seeing as how we are in full back patting mode…
I really object to companies taking normal English language words and trademarking them, its a really petty landgrab mentality.
So I am delighted the judge in the ‘App Store’ saga appears to share the same view. Now they just need to charge back the full cost to the clowns who launched the action and common sense might be encouraged in future. And we get to keep all our words.
youpee
cheers
simon
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Thursday, 7th July, 2011 at 11:38 pm |
We object to a company that trademarked the word apple now trying to trademark app store? :)
It seems to me that this whole field went loony a long time ago…
Thursday, 7th July, 2011 at 11:50 pm |
ha ha – good point Ed
Friday, 8th July, 2011 at 4:28 am |
Totally tangential to the topic:
I find the abuse of the term ‘app’ to be totally infuriating. A woman I work with refers to full featured software like Outlook or Excel as “apps”.
I guess it’s short for application, so she’s not ‘wrong’, but I guess it just seems silly to liken mostly single use narrow software for a phone to the full featured stuff you run on your desktop.
Saturday, 9th July, 2011 at 8:42 pm |
Single use narrow software should have never been referred to as apps. They are mini-apps :)
Tuesday, 19th July, 2011 at 8:58 am |
Most of the big firms have tried it. I recall (and managed to find) a case where Microsoft threatened litigation on a company producing Jewish texts as the product had the word ‘bookshelf’ in it.
http://articles.nydailynews.com/1995-03-19/local/17968978_1_microsoft-spokesman-greg-shaw-microsoft-attorney-microsoft-bookshelf
MS have always been quite adroit as using industry standard or generic terms in their app names. Word, ‘SQL’ Server.
Monday, 1st August, 2011 at 5:12 am |
It’s not just companies -what about the state of Kentucky patenting the word Kentucky. So now you have KFC and Neil Diamond can’t sing Kentucky Rain without paying them a royalty.
Too much greed. It’s different if you “invent a word” to describe your product then get a trademark, but common words that have been in use for over a year should not be allowed to become the “property” of anyone.
Friday, 12th August, 2011 at 6:13 am |
Great post. It can be pretty upsetting. Not much the little man can do except pay pay pay
Excel Consultants
Christopher