5 ms·

You can't trademark a word that's in the English dictionary can you?

by nanijoe 17y ago

alexbosworth 17y ago
Apple?
- blang 17y ago
  I don't think they have "Apple" trademarked. Their trademark is Apple Inc. (and formerly Apple Computer) And yea, that name has brought on some lawsuits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v._Apple_Computer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v._Apple_Computer
  - callahad 17y ago
    They definitely have Apple, as well as a number of other common English words.
callahad 17y ago
http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/appletmlist.html http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/appletmlist.html Some amusing entries: Aperture, Apple, Aqua, Bonjour, Boot Camp, Capitals, Carbon, Charcoal, Chicago, Cocoa, Exposé, Gadget, Inkwell, Instruments, Keychain, Keynote, Leopard, Logic, New York, Numbers, Pages, Panther, Photo Booth, Quartz, Rosetta, Safari, Sand, Shake, Shuffle, Soundtrack, Spaces, Spotlight, Techno, Textile, Tiger, Time Capsule, Time Machine, Tremor, Tubes. This is okay because trademarks have namespaces. It's just that namespace collisions result in lawsuits.
- wallflower 17y ago
  Let's not forget Windows "If Microsoft loses the trademark battle, it will have a much more difficult time fending off imitators that promote their products with variations of the same name. Company officials say customers would be in danger of buying inferior products and that rivals would effectively get a free ride at Microsoft's expense." http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/25/business/microsoft-trademark-setback.html http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/25/business/microsoft-tradema...
grellas 17y ago
Generic ("beer" or "cold beer") and purely descriptive terms ("computer repair") cannot be trademarked. Terms that are suggestive, arbitrary, or fanciful can be registered, with fanciful getting the most protection. However, if an otherwise descriptive term has become associated in the public mind with the products of one competitor, then the term acquires what is called a "secondary meaning" and can thereby be registered as a protectable trademark. Secondary meaning usually is the result of a massive and long-term marketing campaign (e.g., "Windows"). That is the general terrain for this area. Using these standards, common words that appear in a dictionary can wind up being protected as trademarks. I think the issue with "tweet" is not yet decided. Time will tell on how this will come out.

You can't trademark a word that's in the English dictionary can you?

by nanijoe 17y ago

You can't trademark a word that's in the English dictionary can you?

alexbosworth 17y ago

Apple?

blang 17y ago
I don't think they have "Apple" trademarked. Their trademark is Apple Inc. (and formerly Apple Computer) And yea, that name has brought on some lawsuits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v._Apple_Computer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v._Apple_Computer
- callahad 17y ago
  They definitely have Apple, as well as a number of other common English words.

callahad 17y ago

http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/appletmlist.html http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/appletmlist.html Some amusing entries: Aperture, Apple, Aqua, Bonjour, Boot Camp, Capitals, Carbon, Charcoal, Chicago, Cocoa, Exposé, Gadget, Inkwell, Instruments, Keychain, Keynote, Leopard, Logic, New York, Numbers, Pages, Panther, Photo Booth, Quartz, Rosetta, Safari, Sand, Shake, Shuffle, Soundtrack, Spaces, Spotlight, Techno, Textile, Tiger, Time Capsule, Time Machine, Tremor, Tubes. This is okay because trademarks have namespaces. It's just that namespace collisions result in lawsuits.

wallflower 17y ago
Let's not forget Windows "If Microsoft loses the trademark battle, it will have a much more difficult time fending off imitators that promote their products with variations of the same name. Company officials say customers would be in danger of buying inferior products and that rivals would effectively get a free ride at Microsoft's expense." http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/25/business/microsoft-trademark-setback.html http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/25/business/microsoft-tradema...

grellas 17y ago

Generic ("beer" or "cold beer") and purely descriptive terms ("computer repair") cannot be trademarked. Terms that are suggestive, arbitrary, or fanciful can be registered, with fanciful getting the most protection. However, if an otherwise descriptive term has become associated in the public mind with the products of one competitor, then the term acquires what is called a "secondary meaning" and can thereby be registered as a protectable trademark. Secondary meaning usually is the result of a massive and long-term marketing campaign (e.g., "Windows"). That is the general terrain for this area. Using these standards, common words that appear in a dictionary can wind up being protected as trademarks. I think the issue with "tweet" is not yet decided. Time will tell on how this will come out.