Are you allowed to use a U.S. highway name/number on a souvenir t-shirt?
I saw these being sold recently, and I know that the profits do not go towards the highway. I was wondering if this is even legal?
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Answers ( 1 )
This would be a matter of trademarks, not copyright. As the US Patent and Trade Office explains:
"A copyright protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture."
Highway names and numbers are not protected by trademarks, but the interstate highway sign sheild design is. However, the US government has only exercised the trademark protection to force businesses using the interstate sheild on signage near highways to remove that signage to avoid confusion for motorists.
The state of Michigan dropped a lawsuit against the company M22 because it had registered a federal trademark for their logo, which is a copy of the state highway sign, seen below:
Image from M22
After five years, the Michigan Attorney General decided the suit wasn't worth bothering with continuing.