[WEB4LIB] Re: The word "listserv" TRADEMARKED

[Richard Wiggins]

Arrggh.  I thought we'd buried this horse before the Belmont. Humor noted,
example unpersuasive.

Trademark case law is very clear.  When a company fails to protect a
trademark, it can fall into the public domain.  "Aspirin" is still a Bayer
trademark in Canada but in the US it's a generic term.

So yes people in informal usage say "hand me a Kleenex" but if I were a
library printing a list of services I'd say "facial tissue is available in
the rest room".   (Ditto "Copy Center" over "Xerox Room")

I would have guessed that folks in this crowd would feel some affinity for
Eric Thomas, a real human being who created some very important software,
but if not, Lsoft is as aggressive in defending its mark as Kimberly Clark
is theirs.

Libraries face enough real issues over intellectual property these days
(DMCA, fair use).  There is no need to pick battles that don't benefit
patrons.

/rich (at SLA not listening to Doris Kearns Goodwin on plagiarism)



On Tue, 11 June 2002, Vickie Kline wrote

> 
> After reading this entire thread in a single sitting, I tearfully repent
> of my use of the trademarked term "listserv."   I'm reaching for a
> kleenex as we speak....
> 
> 
> 
> Vickie L. Kline                vkline at ycp.edu
> Head of Technical Services  Phone:  717-815-1459
> Associate Professor          FAX:    717-849-1608
> 
> York College of PA - Schmidt Library
> York, PA 17405-7199
> 
> "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would
> not be called research, would it?"
> 
>    -Albert Einstein

____________________________________________________
Richard Wiggins
Writing, Speaking, and Consulting on Internet Topics
rich at richardwiggins.com       www.richardwiggins.com