>I am also wondering if the NEMGTR might be required to pay a royalty in order
>to use the MG logo??? Hello Dick, you still lurking up there??
Dick dropped off the internet by choice. Too many e-mail
messages and such, he claimed. (By pure chance, I spoke
with him this week on the phone about another matter.)
I cannot imagine Rover trying to "enforce" strict trademark
prohibitions on ivy-covered organizations like the T Register.
I >>CAN<< see them demanding that everyone say things like
"MG and the Octagon logo are Registered Trademarks of Rover"
or some such language, since this is prudent use of another's
trademark. This can be said in tiny little letters, and buried
on the table of contents page of any magazine.
I know the problems with intellectual property, since I worked
for Bell Labs in the group where we made a little computer operating
system named "Unix" (you may have heard of it). Once cannot prevent
someone from using one's trademark, but one can demand that the
person using it give proper "credit" for ownership.
It is interesting to note that Rover sent letters that did NOT
accuse the recipient of "infrignement". Since they did not, one
might conclude that Rover knows that they are on shaky ground
in any attempt to force their will upon others in regard to the
subject at hand. If they were firm in their convictions, I assure
you that they would send a letter that was very firmly worded.
...but what about those of us with dogs named "Rover"? Will
we be forced to scratch off the name on the poor dog's food
bowl? Will sports commentators be prohibitied from calling
a victory "A Triumph for the coach"? Will there be a lawsuit
over the name "Sprite" between the soft-drink maker and the
car-maker? Stay tuned for the answers to these and other
tense dramas.... on "As The Crankshaft Turns"...
The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says "Natural processes increase entropy".
Translation - "You think you're in trouble now? Just you wait..."
james fischer jfischer@supercollider.com
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