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The use of “Mozilla” I believe predates the Mozilla Foundation, as it was from Netscape’s user agent string before it was spun out. https://webaim.org/blog/user
by rmccue 4y ago
The use of “Mozilla” I believe predates the Mozilla Foundation, as it was from Netscape’s user agent string before it was spun out. https://webaim.org/blog/user-agent-string-history/ https://webaim.org/blog/user-agent-string-history/
- jdsully 4y agoThey would have passed on the trademark rights with the rest of the IP
- eyelidlessness 4y agoI’m on mobile so kinda limited search capacity, but it looks like IE was using “Mozilla” in its UA string for a couple years before the trademark was published (granted it was filed a few months prior to that IE release, and granted I have no idea how to read uspto.gov with any confidence that I understand it, and also granted I have no idea how much prior usage of trademarks overlaps with concepts like prior art for patents and copyright).
- pbhjpbhj 4y agoIt could be passing-off which is an unregistered right (in UK at least) as they were using that mark to pretend to be another product.
- eyelidlessness 4y agoI get that. I’m just questioning (with some admitted ignorance) whether that matters if the pretense predates the trademark registration. At least for related copyright and patent law, and at least in the US (which influences a lot of IP law), prior usage can carve out exemptions, limit or even invalidate the claimed IP. I just don’t know how much of this applies to trademark because, well, I never got curious about it until now. But I would assume it’s been reviewed by people far more qualified than myself, given the very litigious context around IE in the intervening period. My bet is it’s moot for trademark because it would’ve been unenforceable at the time of registration, or that it’s such low stakes that no one cared, or that it’s such high stakes that technical leadership fought to retain the status quo.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]