In message <20090108232546.5a3d9873....@firenze.linux.it>, Francesco
Poli <f...@firenze.linux.it> writes
But anyway, there *has* to be a trademark to begin with, in order for
trademark laws to apply.
I don't know whether "Alice" is a trademark or is eligible to become
one.
I don't know about US law, but certainly in the UK, trademark law is a
bit like copyright law - using a name automatically creates a
trademark(TM).
Note I wrote (TM), and *not* (R). I'm planning to have another go at
writing a "free Pick" implementation when I can find the time, and right
from the get-go I will be referring to it as "MaVen (TM)". That
INSTANTLY gives me trademark rights.
The difference between (TM) and (R) is that (R) means registered, and as
such it's a lot easier to enforce (a bit like you need to register
copyrights in the US if you want to get decent damages for
infringement). But if I call my product "MaVen (TM)" it makes it a lot
easier for me to defend myself in a trademark fight against someone just
using "Maven", and if I can show they named their product after mine, I
would have pretty much the same redress as if I had actually registered
the trademark. The main effect of not registering the trademark there
simply makes the burden of proof on me somewhat higher.
(Oh - and if you're thinking of the Windows(r)/Lindows fiasco, MS would
have been able to sue Lindows for "naming their product with intent to
cause confusion with Windows" even if they didn't have a registered
trademark. They'd probably have lost on the grounds confusion was
unlikely, but they'd've had a case.)
Cheers,
Wol
--
Anthony W. Youngman - anth...@thewolery.demon.co.uk
--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-legal-requ...@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
