns in India founded by Mother Teresa in the 1950s has applied for copyright in her name in an attempt to stop its exploitation by commercial interests after the order found our that the name is being used by banks, children's homes and even a management institute.
"In her lifetime, Mother Teresa expressed on a number of occasions her wish that her name not be used by any other individuals or organisations without her permission, and after her death, the permission of her successors", said Sister Nirmala, the current head of the order.
Briffa comment:
In the UK it is not possible to obtain copyright protection in a name alone. UK copyright arises automatically when a work is created and there is no need to register it or follow specific legal formalities in order to gain copyright protection. Although a few countries require that a work be marked with the international © mark followed by the name of the copyright owner and year of publication, this is not essential in most countries, including the UK. However, there is no disadvantage in inserting a copyright notice and marking copyright works in this way as it may assist in infringement proceedings by putting third parties on notice that the work is protected by copyright. © also makes it harder for an infringer to plead secondary infringement.
In the Shetland Times Case the court accepted that a headline of 'more than eight words' put together for the purpose of imparting information could be protected by copyright. However, word 'Exxon' alone was not held viable for copyright protection in the case of Exxon Corporation v Exxon Insurance Consultants International Limited. Following the case law it would seem that Mother Teresa would be left outside UK copyright protection.
However, Mother Teresa might be able to obtain trade mark registration for her name. When trade marking a famous name there is a requirement to consider whether the name is likely to be taken as an indication that the goods/services are supplied by or under the control of the person whose name it is, or whether they will simply be seen as goods/services about the person whose name it is, irrespective of trade origin.
This means, ironically, that the more famous a person is the more difficult it can be for him/her to get a registration. That said, many famous people have registered their names and the practice is bound to continue.