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Because trademarks are restricted to a single specific field or class of products/services. Thus there is a Delta which is an airline (trademark applies to the

Because trademarks are restricted to a single specific field or class of products/services. Thus there is a Delta which is an airline (trademark applies to the air travel industry) and a Delta which makes faucets (trademark applies to faucets) and a Delta which does dental insurance (trademark applies to dental insurance), and... In other words, it'll basically only apply to the things they do with it, and to any products/services which could be confused for those things.

derleth 13y ago
Also, Cisco routers and Sysco restaurant supplies, even though a company that sold network hardware wouldn't be able to call itself Sysco for long. This is because the standard is confusion, not an exact string match. As per 15 USC § 1125: > (a) Civil action > (1) Any person who, on or in connection with any goods or services, or any container for goods, uses in commerce any word, term, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact, which— > (A) is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of his or her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person, or > (B) in commercial advertising or promotion, misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin of his or her or another person’s goods, services, or commercial activities, > shall be liable in a civil action by any person who believes that he or she is or is likely to be damaged by such act. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1125 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1125 This is because trademark law is a consumer protection law first and foremost, as opposed to being a property law like copyright and patent laws are. This is also why you can lose trademarks so easily: If you're not using it and defending it, it's presumed you don't care, so nobody's going to confuse an active trademark with a defunct one.
nitrogen 13y ago
But "mod" is already in widespread use in Microsoft's industry and with the same meaning.

derleth 13y ago

Also, Cisco routers and Sysco restaurant supplies, even though a company that sold network hardware wouldn't be able to call itself Sysco for long. This is because the standard is confusion, not an exact string match. As per 15 USC § 1125: > (a) Civil action > (1) Any person who, on or in connection with any goods or services, or any container for goods, uses in commerce any word, term, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact, which— > (A) is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of his or her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person, or > (B) in commercial advertising or promotion, misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin of his or her or another person’s goods, services, or commercial activities, > shall be liable in a civil action by any person who believes that he or she is or is likely to be damaged by such act. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1125 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1125 This is because trademark law is a consumer protection law first and foremost, as opposed to being a property law like copyright and patent laws are. This is also why you can lose trademarks so easily: If you're not using it and defending it, it's presumed you don't care, so nobody's going to confuse an active trademark with a defunct one.

nitrogen 13y ago

But "mod" is already in widespread use in Microsoft's industry and with the same meaning.