[wp-hackers] Putting the P in WordPress

[Gavin Pearce]

> Not rubbish at all, but standard practice in law, in both the US and the UK
> (and many other territories). Here' s one reference

Both your links only list the following scenarios for loosing trademarks:

1# trademark rights may be lost through genericity
2# improper licensing and assignment

Point 6 from which you linked to stated:
Can trademark rights be lost?
"The rights to a trademark can be lost through abandonment, improper licensing or assignment, or genericity."

None of the above apply here.

The closest condition I can find is that you have to prove you are using your trademark and it isn't abandoned - I definitely can't find any articles that suggest you must force users to match the case of your Trademark else risk losing it.

I do agree that internally you have to police your trademark, make sure employees are using the correct one, and in the correct way yes.

Mircosoft - the experts on trademark law and rights/licensing enforcement that they are, give good examples.

Microsoft PowerPoint (and Outlook in fact) will prompt me via spell check to change Powerpoint to PowerPoint. It won't however *force* me to put PowerPoint, and I can even add Powerpoint to the dictionary if I wish....

Gav


-----Original Message-----
From: wp-hackers-bounces at lists.automattic.com [mailto:wp-hackers-bounces at lists.automattic.com] On Behalf Of Mike Little
Sent: 06 July 2010 12:52
To: wp-hackers at lists.automattic.com
Subject: Re: [wp-hackers] Putting the P in WordPress

On 6 July 2010 11:53, Gavin Pearce <Gavin.Pearce at 3seven9.com> wrote:

> > As has been pointed out on this thread, WordPress is a trademark, and as
> > such *must* be actively protected, otherwise the trademark status will be
> > lost.
>
> As also pointed on this thread - that's complete rubbish. If enough people
> start writing MicroSoft, that doesn't "loose" Microsoft's right to the
> trademark. The only time this would be any issue in the slightest, is when
> trying to protect an "unregistered" trademark.
>
> End users writing Wordpress, Wordress, wOrDpReSs, WORDPRESS etc doesn't
> affect the trademark in any way whatsoever. (slightly different if WordPress
> foundation started doing it).
>
> (http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/law/index.jsp |
> http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/tm.htm)
>
>

Not rubbish at all, but standard practice in law, in both the US and the UK
(and many other territories). Here' s one reference
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm#6 and here's
another http://www.askjim.biz/answers/losing-rights-to-a-trademark_397.php
there
are many if you wish to search.

If you do not actively police your trademark, you can lose the rights to it.

Mike
-- 
Mike Little
http://zed1.com/
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