From: TJ@noneofyour.business   
      
   On 09/08/2012 03:51 PM, TJ wrote:   
   > On 09/07/2012 10:49 PM, Jim Beard wrote:   
   >> On 09/07/2012 10:22 PM, Adam wrote:   
   >>> Moe Trin wrote:   
   >>   
   >>>> Wanting to avoid the generification of names - happens more   
   >>>> often than   
   >>>> you'd think. [...] This is also why Mandrake became Mandriva.   
   >>>> No owner   
   >>>> of a trade-name or trademark wants to loose it as did kleenix,   
   >>>> fridge or xerox.   
   >>>   
   >>> Or "aspirin".  As I understand things, brand names only run into   
   >>> problems if there's any sort of connection to other companies.   
   >>> Early ads for Mandrake Linux showed a magician's top hat and   
   >>> wand, making (some) people think it had some connection with the   
   >>> comic strip, which it didn't.  The Dolly Madison ice cream   
   >>> company and the Dolly Madison bakery are separate companies, but   
   >>> there's no confusion between their products.  In Europe one   
   >>> company markets Linux-brand laundry detergent, which works well   
   >>> with their "Micro Soft" fabric softener.  As long as the company   
   >>> has nothing to do (even by implication) with any computer   
   >>> hardware or software, they're okay.   
   >>   
   >>   
   >> A big part of the problem  for Mandrake Linux was that the name was   
   >> deliberately chosen for the "Mandrake the Magician" angle. The idea was   
   >> that Mandrake Linux was "magical," not that it was commercially linked   
   >> to holder of the trademark on "Mandrake the Magician," but the courts   
   >> held that such use of an established and trademarked label constituted   
   >> unlawful appropriation of the trademark (and its value).   
   >>   
   >> Cheers!   
   >>   
   >> jim b.   
   >>   
   > There was another case in Syracuse in the 1990's. A coffeehouse   
   > started doing business under the name "Federal Espresso." Federal   
   > Express got wind of it when they filed for a federal trademark,   
   > sued, and a settlement was reached where the defendant was to   
   > cease using the name and the plaintiff wouldn't seek monetary   
   > compensation. But, in an effort to save money on changing signage   
   > and other identifying marks, the place started calling itself   
   > "Ex-Federal Espresso." That didn't sit well, either. Fedex sued,   
   > and it went to court. Ex-Federal Espresso won on trademark   
   > infringement, because the marks were different enough. But, it   
   > was concluded that Fedex would eventually win on a dilution   
   > claim. Rather than go belly up fighting a losing battle, the   
   > place is now known as "Freedom of Espresso."   
   >   
   >   TJ   
   >   
   >   
   Wow. Be careful, if using one of the newer Thunderbirds for newsgroups.   
   It has a new "feature." Don't use "Reply" unless you want to reply to   
   the poster directly. Use "Followup" instead. The first time the above   
   post went directly to Jim B. when I meant for it to go here.   
      
   TJ   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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