Linux and trademarks

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Trademarks and spam

Unfortunately, a lot of water has gone under the Linux bridge, and now is a bit late to try to enforce a trademark claim.

SO you're saying that fifteen years after a word is coined, it's too late to trademark it?

This shows why Microsoft is so prickly when it comes to its own trademarked name: Windows. If you don't defend it, it quickly falls out of trademarkability (which is a word, dammit, in the dictionary in my head).

I wasn't aware that the word "windows" was coined less than fifteen years before Microsoft trademarked it. In fact, I was of the impression that Microsoft announced "Microsoft windows" back in the early 80s.

I hear the makers of SPAM have gone through similar gymnastics with its name, though I'm not sure where that stands.

Hormel, bless 'em, have been quite reasonable about the use of "spam" as a term for junk e-mail. They only get testy when someone puts it in all caps, as John does above.

Posted by: Yagotta B. Kidding   Posted on: 09/16/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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