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Subject:Re: Rule about not using possessive? From:Peter <pnewman1 -at- home -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 06 Jul 2001 08:14:43 -0400
Mark Levinson wrote:
>
> Using a trademark in the possessive case makes it a noun and may
> ultimately, in some cases, invite the contention from a competitor
> that the noun must be made available for everybody's free use because
> there is no alternative. "Hey, my staircase moves. If I can't
> call it an escalator, nobody will know what I'm talking about."
> However, some very trademark-conscious companies do use their
> trademarks as nouns. It's "Drink Coke," not "Drink Coke beverage."
>
In your example "Drink Coke" would be considered as a service mark, as
opposed to a trade mark. You are correct though, the objective of the so
called rule, is to prevent a particular term from slipping into the
public domain. You may use the term "word" freely. Microsoft Word, is a
different story. Microsoft has no product called Word. their word
processing product is, Microsoft Word. A short word about Levinson's
Word: If not so close as to cause confusion, OK. Suggest that an
intellectual property lawyer be consulted.
--
Peter
Mailto:peternew -at- optonline -dot- net
Adapting old programs to fit new machines
usually means adapting new machines to
behave like old ones.
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