4 ms·

Wait... maybe I've been grossly misinformed, but I thought you couldn't trademark, for lack of a better term, a single normal word. Isn't this why Google is ca

Wait... maybe I've been grossly misinformed, but I thought you couldn't trademark, for lack of a better term, a single normal word. Isn't this why Google is called "Google" and not "Googol"?

rbanffy 16y ago
Just try to market an integrated office suite called "Office", an OS called "Windows" or a computer called "Apple" to see what happens...
- AgentConundrum 16y ago
  Just try to market an integrated office suite called "Office" Microsoft owns the trademark to something like "Microsoft Office" not the actual word Office, right? Also, doesn't OpenOffice still exist?
  - citricsquid 16y ago
    They own it when used in defined context: > Telecommunication services, namely, providing online chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users in the field of general interest and concerning social and entertainment subject matter, none primarily featuring or relating to motoring or to cars. So if you use "Face" ... in any of those areas you're infringing on their trademark, however if you named your cleaning product "facebegone" you'd be fine.
    - AgentConundrum 16y ago
      I didn't realize you could do that. I guess I learned something new today.
    - Myrth 16y ago
      > facebegone The best tools for The Cleaner.
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    > Microsoft owns the trademark to something like "Microsoft Office" not the actual word Office, right? I think the fact there is no Sun (or Oracle, or IBM) Office speaks for itself. Specially in the case of McNeally's Sun, that would find it specially appealing to dilute the value of a Microsoft brand by naming a product as close to theirs as possible. No one did it. People fear, understandably, Microsoft's lawyers.
    - jawee 16y ago
      There are plenty, for example... Commercial: OpenOffice.org and StarOffice (Sun/Oracle), Kingsoft Office, SoftMaker Office Plus FOSS/Freeware ones like: LibreOffice, KOffice, Siag Office, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_suite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_suite

Wait... maybe I've been grossly misinformed, but I thought you couldn't trademark, for lack of a better term, a single normal word. Isn't this why Google is called "Google" and not "Googol"?

rbanffy 16y ago

Just try to market an integrated office suite called "Office", an OS called "Windows" or a computer called "Apple" to see what happens...

AgentConundrum 16y ago
Just try to market an integrated office suite called "Office" Microsoft owns the trademark to something like "Microsoft Office" not the actual word Office, right? Also, doesn't OpenOffice still exist?
- citricsquid 16y ago
  They own it when used in defined context: > Telecommunication services, namely, providing online chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users in the field of general interest and concerning social and entertainment subject matter, none primarily featuring or relating to motoring or to cars. So if you use "Face" ... in any of those areas you're infringing on their trademark, however if you named your cleaning product "facebegone" you'd be fine.
  - AgentConundrum 16y ago
    I didn't realize you could do that. I guess I learned something new today.
  - Myrth 16y ago
    > facebegone The best tools for The Cleaner.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  > Microsoft owns the trademark to something like "Microsoft Office" not the actual word Office, right? I think the fact there is no Sun (or Oracle, or IBM) Office speaks for itself. Specially in the case of McNeally's Sun, that would find it specially appealing to dilute the value of a Microsoft brand by naming a product as close to theirs as possible. No one did it. People fear, understandably, Microsoft's lawyers.
  - jawee 16y ago
    There are plenty, for example... Commercial: OpenOffice.org and StarOffice (Sun/Oracle), Kingsoft Office, SoftMaker Office Plus FOSS/Freeware ones like: LibreOffice, KOffice, Siag Office, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_suite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_suite