In advertising when one says "Brand Protection", they
instinctively think of trademark protection. An often
overlooked tool is copyright protection. If in advertising
you have developed a "character" (think Progressive
Insurance's "Flo" character or Haverty's
"Emily") or have an object (think Geico's Gekko or
the Batmobile) that is essential to your advertising campaigns,
under the right circumstances, it can be protected by
copyright. While trademark law can protect a specific
individual rendition of the character, copyright will protect the
persona. In other words, you may be able to prevent a
competitor from using a substantially similar character.
Certain characters in literature and in the movies have long
enjoyed copyright protection (James Bond, Rocky Balboa, Tarzan,
E.T., etc.). The key is that in order to be afforded
copyright protection, a character has to be distinctive and
essential to the story. Characters have to be especially
distinctive,
