trademarks
Google Will Sell Brand Names as Keywords in Europe
Marketers will be able to bid on and use trademarked names like Louis Vuitton and Prada, as they already can in the United States and Canada.New York Times
Google EU Ruling May Prompt Company to Tweak Its Search Layout
Google Inc., spurred by a European Union court ruling, may need to consider changing the layout of its search results to better identify the trademark holders behind online ads, lawyers said.BusinessWeek.com --
Apple’s IPad Name May Lead to Trademark Feud With Fujitsu
Apple Inc.’s plan to call its new tablet computer the iPad may run into trademark problems because of an older application for the name by Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd.BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
March 10: Jefferson the Paleontologist, Lincoln the Inventor
Wired News
Filming the Unfilmable: Behind the Scenes of the Watchmen Movie
Wired News
Sporty BMW Pocket Truck Runs Errands in Style — for a Sticker-Shock Price
BMW's pocket truck is handsome and well equipped, and you'll love the company's trademark sports-car feel. But is it worth the hefty price tag? .Wired News
Russian Hopes To Cash In On Emoticons
drewmoney writes "According to a BBC article, Entrepreneur Oleg Teterin said the trademark for the ';-)' emoticon was granted to him by Russia's federal patent agency. 'Legal use will be possible after buying an annual licence from us,' he was quoted by the newspaper Kommersant as saying.Slashdot
Music Game Competition Heats Up
With Guitar Hero: World Tour set to launch on October 26th, Activision has released a list of downloadable content that will be immediately available. Activision has also apparently included a trailer for Guitar Hero: Metallica (which will arrive sometime next year), and they recently trademarked the name 'Guitar Hero Modern Hits,' which may be part of their plan to increase the amount of Guitar Hero content they produce.Slashdot
Mozilla Admits Firefox EULA Is Flawed
darthcamaro writes "Mozilla has now come around and is taking seriously the concerns of Ubuntu and others about the Firefox EULA, which we discussed vigorously the other day.Slashdot
The Death of Nearly All Software Patents?
An anonymous reader writes "The Patent and Trademark Office has now made clear that its newly developed position on patentable subject matter will invalidate many and perhaps most software patents, including pioneering patent claims to such innovators as Google, Inc.Slashdot
GOP Threatens CafePress over Shirts, Stickers and Logos
The GOP is threatening to sue online vendor host CafePress for allowing vendors to sell trademarked GOP regalia such as T-shirts, stickers and images of the trademarked Republican elephant.Wired News
Judge to Tiffany: Police Your Own Brand
EBay has won a crucial victory for Web sales of trademarked goods, but the ruling doesn't apply to Viacom's copyright suit against YouTubeBusinessWeek Online --
Google Abandons the Gmail Name In Germany
praps writes "A three-year trademark conflict has ended with Google withdrawing its use of the Gmail brand in Germany. On Friday, a plain-text message appeared, beginning 'We can't provide service under the Gmail name in Germany...Slashdot
trademarks
‘Naked Cowboy’ Sues ‘Cowgirl’ for Getting Naked Too
The Times Square entertainer known as the “Naked Cowboy,” Robert John Burck, sued a female performer who calls herself the “Naked Cowgirl,” alleging she’s infringing on his trademarked undressed image.BusinessWeek.com -- Top News
EU May Restrict Google Keyword Policy
Google Inc.’s practice of storing trademarked terms as “keywords” that link Internet searches to ads may face limits after the European Union’s top court said search engines may be held liable as online hosts if they are aware of storing infringing terms and fail to act.BusinessWeek.com --
iPad Name May Spark Trademark Feud
Apple Inc.’s plan to call its new tablet computer the iPad may run into trademark problems because of an older application for the name by Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd.BusinessWeek.com --
March 6, 1899: Tales of Hoffmann’s Aspirin
Wired News
Dell Accuses Psion of “Fraud” Over Netbook
Barence writes "Dell has issued court papers in the US, accusing Psion of fraudulently laying claim to the term netbook. Psion sent out warning letters late last year to PC manufacturers, retailers and bloggers alike, asking them to stop using the term netbook, which the company registered as a trademark in the late 1990s.Slashdot
Image of Popeye Enters Public Domain In the EU
Several readers wrote in to mention that the copyright on the image of the character Popeye expired in the EU as the year began, 70 years since the death of its creator Elzie Segar.Slashdot
Online Rebel Publishes Millions of Dollars in U.S. Court Records for Free
Wired News
Google Profiting From Typo Squatting, Report Charges
A report out Monday says Google is profiting by generating ad revenue from so-called typo-squatting websites. Such websites usually have one letter different from the URL of the original, trademarked site. .Wired News
A New Battle Is Beginning in Branding for the Web
Trademark issues may take on a higher profile, fueled by the escalating value of brands in general and trademark holders increasingly trying to assert their rights, especially on the Internet.
New York Times
American Airlines Drops Trademark Lawsuit Against Google
American Airlines has dropped its lawsuit against Google, which claimed the Internet company used the airline’s trademark to trigger paid advertisements for other companies.New York Times
Bits: Apple Sues Psystar to Block Macintosh Clone Sales
Apple has sued Psystar, a Florida-based maker of Macintosh clones, claiming that the company makes poor-quality machines that infringe on Apple’s trademarks.New York Times
eBay Beats Tiffany In Net Trademark Case
sm62704 notes a Reuters story reporting that eBay has beat Tiffany in court in a "knockout" decision. If this had gone the other way, not only would eBay be in trouble (especially after the loss of a similar case in France), but so would Net commerce as a whole.Slashdot
Bezos Buries Patent Office in Paper
theodp writes "On June 2nd, almost two-and-half years after the USPTO initiated a reexamination of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' 1-Click Patent, Amazon dumped another load of documents on the USPTO Examiner assigned to the case, asking for consideration of the 185 or so listed references and 'favorable action.' Peter Calveley, the LOTR actor whose do-it-yourself legal effort prompted the reexam, notes that he was cc'ed on 20 kg of documents that Amazon sent earlier to the USPTO as it tried to stave off last October's nonfinal rejection of all but 5 of Amazon's 26 1-Click patent claims.Slashdot
trademarks
Seinfeld’s Wife Wins in Cookbook Infringement Appeal (Update2)
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica, defeated a lawsuit accusing her of copyright and trademark infringement as a federal appeals court upheld a lower-court decision in her favor.BusinessWeek.com --
Europe Says Google Can Sell Trademarks but at a Risk of Suits
The Europe Union’s top court gave Google broad latitude to sell advertising linked to trademarks but the group may have to do more to protect against infringements.New York Times
The Power of the Brand as Verb
For brands such as Google and Twitter and, Microsoft hopes, Bing, a trademark might not be as useful as becoming a part of speech.New York Times
Psion Accuses Intel of Cybersquatting
Save the Netbooks writes "We discussed Psion sending C&Ds late last year over international trademarks held on the term 'netbook' and Dell accusing Psion of fraud last week.Slashdot
‘Pull My Finger’ iPhone Fart App Dispute Lingers
Farting iPhone apps popular enough that two makers of the flatulence apps are engaged in a trademark dispute over the phrase, "pull my finger."Wired News
OpenSUSE 11.1 License Changes Examined
nerdyH writes "Novell's recent openSUSE 11.1 release includes a new end-user license agreement modeled after Fedora's EULA, says Community Manager Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier in this detailed interview.Slashdot
FOSS Community Can Combat Bad Patents
An anonymous reader lets us know about a new initiative designed to help shield the open source software community from threats posed by patent trolls. The initiative, called Linux Defenders (the website is slated to go live tomorrow, Dec.Slashdot
Chicago Law Firm Sues Over Hyperlink To Trademarked Name
TheSpoom writes "Large Chicago law firm Jones Day are suing internet startup BlockShopper over the issue of whether linking to a business with their trademarked name should be legal.Slashdot
Dell Tries To Trademark “Cloud Computing”
Ian Lamont writes "The Industry Standard reports that Dell is trying to trademark the term cloud computing . The phrase entered the tech lexicon years ago, but Dell's application (serial number 77139082) was made in early 2007 to the US Patent and Trademark Office, apparently in connection with data center products and services that it was promoting around that time.Slashdot
GOP ‘Caving’ From Trademark Lawsuit Threats
The Republican National Committee on Monday backed down on its threats to sue CafePress for allowing its online vendors to sell GOP-related merchandise. The GOP, however, said while it is backing off on litigation threats, it will demand vendors acquire licenses of shirts, stickers or other goods if they solely display the trademarked letters G-O-P or the trademarked GOP elephant. .Wired News
Apple Files Suit Against Psystar
Reader The other A.N. Other, among others, alerts us to the news that Apple has filed suit against Psystar, the unauthorized clonemaker. (We've been discussing Psystar from the start.) The suit alleges violation of Apple's shrink wrap license and trademarks, and also copyright infringement.Slashdot
Judge Doesn’t Give Tiffany a Trademark Silver Spoon in eBay Flap
A federal judge on Monday ruled that eBay is not required to police its site for knockoffs being auctioned on its online site. Jeweler Tiffany claimed eBay had a duty to perform such duties to keep counterfeited goods from being sold on the site.Wired News
trademarks
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Google: Don’t Blame Us for Ad Content
The dominant Internet search engine will try to convince a judge that it didn’t infringe Rosetta Stone’s trademarks, in part because it’s not responsible for its ad contentBusinessWeek.com --
Google May Be Able to Sell Trademarked Keywords, Court Says
Google Inc. can continue selling protected terms as “keywords” that link Internet searches and ads unless national courts found them liable for trademark violations, the European Union’s highest court said in a case involving LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA. .BusinessWeek.com --
Rosetta Stone: The Latest Case Against Google
The language education software maker claims Google's AdWords program infringes its trademark. Legal experts say Rosetta Stone's suit will be hard to win .BusinessWeek.com --
Artist Dave Gibbons’ Gut Feelings on the ‘Watchmen’ Movie
Wired News
Jan. 30, 1975: Rubik Applies for Patent on Magic Cube
Wired News
Soak It to Me: Inside Liquid-Suspended Gaming PC
Wired News
New .tel TLD Now In Use
rockwood reports that the .tel top level domain has been deployed, "in a first attempt at pushing the recently approved .tel. The top-level domain .tel was approved by ICANN as a sponsored TLD launching on Wednesday, December 3, 2008[1] to trademark owners of national effect and on February 3, 2009 to anyone who wishes to apply.Slashdot
Gallery: Emoticons Jump From Web to Real World :-)
Wired News
Wikileaks Releases ACTA Negotiations As “0-Day”
An anonymous reader writes "Wikileaks has released a new document about the ACTA negotiations occurring in Washington over the next three days. This might be the shortest time between authorship of a document and its publication on Wikileaks so far.Slashdot
Could Mattel End Up With Bratz?
In winning its trademark case against MGA, Mattel could grab hundreds of millions in back royalties—and maybe even ownership of the superhot Bratz dollsBusinessWeek Online --
Judge to Tiffany: Police Your Own Brand
EBay has won a crucial victory for Web sales of trademarked goods, but the ruling doesn't apply to Viacom's copyright suit against YouTubeBusinessWeek Online -- Technology
eBay Claims Victory in Tiffany Lawsuit
The jewelry maker had sued for trademark infringement, hoping to force eBay to remove items from its site listed under Tiffany's name brandBusinessWeek Online --