4 ms·
“vespa” means wasp in Italian, and it seems unlikely that they’re in the same trademark categories.
by rmccue 3y ago
“vespa” means wasp in Italian, and it seems unlikely that they’re in the same trademark categories.
- simonebrunozzi 3y agoTry telling that to Apple.
- jollofricepeas 3y agoLittle known fact… It is believed that Apple paid the Beatles a little over $500 million for Apple Corp trademark rights so they could market “Apple Music” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer
- quickthrower2 3y agoSuperb rent seeking and squatting by Apple Corps
- rmccue 3y agoAside from the famous case of Apple Corps as noted by jollofricepeas, there are multiple other trademarks for “Apple” as a single word in the US, including for tobacco, horseshoes, books, and travel.
- autoexec 3y agoWasps are a nuisance known for causing pain and property destruction. "vespa" as a name for a product always seemed strange to me. At least the scooters were vaguely waspish looking and buzzed around town. What's yahoo's excuse?
- jkb79 3y agoVespa was the internal code name for the project going back to 2005ish, vertical search platform.
- itslennysfault 3y agoProbably should've been Vespla by that logic
- autoexec 3y agoV-SPlat has a nice ring to it.
- sph 3y agoI'll go create my line of scooters and call it Google, see if their lawyers care about not being in the same trademark category. The Vespa is an iconic and well known brand in Italy and worldwide. If Piaggio isn't litigating it, I wonder what their lawyers are even doing.
- rmccue 3y agoThe standard generally is whether the trademark would cause confusion to or deceive consumers. Naming a company after an existing brand which is an invented word (being a corruption of googol) would fall under the latter, and intent matters too. As to the former, trademark classes are one of the ways in which confusion is determined, but it’s not the only way for sure. That said, if it’s a word borrowed from another language and there’s no intent to deceive, I imagine courts would allow it - see also Apple/Apple Corps, and the many companies called “Delta” not in the airline business.
- danielheath 3y agoAnd the ruling would be fine after how many years of paying lawyers to handle endless appeals?