XPost: news.groups, rec.arts.comics.dc.universe, rec.arts.sf.tv   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv   
   From: kalelfan@yanospamhoo.com   
      
   "John Kirkpatrick XVII" did once again emerge from his slumber   
   to write in message news:ig67n1$1ti$1@speranza.aioe.org...   
      
   > It's well established that you can register microsoft-sucks.com   
   > and the like without infringing Microsoft's trademarks.   
      
   The analogy doesn't work because a top level Usenet hierarchy   
   named microsoft-sucks.* and the like is not at issue.  Microsoft.*   
   would be the equivalent to microsoft.com, and you can't register   
   the latter obviously because it's taken.   
      
   > With usenet group names there isn't any "use in commerce"...   
      
   Sez who?  The microsoft.* hierarchy can by definition be viewed   
   as a customer support tool for microsoft customers.   
      
   There's also a very practical issue here.  A news admin serves a   
   customer base, sometimes for a fee.  So it's in their interest to   
   respect the concept or customer support services or whatever   
   the hierarchy is conceived as.  If Disney wanted in on a Usenet   
   hierarchy of their own there's no reason every significant server   
   wouldn't want to carry it.  If anyone not authorized by Disney   
   tried to start a a top-level one with their name, any news admin   
   with half a brain would see it as trouble.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)