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Subject: 
Re: Off Topic, but amusing ; )
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.fun
Date: 
Tue, 11 Apr 2000 12:36:53 GMT
Reply-To: 
mattdm@mattdmANTISPAM.org
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Mr L F Braun <braunli1@pilot.msu.edu> wrote:
Class 28?  I didn't know the world had been divided so...rationally.  :)
Maybe we need new acronyms to add to IANAL: "IASLK" (I Am Somewhat
Legalistically (Jurisprudentially?) Knowledgeable") or "IAIAL:NJP" (I Am
Indeed A Lawyer: No Jokes, Please)?

I'm Not A Lawyer But I've Researched Trademark Law Because It's An Issue
Which Affects The Internet A Lot And That's Something I Care About. :)

It's not the world which has been divided, necessarily, but the U.S.
trademark namespace. (Similar in other countries as well; there may be an
international treaty covering this, but I'm not aware. Anyone?) There's
forty-some different trademark classes, and it's perfectly legitimate for
two companies to have the same trademark for use in different areas.
<http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/tmfaq.htm#Application018>

However, if a mark is "famous" (in the technical legal term sense, which
basically comes down to: is it the first and main thing associated with the
term), it gets wider protection and may be able to prevent people from using
it in other classes at all. (Coca Cola, Reebok, Kodak, etc. are definitely
"famous". Lego would be able to make a pretty good case for "Lego" -- but
not necessarily for something like "Blacktron", and certainly not for
"Mindstorms".)

--
Matthew Miller                      --->                  mattdm@mattdm.org
Quotes 'R' Us                       --->             http://quotes-r-us.org/



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Off Topic, but amusing ; )
 
(...) Class 28? I didn't know the world had been divided so...rationally. :) Maybe we need new acronyms to add to IANAL: "IASLK" (I Am Somewhat Legalistically (Jurisprudentially?) Knowledgeable") or "IAIAL:NJP" (I Am Indeed A Lawyer: No Jokes, (...) (25 years ago, 11-Apr-00, to lugnet.general, lugnet.off-topic.fun)

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