stekas@hou2g.UUCP (J.STEKAS) (03/19/84)
I think that the registered trademark indication, (TM), is
overused on the net. It is especially prevalent in net.micro
where one might see - " ... the Pacman (TM) Atari Game
Cartridge (TM) ..."
Manufacturers are happy to have their registered names used by
the public, in fact that's their goal. What they don't want is
their registered trademarks associated with other manufacturers
products. If I ask for help with an "Apple //" I am using the
trademark as it was intended and (TM) is not required. But if
Franklin uses it in an Ace advertisement, they better use the (TM)
to avoid associating the name "Apple //" with their product.
Jimuname@pyuxqq.UUCP (Ulysses Naime) (03/19/84)
>> Practically, there is little that a company can do if someone continues >> to misuse a trademark, especially on something like netnews. I would >> be interested to hear what a company can do. >> John Haller What a company should do is seek a change in the law so that using a trademark WITHOUT the TM does NOT eventually cause the company to lose the trademark. On copywrites, I feel that the period of protection from unrestricted copying is much TOO long. Example: If I invent a billion dollar product like a transistor, I can only get patent protection for 17 years, however, if I write a poem about transistors, I can get protection for close to 100 years, depending on the life span of the author.
jhh@ihldt.UUCP (John Haller) (03/20/84)
> I think that the registered trademark indication, (TM), is > overused on the net. It is especially prevalent in net.micro > where one might see - " ... the Pacman (TM) Atari Game > Cartridge (TM) ..." First of all, (TM) is only an indication of trademark, it is not an indication of a registered trademark. To indicate a registered trademark, an R in a circle, or a footnote stating that the term is a registered trademark of foobar. > Manufacturers are happy to have their registered names used by > the public, in fact that's their goal. What they don't want is > their registered trademarks associated with other manufacturers > products. If I ask for help with an "Apple //" I am using the > trademark as it was intended and (TM) is not required. But if > Franklin uses it in an Ace advertisement, they better use the (TM) > to avoid associating the name "Apple //" with their product. Wrong again. Kimberly-Clark sends out many letters to journalists who use the word Kleenex* as a noun, and without mentioning the trademark. If a company fails to do this, it may lose its trademark, as has happened several times in the past. Mimeograph used to be a trademark of A. B. Dick, but they failed to protect their trademark, and lost it. This most recently happened to Parket Bros. with Monopoly. Practically, there is little that a company can do if someone continues to misuse a trademark, especially on something like netnews. I would be interested to hear what a company can do. John Haller --- Kleenex is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark