Roberto Gaetano wrote:
>A trademark is not only a string of ASCII characters, it is (potentially) a
>logo that is immediately recognizable even for people that do not read.
Yes, and I wish we could get past the continual comparisons of trademarks
and domain names. A trademark is geographically specific and context
sensitive. Trademarks often have other identifying cues; stylistic type
(see "ty" [tm]), color, and other design elements may be incorporated into
a mark. A trademark must be used in commerce. It must be distinctive,
which means that it cannot be a generic word for a category of products,
rather than a single source. Identical marks may be registered, so long as
they are used to identify the source of different classes of goods or
services.
Now, isn't it clear that this description differs from domain names, which
may be used anywhere, in any context, and not necessarily for commercial
purposes, so long as each is unique. Trademarks are not domain names.
Domain names are not trademarks.
Some time long, long ago, the drafters of IP treaties reognized that
copyrights, patents, and trademarks were different types of intellectual
property. Now we have yet another type of IP beast--domain names.
So can we please stop trying to force this square peg into a round hole?
Ellen Rony Co-author
The Domain Name Handbook http://www.domainhandbook.com
================================ // ===================================
ISBN 0879305150 *=" ____ / +1 (415) 435-5010
[EMAIL PROTECTED] \ ) Tiburon, CA
// \\ "Carpe canine"
Join the GREY RIBBON CAMPAIGN to bring ICANN out of the shadows.
See http://www.domainhandbook.com/icannt.html
