Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 09:17:45 12/04/97
Go up one level in this thread
On December 04, 1997 at 11:14:32, Amir Ban wrote: >On December 04, 1997 at 10:15:01, Ernst A. Heinz wrote: > >>On December 04, 1997 at 06:47:12, Amir Ban wrote: >>> >>>Of course it's copyrightable, that has nothing to do with the name. >> >>Are you sure you mean "copyright"? >> > >I was just referring to Bob's remark about being copyrightable. The >author has an automatic copyright to the source and binary of his >program, regardless of any naming disputes, so it's irrelevant. > > >>As far as I know "Windows" and all your other Microsoft examples are >>"registered trademarks" which is something completely different ... >> > >I'm not an expert on this, but I understand that you have rights to a >trademark (or to a mark, which is not for trade) by being well-known for >using it. Registering trademarks is something that cannot be done in all >countries, and where it is possible, only serves to remove all doubt >about who owns it. > From legal experience, this is not true. It actually works like this: You may tradmark anything that has not been trademarked in the past. However, when you do so, you claim that "trademark" from that point forward. If someone else has used it in the past, they must immediately stop using it when you are awarded a trademark. However, what you can trademark is an interesting issue. IE you can trademark "International Business Machines" but anyone can use any of those words in any way they want, just so they don't use all three juxtaposed in that order. IE International Business Partners would be perfectly valid. In the "junior" case it is clear that you can be known as Junior if you want to. And that *if* (which I really doubt can be done) you trademark the name Junior, then no one could use "junior" as a product name (but I'd bet this has already been done somewhere). But it would be impossible to take any sort of action against IBM for "Deep Blue junior" because you didn't claim that name as your own. That was my only point... You can draw a unique logo with the word "junior" in it and trademark that, and no one can use that logo ever again. But they can take the word "junior" and have a ball, because you can't excise a word from any language and say "hands off, this is *my* word and no one can use this word in any name they create." That won't stand up anywhere. IBM generally refers to DB junior. On occasion, Hsu refers to "junior" in oral presentations, but in that context it is clear what he is talking about and there's no confusion. It seems hopeless to try to make an issue of this and can end up creating a really negative image... >It's a bit like contracts and patents. A contract is binding even if >it's verbal or unsigned, only much harder to prove if it comes to court. >Much better to write it down and sign it ... If you publish an invention >but don't patent it, nobody can come later and patent it, since by >publishing you made it prior art. > >Amir > > >>=Ernst=
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.