5 ms·

"Dremel" isn't trademarked by the rotary tool folks?

jdf 14y ago
Dremel was Google's internal name. Their public API is called BigQuery: https://developers.google.com/bigquery/ https://developers.google.com/bigquery/
ggggit 14y ago
I doubt they registered in a class covering data processing. How many consumers are going to confuse some data processing service from Google with Dremel tools? A trademark, unless perhaps it's famous, does not cover everything under the sun, right?
- mysterywhiteboy 14y ago
  Yeah - a common test law for 'passing off' in trademark cases is exactly along those lines. It's referred to as "A moron in a hurry"[1] i.e. even a moron in a hurry wouldn't confuse the two brands. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_moron_in_a_hurry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_moron_in_a_hurry
  - kator 14y ago
    LOL I read that as "A mormon in a hurry" and briefly thought to myself "What does religion have to do with trademark law"..
yaroslavvb 14y ago
It's like "Delta" that makes faucets vs "Delta" that flies planes
duaneb 14y ago
What are they going to do, sue google for an internal code name?
- rachelbythebay 14y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_7100#Codename_Lawsuit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_7100#Codename_L...
  - jrockway 14y ago
    ``[While] Sagan lost the suit, Apple engineers complied with his demands anyway, renaming the project "BHA" (for Butt-Head Astronomer). Sagan promptly sued Apple for libel over the new name, claiming that it subjected him to contempt and ridicule, but lost this lawsuit as well.''
    - salmanapk 14y ago
      ... "Apple's third and final code name for the project was "LaW", short for "Lawyers are Wimps" haha Apple has changed so much over the years.
archangel_one 14y ago
I suspect the trademark may be genericised; I know what kind of tool a "dremel" is referring to, but didn't realise it was actually a brand name until just now.
nodata 14y ago
Trademarks apply to domains. Dremel have a trademark on the Dremel drill, not on anything in the whole world called Dremel.
- sbierwagen 14y ago
  Ah, that is true, but if I recall, a "fanciful mark" that's entirely made up, like Kodak, Google, or Dremel; has to pass a higher bar. If Dremel produced and sold a power tool named "the Google", then there might be grounds.
  - nodata 14y ago
    Like Coca-Cola.
  - aneth4 14y ago
    It's an internal name not used in commerce so it is not subject to the same liability. Not an expert beyond that, but you can nickname your sister Kleenex without violating a trademark.
  - maxerickson 14y ago
    Wikipedia says that Dremel is named after the founder of the company.

jdf 14y ago

Dremel was Google's internal name. Their public API is called BigQuery: https://developers.google.com/bigquery/ https://developers.google.com/bigquery/

ggggit 14y ago

I doubt they registered in a class covering data processing. How many consumers are going to confuse some data processing service from Google with Dremel tools? A trademark, unless perhaps it's famous, does not cover everything under the sun, right?

mysterywhiteboy 14y ago
Yeah - a common test law for 'passing off' in trademark cases is exactly along those lines. It's referred to as "A moron in a hurry"[1] i.e. even a moron in a hurry wouldn't confuse the two brands. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_moron_in_a_hurry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_moron_in_a_hurry
- kator 14y ago
  LOL I read that as "A mormon in a hurry" and briefly thought to myself "What does religion have to do with trademark law"..

yaroslavvb 14y ago

It's like "Delta" that makes faucets vs "Delta" that flies planes

duaneb 14y ago

What are they going to do, sue google for an internal code name?

rachelbythebay 14y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_7100#Codename_Lawsuit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_7100#Codename_L...
- jrockway 14y ago
  ``[While] Sagan lost the suit, Apple engineers complied with his demands anyway, renaming the project "BHA" (for Butt-Head Astronomer). Sagan promptly sued Apple for libel over the new name, claiming that it subjected him to contempt and ridicule, but lost this lawsuit as well.''
  - salmanapk 14y ago
    ... "Apple's third and final code name for the project was "LaW", short for "Lawyers are Wimps" haha Apple has changed so much over the years.

archangel_one 14y ago

I suspect the trademark may be genericised; I know what kind of tool a "dremel" is referring to, but didn't realise it was actually a brand name until just now.

nodata 14y ago

Trademarks apply to domains. Dremel have a trademark on the Dremel drill, not on anything in the whole world called Dremel.

sbierwagen 14y ago
Ah, that is true, but if I recall, a "fanciful mark" that's entirely made up, like Kodak, Google, or Dremel; has to pass a higher bar. If Dremel produced and sold a power tool named "the Google", then there might be grounds.
- nodata 14y ago
  Like Coca-Cola.
- aneth4 14y ago
  It's an internal name not used in commerce so it is not subject to the same liability. Not an expert beyond that, but you can nickname your sister Kleenex without violating a trademark.
- maxerickson 14y ago
  Wikipedia says that Dremel is named after the founder of the company.