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Re: At what point does software become an application?
Subject:Re: At what point does software become an application? From:Donald Le Vie <dlevie -at- VLINE -dot- NET> Date:Wed, 30 Jun 1999 09:06:42 -0500
Melonie:
While the copyright laws don't specifically say "don't use as a noun," I
think it's probably a good idea to follow legal's suggestions. Companies can
loose their own trademarks if they aren't used as specifically spelled out
and stated in the TM application. For example, "aspirin," "linoleum," and
"cellophane" were once registered trademarks, but through improper
application and use, they ceased to qualify for legal protection and became
part of the public domain. A once-powerful competitive advantage that could
have been measured in the millions of dollars simply disappeared forever for
those companies.
In my opinion, there's a legal and grammatical case for using trademarked
terms as adjectives.
Donn Le Vie
Director, Information Development
Integrated Concepts, Inc.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Melonie Holliman [SMTP:melonie -dot- holliman -at- TXEXMTA4 -dot- AMD -dot- COM]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 1999 8:46 AM
> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject: Re: At what point does software become an application?
>
> Howdy,
>
> Good point. I just looked at the FrameMaker documentation and they don't
> follow
> the "adjective" rule. Does that mean Adobe would be in danger of loosing
> their
> trademark?
>
> Our legal department is HARDCORE about using TMs as adjectives (which
> might
> be because of the legal wars we have had in the past). Is this normal?
> Does
> anyone
> know of a case were a TM was lost due to not using it as an adjective?
>
> Melonie R. Holliman
> Technical Writer
> CPD Marketing
> Advanced Micro Devices
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ann Howell [SMTP:ahowell -at- POOLMAIL -dot- DOLPHINSOFTWARE -dot- COM]
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 1999 2:22 PM
> > To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> > Subject: Re: At what point does software become an application?
> >
> > I tend to agree. You don't install "the FrameMaker software", but
> > "FrameMaker".
> > Same idea -- fewer words, less redunancy.
> >
> > Ann Howell
> > Dolphin Software
> > http://dolphinsoftware.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=
> =
>
