4 ms·

Yes I know how it works. I was commenting that I find the current system of being able to trademark English words like "orange" a pretty silly system.

latch 15y ago
You really don't see a problem with someone other than Microsoft selling an operating system and calling it Windows? What about a company that does mail delivery calling itself the "United States Postal Service" ? An airline called "Virgin"?
- 0x12 15y ago
  It should be called 'microsoft windows'. That way we can have 'Apple windows', 'digital research windows' and so on. Window managers are a class and you should not be able to monopolize a class name without some sort of addition.
  - zerostar07 15y ago
    "Hello, I have a problem with Nokia Photoshop not loading on my Fujitsu-Siemens Macbook Pro after installing the latest upgrade of 'Google Snow Leopard Windows'".
    - rfrey 15y ago
      "Google" is an English word, so you'll have to be a bit more specific.
      - deleted 15y ago
        [deleted]
      - zerostar07 15y ago
        "Well i tried Adobegoogling it, Microsoftgoogling, Googlegoogling and Quorastackoverflowing it, but no clear solution was found. I am gonna consider buying the Virgin Atlantic Photoshop CS4 instead from the Walmart App Store"
      - Aqua_Geek 15y ago
        Technically, "Google" isn't an English word - it's a misspelling of the English word "googol."
        mukyu 15y ago
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_(verb) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_(verb) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rig...
        zerostar07 15y ago
        The point is it was not a verb before Google the company
  - cube13 15y ago
    >Window managers are a class and you should not be able to monopolize a class name without some sort of addition. The Windows trademark is for the entire operating system product. It's not just for the window manager. Keep in mind that trademarks are incredibly specific. Infringement only occurs if it's a similar product. For example, there is a recreational vehicle company named Starcraft that has been in business since the early 1900's. Blizzard made the real time strategy game called Starcraft. Both usages of the word "Starcraft" are registered trademarks, and do not infringe on each other.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
jerf 15y ago
You can't. Trademarks have domains in which they are functional. Microsoft owns "Windows", an English word, but only in the computer domain (whichever one that is). They do not own the word Windows. The system already does not let you simply trademark English words.

latch 15y ago

You really don't see a problem with someone other than Microsoft selling an operating system and calling it Windows? What about a company that does mail delivery calling itself the "United States Postal Service" ? An airline called "Virgin"?

0x12 15y ago
It should be called 'microsoft windows'. That way we can have 'Apple windows', 'digital research windows' and so on. Window managers are a class and you should not be able to monopolize a class name without some sort of addition.
- zerostar07 15y ago
  "Hello, I have a problem with Nokia Photoshop not loading on my Fujitsu-Siemens Macbook Pro after installing the latest upgrade of 'Google Snow Leopard Windows'".
  - rfrey 15y ago
    "Google" is an English word, so you'll have to be a bit more specific.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - zerostar07 15y ago
      "Well i tried Adobegoogling it, Microsoftgoogling, Googlegoogling and Quorastackoverflowing it, but no clear solution was found. I am gonna consider buying the Virgin Atlantic Photoshop CS4 instead from the Walmart App Store"
    - Aqua_Geek 15y ago
      Technically, "Google" isn't an English word - it's a misspelling of the English word "googol."
      - mukyu 15y ago
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_(verb) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_(verb) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rig...
        zerostar07 15y ago
        The point is it was not a verb before Google the company
- cube13 15y ago
  >Window managers are a class and you should not be able to monopolize a class name without some sort of addition. The Windows trademark is for the entire operating system product. It's not just for the window manager. Keep in mind that trademarks are incredibly specific. Infringement only occurs if it's a similar product. For example, there is a recreational vehicle company named Starcraft that has been in business since the early 1900's. Blizzard made the real time strategy game called Starcraft. Both usages of the word "Starcraft" are registered trademarks, and do not infringe on each other.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

jerf 15y ago

You can't. Trademarks have domains in which they are functional. Microsoft owns "Windows", an English word, but only in the computer domain (whichever one that is). They do not own the word Windows. The system already does not let you simply trademark English words.