Hi there! (I think this is the right category?)
I’ve recently finished watching a series on Netflix called ‘The Good Place’, and it’s inspired me to create ideas for a new game.
However, I’m worried that some phrases such as ‘The Good Place’ (which basically is heaven) and ‘The Bad Place’ (which is basically hell) have been coined as copyright and owned by Netflix, and I wouldn’t be able to use them in my game?
If you know anything about copyright issues or have had experience with what counts as copyright, I’d really appreciate it.
Thank you! 
The Great Place and The Terrible Place?? All you need to do is change 1 word and you should be fine 
1 Like
According to copyright.gov:
Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases.
What you should be worrying about is a trademark.
The difference between the two is that copyright mostly protects literary works or artistic works. On the other hand, a trademark protects items that help define a company or a brand.
For your question:
I searched in uspto.gov for you, and ‘The Good Place’ is currently trademarked by a Chinese company, so you probably do not have to worry while ‘The Bad Place’ is not trademarked.
Of course, I might be wrong with my research but you probably don’t need to worry about this.
3 Likes
Okay, thank you, this is really useful!
1 Like