joel@gould9.UUCP (01/31/87)
Apple just sent a polite but strongly-worded letter from their legal
department to all third-party developers regarding trademarks.
Excerpts (quoted without permission :-) ) below:
Variations of the Apple Logo
Some developers blieve that it's permissible to use a variation of
the Apple logo, a genuine apple or some other fruit design. THIS IS
NOT TRUE. (bold) Any design of an apple may confuse the customer
and lead him or her to believe that the product is from Apple Computer,
Inc. Apple prohibits variations of the Apple logo (and other fruit
symbols) and will withold software licenses from developers that use them.
Showing Third-Party Product Compatibility
Third party developers may denote compatiblity of their products with
Apple computers in the following way.
BLOTTO for your Apple (R) IIc Personal Computer
MacStar for Apple (R) Macintosh TM Computers
... When referring to the Macintosh computer, please use the full
"Macintosh" name -- not the abbreviation "Mac".
License to Use the "Mac" TradeMark
"Mac" is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Many third party developers
have incorporate "Mac" into their product names, such as MacVegas,
MacCharlie, etc. In the past, Apple has allowed devlopers to do this
as long as "Mac" is used as prefix, not a suffix. You may NOT call
your product CharlieMac, NewMac, etc. If you've been using "Mac"
as a suffix, you will be asked to change the product name.
Please be aware that Apple is taking greater control of the "Mac"
trademark. This will probably not affect existing product names; but
if you plan to introduce a new product name with the "Mac" prefix,
you may be asked to enter into a license with Apple.
Licenses to Use "GS" and "IIGS"
In principle, Apple discourages use of the "GS" trademark. A small
number of developers were given early permission to incorporate "GS"
or "IIGS" in their product names. Apple is now requiring these
developers to enter into trademark licenses. No other developers
will be permitted to use the "GS" or "IIGS" trademarks.
...
Apple Computer Trademark List (abbreviated)
Registered Trademarks
Apple, AppleTalk, DuoDisk, ImageWriter, The Keyboard Company,
LaserWriter, Lisa, Macintosh (Picasso) Logo
Apple logo (color and silhouette)
Registered Service Marks
Apple (for credit), AppleCare, AppleFest
Trademarks Pending Registration
AppleLink, AppleNet, Mac, MacDraw, MacPaint, MacProject, MacTerminal,
MacWrite, Wheels for the Mind
Servicemarks Pending Registration
MacAdemia, MacFest
Other Apple Trademarks
AppleColor, Apple DeskTop Bus, Apple IIGS, AppleLine, Apple Pi,
Apple Pie, AppleWrite, MacApp, Macintosh
Notes on licensed trademarks mention PostScript, Helvetica, etc
but not McIntosh Laboratories.
-------------
Comments:
1. Obviously the lawyers came up with something new vis-a-vis
the McIntosh Laboratories original disclaimer, since they're now
persuing registering Macintosh and the related trademarks for the
first time (note Apple II but absence of Mac registered TM's.)
2. I like Apple controlling 'Mac' better than MacDonalds, but I
hope that's as far as it goes.
--
Joel West MCI Mail: 282-8879
Western Software Technology, POB 2733, Vista, CA 92083
{cbosgd, ihnp4, pyramid, sdcsvax, ucla-cs} !gould9!joel
joel%gould9.uucp@NOSC.ARPAwoody@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (02/01/87)
What amuses me the most about the Apple logo crackdown is the Apple logo itself--will Apple sue Apple Records, the company which used the green apple with a bite out of the side, the company which published some old Beatles stuff (I think--I have to check my record collection), and the company from which Woz and Jobs obviously stole their logo from?!? My only comment about all this is that the Apple lawyers are obviously obnoxious idiots who don't realize the thin ice Apple sometimes legally skates. Or maybe the crackdown is occuring only to those third party developers who Apple knows it can bankrupt in court... *sigh* Solution: FROM NOW ON, all future products who were going to affix the prefix "Mac" to their product, should prefix "TT" instead: Tan Toaster. Ie: TTWrite, TTPaint, TTDraw, TTStats,... - William Woody Mac! > ][n && /|\ woody@tybalt.caltech.edu woody@juliet.caltech.edu
wetter@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (02/01/87)
It seems to me that the same people who last week were commenting on the preponderance of Mac----- products are now complaining because apple go tired of it too. Make up your minds. Pierce Wetter "There are three possibilities: Pioneer's solar panel has turned away from the sun; there's a large meteor blocking transmission; or someone loaded Star Trek 3.2 into our video processor." -------------------------------------------- wetter@tybalt.caltech.edu --------------------------------------------
werme@alliant.UUCP (02/03/87)
In article <1665@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> woody@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (William Edward Woody) writes: > >What amuses me the most about the Apple logo crackdown is the Apple logo >itself--will Apple sue Apple Records, the company which used the green >apple with a bite out of the side, the company which published some >old Beatles stuff (I think--I have to check my record collection), and >the company from which Woz and Jobs obviously stole their logo from?!? I doubt it - copyright law allows trademarks to be "overloaded" (if you'll excuse Ada jargon creaping into the language) as long as their usage is obviously different. Hence both MacDonalds and Apple can sell Macs since computers taste bad and hamburgers don't compute. Hartz Mountain can sell Flip Chips (dog treats) as can DEC (PC boards). On the other hand, Omni magazine tried to start out as Nova magazine, but the folks at PBS squawked because they had a program called Nova. The conflict was that both were in media - one printed, one aired. If Omni was a decent magazine, PBS might not have complained. It's often a judgement call and some tricky situations can arise. For example, if Apple Records and Apple Computer both start publishing CDs, then there could be an interesting lawsuit! -- The Art of Programming Ric Werme needs to be tempered with uucp: decvax!linus!alliant the Structure of Engineering Phone: 603-673-3993
dorner@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu.UUCP (02/06/87)
I love my Mac, and I am glad Apple made it. But I think this trademark business is getting out of hand. So, I now subscribe to the profound statement made some months ago on this net, "Down with fascist Apple!" (Oops--maybe that's a trademark of the original poster; I'm gonna be sued!) --- Steve Dorner dorner@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu
dee@cca.UUCP (02/07/87)
In article <1665@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> woody@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (William Edward Woody) writes: >What amuses me the most about the Apple logo crackdown is the Apple logo >itself--will Apple sue Apple Records, the company which used the green >apple with a bite out of the side, the company which published some It is not just the case that something is a trademark or isn't a trademark. There is nothing wrong with the same word, symbol, etc., being used for different things. There is also a legal distinction between "strong" trademarks (usually made up words that have probably never been used before like "Exxon") and "weak" trademarks that have multiple users for different products or in different geographic areas. Someone with a strong trademark can generally restrain others from using it even in unrelated areas but this is not true for a weak trademark. "Apple" strikes me as a weak trademark but, off course, this would ultimately be up to the courts to decide it if came to litigation. >My only comment about all this is that the Apple lawyers are obviously >obnoxious idiots who don't realize the thin ice Apple sometimes legally >skates. In trademarks you have to be obnoxious and hassle people that are using marks that are close to or might infringe on your mark or you risk losing your rights. -- +1 617-492-8860 Donald E. Eastlake, III ARPA: dee@CCA.CCA.COM usenet: {cbosg,decvax,linus}!cca!dee