A Triple Bill of Real Video

What is Real Video? For Jerry Endrikson--a Huntington Beach surfer--it’s his start-up production company, drawn from the title of his 30-minute home movie detailing the joys of renting a video.

For Mitchell Block, president of a Santa Monica film and video distributor called Direct Cinema, it’s the moniker of one of its labels.

For Progressive Networks, the Seattle-based maker of Internet tools, it’s the name of a software program that lets people watch video over the World Wide Web.

So who owns the rights to the term? The confusion between these different companies and their very different products is a perfect example of how trademark and copyright laws can become snarled online.

Endrikson insists he thought of the term several years ago. But he plans to change his company name, he said, after receiving an e-mail, apparently from Progressive, that warned him not to use the phrase in any online promotions.

Block claims that he registered Real Video as a business name in Los Angeles County, and that Progressive’s staff has threatened to sue him if he uses the term Real Video on any Web-based endeavors. The two companies have since resolved their concerns, Block said.

A Progressive spokesman said the Seattle developer maintains its right to the Real Video name. He declined to discuss the issue further.

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P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com.