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This is an incredibly worthy-to-note case over TM's as it could have major impact on many, many domains and name usage in general.
Apple, Startup Go to Trial Over âPodâ Trademark
There are two points that really caught my attention.
First, the people Apple is involved in a lawsuit with have been working on products since 2000 with the name "pod" contained in the product name. Apple essentially is telling the company that they, Sector Labs, must now change their product name.
Secondly, read on:
Ana Christian, Kokinâs lawyer, says the fight is about more than allowing small businesses to use âPodâ in their product names. She noted a trend in the tech industry, in which large corporations have been attempting to assume ownership of ordinary words. For example, Facebook recently filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Teachbook over usage of the word âbook.â Other companies have also aggressively defended trademarks on common words, such as Microsoft with the word âwindows.â
I do like the point this attorney is making - large corporations attempting to assume ownership of ordinary words - aka, generics.
I was thinking to myself - if someone posts a picture or story about a pod of whales, does that writer or photography then have to pay usage fees?
Does the artist, writer, photographer have to get permission in writing for the word pod usage?
Or do they (us, we, I) now have to post a disclaimer on a site, photo, or article that this story (or image) is;
The use of the word "pod" in describing a group of whales is not to be confused with the popular electronics product "iPod" which is a Trademarked and Copyrighted consumer product made by Apple Corporation. The word "Apple" in the corporate name is not to be confused as the edible fruit "Apple" even though Apple does use an image of an apple as appears in its, Apple Corporation, logo.
Apple, Startup Go to Trial Over âPodâ Trademark
There are two points that really caught my attention.
First, the people Apple is involved in a lawsuit with have been working on products since 2000 with the name "pod" contained in the product name. Apple essentially is telling the company that they, Sector Labs, must now change their product name.
Secondly, read on:
Ana Christian, Kokinâs lawyer, says the fight is about more than allowing small businesses to use âPodâ in their product names. She noted a trend in the tech industry, in which large corporations have been attempting to assume ownership of ordinary words. For example, Facebook recently filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Teachbook over usage of the word âbook.â Other companies have also aggressively defended trademarks on common words, such as Microsoft with the word âwindows.â
I do like the point this attorney is making - large corporations attempting to assume ownership of ordinary words - aka, generics.
I was thinking to myself - if someone posts a picture or story about a pod of whales, does that writer or photography then have to pay usage fees?
Does the artist, writer, photographer have to get permission in writing for the word pod usage?
Or do they (us, we, I) now have to post a disclaimer on a site, photo, or article that this story (or image) is;
The use of the word "pod" in describing a group of whales is not to be confused with the popular electronics product "iPod" which is a Trademarked and Copyrighted consumer product made by Apple Corporation. The word "Apple" in the corporate name is not to be confused as the edible fruit "Apple" even though Apple does use an image of an apple as appears in its, Apple Corporation, logo.
