Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!clyde.concordia.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!ria!braille!bill
From: bill@braille.uwo.ca (Bill Carss)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: APPLE 800 LINE (Macintosh TM)
Message-ID: <84@braille.uwo.ca>
Date: 6 Nov 90 14:20:51 GMT
References: <5460@crash.cts.com> <8551@darkstar.ucsc.edu>
Reply-To: bill@braille.uwo.ca (Bill Carss)
Organization: The Computer Braille Facility University of Western Ontario.
Lines: 58

In article <8551@darkstar.ucsc.edu> unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (The Unknown User) writes:
>
>In article <5460@crash.cts.com> dale@pro-gateway.cts.com (Dale Therio, Co-SysOp) writes:
>>When you trademark a name you trademark it for a certain type of product. 
>>That is why one company can trademark "Classic" for a soft drink and another
>>for a computer.
>
>	that's how I think it should be done, but from what I've heard, some-
>one has trademarked "* Classic".. so that anything using Classic needs to
>pay them...
>
>	I was also told that it's NOT Coke that originally trademarked it,
>so both Coke & Apple are paying whoever trademarked it.
>
>	(Also, if you trademark it for only one type of product as you
>say, why can Apple Records sue Apple computer?)

The reason Apple Records can sue Apple Computer Inc. is that the former own 
the name Apple.

There wasz an article in Open apple (A@ Dentral) a few years ago about this
very thing.  At that time, they said that every "real" word in the english
language was owned by someone.  Companies are now putting together nonsense
words for software titles etc.  In addition, letter combinations are also
owned i.e. aa, ab, ac ... I have the impression that NAMES are different 
than patents in that they don't seem to expire.  I don't know why that is, or
maybe you can *OWN* a name for considerably longer than a regular patent.

     What I don't really understand is that I was of the opinion that a 
given language i.e. english, french ... was PD.  How can you own something
that doesn't belong to anyone?  I thought it was the same sort of thing as
Shakespeare's works - now they are PD and anyone can use them - quote etc.
without giving credit for the quote.

     There is also a reasonably good chance that words or phrases may be 
"owned" in a given country rather than world-wide and therefore people or
businesses in different countries may own the same name for different 
things.  If this is true, it would seem to me that there would be a lot of
confusion trying to decide which "Wigit" you were purchasing if there were
three or four products of that name on the world market.  Therefore, it is
logical to assume that if you can acquire a word from somewhere (I have no
idea what governing or regulating body would be involved), you would be 
set for life it it looked like yuour word was going to be a popular one.

     I think this topic may bear some further research.
Bill Carss
bill@braille.uwo.ca  (please note the lower case)

A - mazing               //     //       ___
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E - ducational       //     //       \\
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-- 

Bill Carss
bill@braille.uwo.ca       (Please Note the Lower case!!)