At 10:35 AM 11/15/00 -0800, Ryan Dancey wrote:
>The test used by the PTO when reviewing a trademark application is whether
>or not the mark is identifiable by a consumer in the marketplace as meaning
>a specific good or service. Thus you get marks like "Quarter Pounder" and
>"Let's get ready to rumble". Even if someone with standing (meaning a
>publisher of commercial products in this market) chose to dispute the
>registration of just the text "d20 System" on the grounds that they were
>commercially marketing a product as a "d20 System" game and WotCs
>registration was likely to create confusion, the logo itself would likely be
>registered anyway because there's nothing else like it in the market.
If the text "D20 system" is not protectable as a trademark, what would stop
people
from using it in retailer solicitations, Internet mailing lists, Usenet
postings, Web
sites, and other places as a generic to describe D&D-style games (as it has
been
used occasionally in the past)? The scenario of a protected logo and an
unprotected
name seems like a recipe for disaster as far as the D20 trademark license and
open gaming are concerned.
Rogers Cadenhead
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web: http://www.prefect.com
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