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nafex - [nafex] Re: Trademarks, copyrights etc.

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  • From: "k9kj2000" <herenorthere@lycos.com>
  • To: nafex@yahoogroups.com
  • Subject: [nafex] Re: Trademarks, copyrights etc.
  • Date: Sun, 03 Feb 2002 01:11:39 -0000

A trademark protects the name, not the item itself. So someone else
can market clones of that "Kitty" pawpaw, but better come up with a
different name. Perhaps "Roil Rivera". Similarly, you can sell a
hamburger assembled from two all beef patties, special sauce,
lettuce, etc., but don't call it a Big Mac.

I've been curious about non-propagation agreements, which nurseries
require be signed before shipping some varieties. Some "Ben" series
black currants are affected, as are the new NY plums. I even have an
anthurium that is covered by one, although I didn't have to sign
anything for that. Here's an interesting Australian site that talks
about this kind of thing:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~hsca/Summ_9501.html. Their laws are
different, but probably operate in a similar fashion.

Bruce W. in CT

--- In nafex@y..., "edforest2010" <edforest55@h...> wrote:
> Lets say a new pawpaw has been bred by Fred. Fred names it "Kitty"
and
> trademarks "it".
> What is the "it" that he is trademarking? The fruit or the name or
> both? Is it legal for amateurs to propagate Kitty? Is it legal to
> propagate Kitty and sell it using a different name? (Of course I'm
not
> implying that to do so would be ethical).
> I recall a bit of history on a pear, I think it was Comice, back in
> the depression I think it was, the pear industry was suffering but
> some party, say Company A, thoought of some fancy name for Comice
and
> marketed it under something like "Royal Gourmet" and sold it in
fancy
> boxes styled for the rich and famous, well, it worked and sold very
> well and at very high prices. No one seemed to know that it was
just a
> Comice. The name was trademarked, but of course we could go on
> propagating Comice as "Comice" but not as Royal Gourmet.
> So I'm assuming that the same would apply for Fred even though he
> spent a lot of time and effort in breeding "Kitty", if he only
> trademarks it then it is not protected from Evil Nursery who
> propagates it and sells it under a different name.
> Is that the way it goes? And that IS a question, I find this whole
> business clouded in mystery with no one willing to talk about it
for
> fear of being sued for giving legal advice.
> Kevin B


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