wtm@neoucom.UUCP (Bill Mayhew) (04/17/89)
No, it's not what you think...
The recent spate of computer nostalgia articles and the Sunday
edition of the local newspaper broght an interesting thouhgt to
mind. The local Sears has recently picked up a new line of vacuum
cleaners with, you guessed it, the name Vax. Curiously the advert
in the paper describes the upstart cleaner in rhetoric rather
reminiscent of the patter found in the glossy hand-outs one
receives at computer trade shows. To wit:
"Try the new lightweight heavyweight of total cleaning.
Vax is the best way to upgrade your vacuum and get evey
other cleaning need satisfied in the bargain."
Consider a hypothetical brochure from DEC:
"Try the new lightweight heavyweight of total computing.
Vax is the best way to upgrade your network and get every
other computing need satisfied in the bargain."
This brings up some interesting related situations in trademark
protection. There is apparently precedent that it is alright for
one's company to use a name that has already trademarked as long as
the second product or service is distinct. For instance, Joe Ford
could go into business selling Ford brand toothbrushes and not have
to worry about being sued by Ford Motor Company.
Interestingly, the Mead Data Services compnay is currently
attempting to enjoin Toyota's new upscale car division from naming
their cars 'Lexis', claiming that it would cause market confusion
with their legal database service named 'Lexus'. Geez guys. "Go
for a ride in your Lexis; are you talking about a car or the
database, Sidney?"
Then there is the case of a certain Cupertino company that sells
'audio-visual' computers named Macintosh. There's also a company
that sells audio, if not visual, high fidelity stero equipment by
the name of McIntosh. Apparently there was an informal agreement
between Apple and McIntosh allowing Apple to use the Macintosh
label on their computers. (McIntosh has been selling hifi
equipment for 30+ years.) It seems, however, that McIntosh sat up
and started to take notice when Apple began to feature the phrase
'audio-visual' prominently in its litigation with Microsoft and
Hewlett-Packard. La vita dolce.
Bill
wtm@impulse.UUCP
"I am not a lawyer. All I ever got for free was my cat, Mac."haynes@ucscc.UCSC.EDU (Jim Haynes) (04/18/89)
And the company that makes Beretta weapons is suing the car maker that
makes a model called Beretta. And it's been fairly widespread in the
papers that a local vegetarian restaurant that called itself
McDharma's was forced to stop by McDonalds.
There's probably no rationale to all this, it's just a case of little
kids posturing, "my lawyer can lick your lawyer."
haynes@ucscc.ucsc.edu
haynes@ucscc.bitnet
..ucbvax!ucscc!haynes
"Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an Art."
Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle