5 ms·
Contrary to popular opinion, using copyrighted terms is not against the law. For example, you shouldn't feel threatened that the black helicopters are going to
by tici_88 17y ago
Contrary to popular opinion, using copyrighted terms is not against the law. For example, you shouldn't feel threatened that the black helicopters are going to swarm overhead if you are using copyrighted words like Apple, iPhone, Wii etc. in ordinary conversations.
Using copyrighted terms is questionable for products if those terms
(a) are in the same category as the copyrighted term (in the case of Wii, I am assuming a gaming device) and
(b) are likely to cause consumer confusion.
In this case, the legal question that a jury would be asked is "Would a reasonable user confuse the 'wii tank' iphone app with the Wii gaming console"?
Not sure what the answer in reality would be actually - just giving anothe perspective. And I haven't even seen their app. And yes, Wii is a popular term and popular trademarks like Coca Cola are granted more weight under the law, so who knows.
But shouldn't legal matters be left to the courts of the land and not become the jurisdiction of the app store approval process?
- jimboyoungblood 17y agoApple makes it pretty clear to developers that trademarked terms are not to be used in keywords. It's not illegal to smoke indoors. But if you smoke inside my house, I will ask you to leave. Do you have a problem with that?
- alex_c 17y agoIf you're all smiles one moment, and throw a temper tantrum about it the next... then completely forget about it five minutes later... or if you call me 2 weeks later to complain that I smoked at your house... or if you kick me out while someone else is using your couch as an ashtray... then I would probably stop visiting, anyway.
- jimboyoungblood 17y agoDon't worry, I have a large "No Smoking" sign taped on the front door.
- joezydeco 17y agoDing! Now if you're smoking and Jim forgets to remind you, that doesn't mean you are automatically allowed to smoke there anytime you want, as are any future guests. It only means Jim didn't catch you.
- tici_88 17y agoYou can ban smoking in your house all your want, but once you sell it is up to the next owner to decide the smoking policy. Apple doesn't own your iPhone - it is the user who does. Neither does Apple own the app made by the developer. Neither is Apple a part of the US court system. Then what's their job in meddling with all of the above? It should not be legal for Apple to control a device that you fully paid for and own any more than Microsoft gets to decide what applications you should run on your PC.