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[hussein]

Hello. I have an idea for a T-shirt that involves the use of Clippit (aka Clippy), the default Office Assistant on Microsoft Office (you know, the annoying paperclip guy that asks you if you want help making documents). The thing is I want to sell the T-shirt. I searched TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System) on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website (uspto.gov) and got nothing.

But when I searched "Microsoft Clippit" on The United States Copyright Office website (www.copyright.gov/records) I got this:

Type of Work: Visual Material
Registration Number / Date: VAu000372425 / 1996-07-17
Title: Microsoft Clippit.
Description: Computer graphic.
Copyright Claimant: Microsoft Corporation
Date of Creation: 1996
Names: Microsoft Corporation

Does this mean I can't use it (or at least have to get their permission first)?

I have seen Clippy used by groups other than Microsoft before, though. For example, in the opening title sequence of the show infoMania on Current TV, Clippy appears for a few moments at the beginning (infoMania is on Hulu if you want to see how Clippy is used). infoMania is a for-profit show but when I checked the its end credits I saw no mention of Clippy being used with permission from Microsoft.

Thank you very much for any information.

[cumhea]

Trust me - they paid to use that image, regardless of whether it was mentioned in the ending credits.