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

[Thomas Beckett <thomas AT tbeckett.com>]

A trademark is protected as the unique identify of specific goods or 
services.  It arises out of consumer protection law, to ensure that 
consumers can reliably judge the source of things they buy.  So you can't 
let your trademark go running loose and associating with all manner of 
other things that you don't have control over.  You need to be able to 
control the quality and reputation associated with your own logo.

On the other hand, the public does have a right to discuss the quality and 
reputation associated with that trademark and to use the trademark 
itself.  It is first amendment, it is fair use.

The thing about the clocks made from the VW hubcaps is an interesting 
question, because the hubcap/logo does come from Volkswagen, and therefore 
does identify the source of the goods.  But it is a derivative use, 
modified from VW's intent.  I'd have to read up more on the subject there.

TaB



At 08:09 AM 5/23/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>  I was under the impression (given by a corporate lawyer) that a corporation
> can't allow any use of a trademark if they are aware of the use. It was
> noted that they would have difficulty disallowing some use while allowing
> some other use if they went after the bad guys. So businesses play it safe
> by disallowing all use of their trademark.
>  Perhaps a change of laws is in order so this wouldn't be an issue.
>  Roger (in RTP)
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Thomas Beckett [mailto:thomas AT tbeckett.com]
> > Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2002 12:45 AM
> > To: InterNetWorkers
> > Subject: [internetworkers] Re: Logo Liscencing on the Internet
> >
> >
> > This kind of trademark policing is part of a larger pattern
> > of extending
> > the grasp of intellectual property by large corporate
> > rights-holders.  While the music industry is at the center of
> > this, the
> > effort to turn IP ownership into something more akin to real
> > estate is
> > pretty broad-based.
> >
> > I think a lot of stems from FUD directly related to the effect of the
> > network on IP.  But more so, the last 20 years have seen a greater
> > understanding of the definition and significance of IP in business in
> > general.
>
>
> ---
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