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Subject:Re: Tradmarks From:"Eric L. Dunn" <edunn -at- TRANSPORT -dot- BOMBARDIER -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 10 May 1999 09:48:27 -0400
Tim Altom wrote:
<<It's a courtesy. It's the obligation of the trademark holder to defend
it,
not yours. Many publishers, however, are worried that they'll be sued over
some infringement, imagined or otherwise. Given the litigious nature of
Americans, I'm not sure they're wrong. It's just best to be sure.>>
How can it be considered just a courtesy? The trademark owner must defend
their trademark from common language usage as this will void their
trademark. This would mean they must bring you to court to acknowledge the
trademark if they wish to protect it. If you truly believe it to be a
courtesy, how do you expect them to defend the trademark? They will sue you
if they can prove you gained comercial advantage or they will demand that
you withdraw all documentation which does not correctly attribute the
trademark. Do you still think it's not up to you to defend their trademark?
If technical writers or marketing incorrectly attribute a trademark they
are leaving their company open to loosing a load of cash if the
documentation and the products it comes with needs to be recalled and
changed/destroyed.
