Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Gina Norman <gina AT vnet.net>]

> > Hee.  :)  Yeah, but at least I.R.S. and Red Hat aren't direct
> > competitors and there's little chance of anyone getting a record
> > label and a software company confused.
> 
> Tell that to apple

Actually, if I remember correctly from my J-school days, the rules around
trademarks explicitly state that there must be potential for confusion
(just decided that I actually did need to look this up and found the
following:
 
"The standard is "likelihood of confusion." To be more specific, the use
of a trademark in connection with the sale of a good constitutes
infringement if it is likely to cause consumer confusion as to the source
of those goods or as to the sponsorship or approval of such goods. In
deciding whether consumers are likely to be confused, the courts will
typically look to a number of factors, including: (1) the strength of the
mark; (2) the proximity of the goods; (3) the similarity of the marks; (4)
evidence of actual confusion; (5) the similarity of marketing channels
used; (6) the degree of caution exercised by the typical purchaser; (7)
the defendant's intent"

from http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm

So Apple as a mark for a computer would not (in theory at any rate)
prevent you from registering an automobile trademark for "Apple."

My interpretation, of course, not being a lawyer...

: )

-Gina

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My brain seems to have a circuit-breaker-like mechanism that, when I get
confused and befuddled by the overwhelming monstrosities of my life,
causes a default to the simplest and most pleasant of thoughts.  Like 
Marshmallow Peeps.  I *like* Marshmallow Peeps.

Gina Norman                                      And the only bit that
gina AT vnet.net (me personally)                    really matters:
ginanorm AT nortelnetworks.com (me at work)         http://users.vnet.net/gina
gina AT earthling.net (me personally, again -- sick of me yet?  ;)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~;)~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*