You do, right? It's only common sense. But are you sure? How sure? I know there at least two or three people (probably a lot more, those are only the ones who've done something that was indexed by Google) that share my first and last name. Probably at least a few share my middle name, once we look at the actual number of people with my legal name, rather than the subset that Google displays. At least one of them is older than I am. Can he claim that I'm infringing upon his trademarks or copyrights (should he register our name)? Can he claim my writing or other work as his own? Can he take my deeded real property? After all, that's his name on that deed as much as it is mine and he has an earlier claim than I do - he was born first.
Does that make identity theft an IP violation? If someone steals my identity and creates a successful artistic work using my name, can I claim his work as mine? If he has children and gives them my surname, is that a derivative work based on my name? Can I gain custody? If he's married under my name, do I have to assume his marriage contract?
Of course, all this seems absurd now, but one day sooner than you might think these issues will be paraded before a judge's bench. This is where our current IP laws are leading us - maybe it would be better to pull back and think it over before we reach the abyss?
