by Tdarcos » Wed Sep 04, 2019 8:04 am
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 8:18 pm
Yeah, I used to really really think less of people that named their
thing after things that already existed. There were computer games that came out called APB, Tempest, Witness and Vampyr that were already the names of games. I mean, how do you not have some awareness of that, how do you barrel on ahead anyway.
There is a solution to that problem, although for a small project or something on a shoestring budget it probably isn't available. It's been around for about 175 years, and I can describe it in one character. ® That's what that symbol means, "registered trademark." You pick a word or phrase, do some checking to see if someone else is using it (search for usage, check for websites, etc.) then if no one else is, you submit the paperwork to the US Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO"), along with the fee which ranges from $225 to $400. Then you decide whether you are filing an intent-to-use (for a mark you haven't started using yet) or one you already started using (then you send in copies of the packaging) and if approved it's published in the
Trademark Official Gazette and if there is no opposition (by a third party)[*] the PTO sends you a certificate of registration, allowing you to use the R-in-a-circle mark - ® - on your packaging and advertisements, and issue cease-and-desist letters, or sue, someone else using your registered mark on their same or similar products. The only real problems, for small projects, is (1) the cost; and (2) if you file an intent-to-use registration you have to file a new (with another fee) registration once you've actually used the mark.
But seriously, these days if there isn't a domain (or at least a few webpages) found, someone else is likely to think the name they picked isn't in use. Or if the webpages are several years old they may figure (probably correctly) that you've
abandoned it, in which case the name is available for someone else to use. Or they may not be aware that before picking a product name you're supposed to perform
due diligence and check that the name is available to use. Failure to do this means if you can't prove you used it first, someone who registers that name can demand you stop doing so (and pick a new name) plus possibly monetary damages.
These days, with computer programs the chances of picking a duplicate name are very high. While this is Android-only, do you now how many apps are in the Google Play Store, which haws only existed since 2008? Over 2.7 million. The Oxford English Dictionary says English only has about 600,000 words, unless there are a lot of "coined" words ("Google," "Exxon," and "Kodak" were coined words) a lot of apps are going to use the same or similar names.
And that estimate ignores iPhones, web frameworks, desktop applications, mainframe and server applications, and specialized devices.
----
[*] One time I was over at the PTO search room, and I got taking to a trademark attorney who mentioned that Toro (the lawnmower company) is
very protective of its mark, and if you try to register that name or something similar, - even for things unrelated to lawnmowers - they
will file an opposition. The won some, they lost some, but they are very protective of their name.
[quote="Ice Cream Jonsey" post_id=103130 time=1567567094 user_id=3]
Yeah, I used to really really think less of people that named their [i]thing[/i] after things that already existed. There were computer games that came out called APB, Tempest, Witness and Vampyr that were already the names of games. I mean, how do you not have some awareness of that, how do you barrel on ahead anyway.
[/quote]
There is a solution to that problem, although for a small project or something on a shoestring budget it probably isn't available. It's been around for about 175 years, and I can describe it in one character. ® That's what that symbol means, "registered trademark." You pick a word or phrase, do some checking to see if someone else is using it (search for usage, check for websites, etc.) then if no one else is, you submit the paperwork to the US Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO"), along with the fee which ranges from $225 to $400. Then you decide whether you are filing an intent-to-use (for a mark you haven't started using yet) or one you already started using (then you send in copies of the packaging) and if approved it's published in the [i]Trademark Official Gazette[/i] and if there is no opposition (by a third party)[*] the PTO sends you a certificate of registration, allowing you to use the R-in-a-circle mark - ® - on your packaging and advertisements, and issue cease-and-desist letters, or sue, someone else using your registered mark on their same or similar products. The only real problems, for small projects, is (1) the cost; and (2) if you file an intent-to-use registration you have to file a new (with another fee) registration once you've actually used the mark.
But seriously, these days if there isn't a domain (or at least a few webpages) found, someone else is likely to think the name they picked isn't in use. Or if the webpages are several years old they may figure (probably correctly) that you've [i]abandoned[/i] it, in which case the name is available for someone else to use. Or they may not be aware that before picking a product name you're supposed to perform [i]due diligence[/i] and check that the name is available to use. Failure to do this means if you can't prove you used it first, someone who registers that name can demand you stop doing so (and pick a new name) plus possibly monetary damages.
These days, with computer programs the chances of picking a duplicate name are very high. While this is Android-only, do you now how many apps are in the Google Play Store, which haws only existed since 2008? Over 2.7 million. The Oxford English Dictionary says English only has about 600,000 words, unless there are a lot of "coined" words ("Google," "Exxon," and "Kodak" were coined words) a lot of apps are going to use the same or similar names.
And that estimate ignores iPhones, web frameworks, desktop applications, mainframe and server applications, and specialized devices.
----
[*] One time I was over at the PTO search room, and I got taking to a trademark attorney who mentioned that Toro (the lawnmower company) is [i]very[/i] protective of its mark, and if you try to register that name or something similar, - even for things unrelated to lawnmowers - they [i]will[/i] file an opposition. The won some, they lost some, but they are very protective of their name.