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Xref: sserve gnu.misc.discuss:6192 comp.org.eff.talk:9016 comp.unix.bsd:4909 comp.os.mach:2111 misc.int-property:498 Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss,comp.org.eff.talk,comp.unix.bsd,comp.os.mach,misc.int-property,alt.suit.att-bsdi Path: sserve!manuel!munnari.oz.au!constellation!unmvax!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!news.cso.uiuc.edu!acheng From: acheng@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Albert Cheng) Subject: Re: Are you sure UNIX is a trade mark? References: <KANDALL.92Sep9170758@globalize.nsg.sgi.com> <farrow.716074432@fido.Colorado.EDU> <18ns8rINNd81@agate.berkeley.edu> <1992Sep11.084516.16908@infodev.cam.ac.uk> Message-ID: <BuF6nF.6nG@news.cso.uiuc.edu> Originator: acheng@shalom.ncsa.uiuc.edu Sender: usenet@news.cso.uiuc.edu (Net Noise owner) Organization: Nat'l Ctr for Supercomp App (NCSA) @ University of Illinois Distribution: inet Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 15:21:11 GMT Lines: 23 In article <1992Sep11.084516.16908@infodev.cam.ac.uk>, rwe11@cl.cam.ac.uk (Richard Earnshaw) writes: >I was always under the impression that dilution of a trade mark came from >other companies being permitted to sell products using the same mark, if the >manufacturer of `Scotties' were to start calling their product `Kleenex' >and no action were taken then dilution would have occurred, but to say >"pass me a Kleenex" is not. Similarly, many people I know call a vacuum >cleaner a Hoover; but, to the best of my knowledge Hoover is still a trade >mark of guess who... > >The same applies to the brand name Unix; what you or I call it is pretty >irrelevant, so long as other companies don't try to market under the same >name. I don't think commercial use matters. Parker Brothers (I think) used to have "Monopoly" as a registered trademark until a few years. The court ruled the word Monopoly is in such common use that it could no longer be a trademark. The word UN*X is not yet a common word. Try strike up a conversation in a bar, "Say, do you like UNIX?" You will be very surprised by the response. Don't try that, especially not to a man who is four size bigger than you.