Legal and Naming Pitfalls When Adapting Books and Comics to Media: Roald Dahl to Traveling to Mars

Hook: You’ve secured adaptation rights — but name, domain and trademark traps can wreck launch day

Adapting a beloved book or comic into a podcast, series, or transmedia universe is a technical and legal minefield. You can have the rights on paper and still lose audience discoverability, face a registrar dispute, or trigger an infringement claim because of a title or domain choice. This guide gives technology and product teams practical, lawyer-informed steps to avoid naming pitfalls and protect the domain and brand assets that make an adaptation findable and defensible in 2026.

The landscape in 2026: why naming matters more than ever

Late 2025 and early 2026 reinforced that literary IP is a hot ticket for streaming, podcast networks and transmedia studios. Examples include iHeartPodcasts and Imagine Entertainment launching The Secret World of Roald Dahl (Jan 2026) and European transmedia studio The Orangery signing with WME to expand graphic novels like Traveling to Mars across formats (Jan 2026). These deals demonstrate two realities: (1) publishers and IP owners aggressively protect titles and related domains; and (2) the value of a name that is searchable, ownable, and scalable across merchandise, games, and social platforms.

For engineering and product teams, that means naming decisions are technical, legal, and strategic — not just creative. Domains, DNS practices, registrar policies, trademark clearance, and contract language for adaptation rights must be coordinated before a public announcement to avoid costly backtracking.

Three core pitfalls teams keep tripping over

1. Assuming "I have rights" equals clearance to use the original title or domain. Rights grants (options, licenses) can be narrow — limited to a medium, territory, or time. Titles are often separately protected by trademark or rights holders who retain control over how the title is used commercially.
2. Registering a domain without chain-of-title confirmation. Domain squatters and secondary-market bidders monitor headlines. Announcing an adaptation before defensive registrations and brand locks invites disputes and premium buyouts.
3. Overlooking common-law marks and social handles. Even if a title isn’t federally registered, long-standing use by a publisher, fandom, or third party can create enforceable rights. Plus, inconsistent social handles damage discoverability across platforms.

Practical, step-by-step pre-launch naming workflow

Treat naming as a project with milestones. Below is a practical workflow teams can insert into product sprints.

1. Immediate (Day 0–7): Lock the rights and record scope
   • Confirm the adaptation agreement includes a clear chain of title and a written grant that specifies media types, territories, languages, merchandising, and sublicensing rights.
   • Extract any title protection clauses — rights holders often reserve control of how the title is used or require approval for marketing names.
2. Clearance (Week 1–3): Trademark and domain searches
   • Run a federal trademark search (USPTO TESS) and international checks (EUIPO, UKIPO, WIPO Global Brand Database). Search for similar marks in entertainment, podcasting, publishing and merchandising classes.
   • Check common-law results: Google, social platforms, fandom sites, app stores, and niche communities (webcomic sites, Goodreads, Archive.org).
   • Search domain availability across TLDs (com, .fm, .media, .studio, ccTLDs relevant to territories) and check WHOIS/registration timestamps for recent squatting behavior.
3. Risk evaluation (Week 2–4): Legal and product review
   • If the title is trademarked by the rights holder, confirm your license includes the right to use the mark or negotiate a scoped license.
   • Engage IP counsel to assess likelihood of confusion with existing marks and to advise on defensive registrations or rebranding if needed.
4. Domain & infra (Week 3–6): Defensive registrations and DNS controls
   • Register core domains (example: travelingtomars.com) and key TLD variants. Consider targeted ccTLDs in commercial territories.
   • Enable registrar lock, WHOIS privacy where appropriate, and DNSSEC to prevent hijacking. Set up two-factor authentication on registrar accounts and restrict admin access.
   • Use short-term parking pages with brand language reserved for announcements (non-infringing copy) to deter squatters.
5. Social & discovery (Week 4–8): Handle alignment and SEO prep
   • Reserve social handles in priority platforms and set up identity verification where available.
   • Create canonical metadata strategies (structured data for podcast episodes, series, and merchandise) so search engines understand ownership and reduce impersonation risk.
6. Ongoing (post-launch): Monitoring and enforcement
   • Schedule automated monitoring for domain registrations and trademark filings using APIs (WHOISXML API, TrademarkNow, or a brand protection service).
   • Prepare template notices for registrar takedowns, cease-and-desists, and UDRP/ACPA actions if necessary.

Case studies: What Roald Dahl and Traveling to Mars teach us

Roald Dahl — biography vs. title use

The 2026 iHeartPodcasts/Imagine documentary The Secret World of Roald Dahl highlights two issues. First, a biographical program about an author’s life often relies on factual history (which is not copyrightable) rather than the copyrighted text. But rights holders (publishers and estates) still retain strong control over titles, characters and branded assets. Roald Dahl’s works remain protected under copyright (Dahl died in 1990; many works will remain protected into the 2050s/2060s depending on jurisdiction), so creators must avoid using story elements or adapted text that exceed the documentary's fair-use scope.

Operational takeaways:

• For biography-driven formats, seek legal sign-offs on what copyrighted materials (readings, dramatized scenes) are allowed and whether content licenses, synchronization licenses, or mechanical rights are required.
• Reserve a domain and descriptive secondary brand (e.g., roalddahl-docpodcast.com) instead of attempting to register a title mark directly tied to the literary works without clearance.

Traveling to Mars — transmedia IP and title control

The Orangery's dealmaking around graphic novels like Traveling to Mars shows the upside of consolidating IP ownership and brand assets before scaling. When a studio holds clear rights, it can comfortably register trademarks, domains, and merchandise lines — and safely negotiate with agencies like WME.

Operational takeaways:

• If your organization is acquiring or consolidating IP, bundle title registrations, design marks (covers/logos), and domain portfolios into the acquisition scope so new owners inherit clean brand assets.
• When pitching to agencies or distributors, show a defensible naming and domain plan — it materially increases valuation and reduces go-to-market friction.

Trademark and domain conflicts: what to expect and how to act

Types of disputes

• UDRP complaints (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) for clear cybersquatting.
• ACPA lawsuits in the U.S. for bad-faith registrations of domains confusingly similar to a trademark.
• Trademark opposition at the USPTO or national offices during trademark procurement for confusingly similar marks.
• Platform takedowns and social handle disputes (some platforms allow rights-holders to claim handles based on branding).

Practical responses

1. Keep all chain-of-title documents, license agreements and approvals in a single, encrypted repository accessible to legal and product leads.
2. If a third party registers a domain that conflicts with your planned title, engage counsel quickly and consider a UDRP if the registrant is a bad actor. UDRP can be faster and cheaper than full litigation, but remedies are limited to transfer or cancellation of the domain.
3. For high-value names, weigh a negotiated purchase versus litigation costs; sometimes buying a contested domain saves time and preserves marketing momentum.

Naming strategies to avoid infringement and maximize brand ownership

Avoid one-size-fits-all. Here are naming patterns that reduce legal risk and improve technical ownership.

• Descriptive + modifier: Add a unique modifier to the original title to create a distinctive trademark (e.g., Traveling to Mars: The Odyssey, Traveling to Mars — Official Podcast).
• New umbrella brand: Create a new series-level brand for transmedia that can house multiple titles (e.g., The Orangery Universe — Traveling to Mars becomes a sub-brand).
• Use brandable nouns: Pick short, memorable, and ownable nouns (noun.cloud audience preference) that can be registered as trademarks and domains across classes.
• Geo or medium qualifiers: Add mediums or regions to domains rather than incorporate the copyrighted title directly (e.g., travelingtomars-podcast.fm).

Technical best practices for domain and DNS

• Register core and defensive TLDs up front: .com, .fm, .media, .studio and relevant ccTLDs. Use a prioritized registration list tailored to the deal’s territories.
• Enable registrar lock and two-factor authentication for all domain accounts. Keep control with a corporate account — not an individual employee.
• Use DNSSEC and monitor zone changes. For high-profile launches, consider active monitoring for DNS hijack attempts.
• Automate expiry checks and domain transfers via registrar APIs to prevent accidental loss; set renewal alerts 60–90 days prior to expiry.
• Use privacy protections carefully: some registries require accurate WHOIS for legal notices, but privacy reduces spam and targeted actor profiling.

Trademark portfolio planning for transmedia

Transmedia multiplies classes and applications. Plan a phased trademark filing strategy.

1. File for the primary title in entertainment/production services and downloadable audio/video classes.
2. File secondary marks for logos, cover art, and sub-series in merchandise classes if you plan physical goods.
3. File defense marks for character names and distinctive phrases if you intend spin-offs, games, or licensing.
4. Use international filings (Madrid Protocol) strategically for territories where you expect commercial exploitation.

Contracts & negotiation tips with rights holders

• Insist on explicit title-use language in the adaptation license: define the parameters for marketing titles, domain registration, social handles and merchandising.
• Negotiate approval processes that include clear timelines and objective rejection criteria. Open-ended approval windows create launch risk.
• Secure sublicensing rights if you plan to sublicense for games, audio platforms or international distributors. Sublicensing often creates separate IP and domain needs.
• Push to transfer or co-own trademarks related to the adaptation title where commercially appropriate, or negotiate an exclusive license for trademark use in key classes.

Monitoring and enforcement playbook for post-launch

1. Set up alerts for new domain registrations similar to your brand and titles via WHOIS monitoring tools.
2. Monitor social platforms for impersonation and false profiles; use platform reporting workflows immediately.
3. Keep a two-track response plan: immediate takedown requests for low-effort impersonators, and legal escalation for high-risk domains or counterfeit merchandise sellers.
4. Review brand performance and enforcement logs quarterly to decide on additional defensive filings or buyouts.

Quick rule: If adopting a title or phrase that appears in the original literary work, assume it is protected and confirm rights and trademark clearance before building domains or merch.

Checklist: 12-item pre-announcement audit

1. Confirm chain-of-title & written adaptation grant
2. Identify and extract any title protection clauses
3. Run USPTO, EUIPO, UKIPO and WIPO searches
4. Google and social common-law search
5. Reserve core and defensive domains (including .com) and relevant ccTLDs
6. Enable registrar lock, WHOIS privacy, 2FA, and DNSSEC
7. Reserve social handles and apply for verification where possible
8. Decide on naming pattern (modifier, umbrella, or new brand)
9. Plan trademark filings phased by classes
10. Prepare template takedown and UDRP documentation
11. Set up automated domain and trademark monitoring
12. Schedule legal approvals into your marketing sprint

Future predictions (2026+): naming and domain trends to watch

• Greater emphasis on programmatic brand monitoring: by 2027 most mid-size studios will use AI to detect lookalike domains and social handles in real time.
• New entertainment-focused TLDs and on-chain naming (decentralized identifiers) will complicate enforcement; teams must add web3 monitoring to traditional WHOIS checks.
• Rights holders will increasingly demand centralized digital asset registries in contracts — a single source of truth for titles, domains, and approved logos.

Actionable takeaways — what your next sprint should do

• Before any announcement: run a consolidated trademark + domain audit and lock priority domains.
• Embed an IP attorney into adaptation sprints for title and merchandising negotiation points.
• Automate domain and brand monitoring; set a 24–72 hour response SLA for takedown and enforcement actions after launch.
• Choose naming patterns that are both discoverable and defensible — brandable nouns with modifiers often hit the sweet spot.

Final checklist: who does what

• Legal: Chain-of-title, clearance, trademark filings, enforcement templates
• Product/Engineering: Domain registration, registrar security, DNSSEC, infra monitoring
• Marketing: Social handles, canonical metadata, announcement schedule tied to legal approvals
• Business/BD: Negotiations for sublicensing, merchandising and rights expansion

Conclusion & call-to-action

Adapting literary IP into new media like podcasts, streaming series, or transmedia universes is as much an IP and infrastructure challenge as it is a creative one. The headlines from early 2026 — Roald Dahl’s high-profile documentary and The Orangery’s transmedia deals — underscore that name and domain strategy can make or break a launch. Follow the steps in this guide: confirm chain-of-title, run proactive trademark and domain clearances, register defensive domains and handles, and bake legal approvals into your launch sprints.

Ready to make your next adaptation launch secure and discoverable? Start with a 7-step domain + trademark audit tailored for adaptations. Schedule a sprint-ready audit with your legal and product teams today — if you’d like, export the 12-item pre-announcement checklist above into your next planning doc and run it before public announcements.

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