Alain: This is not urgent, Eric, but since you sent us
material on trade secrets, patents, and copyright, I
figured we would complete our survey of relevant law
by including some statements recently posted to this
list about trademarks (below). Could you set the
record straight for us, Eric?
__________
Uli, Anthony, et al:
1. It costs a minimum of US$245 to register a
trademark in the US, and the trademark must be renewed
every 5 years. If you want world wide protection, the
cost increases.
2. A mark cannot be trademarked unless it is being
used "in commerce", or is intended to be used "in
commerce" within 6 months. Nolo Press Trademarks, (pp
11/10 & 11/11): "A mark is in actual use when it is
attached to a product that is being sold in the
marketplace or is used in a business's marketing
materials for the purpose of selling the business's
service. Actual use must be a commercial use, not
simply a token use to obtain trademark priority."
Rob Cozens : Since OC will be given away, not sold, it
is unclear to me whether a trademark could be
obtained.
__________
Alain: Concerning PATENTS, Eric, is it true that one
must submit a clear and detailed account of what is
original about the invention seeking patent
protection? And that, furthermore, this complete
revelation of the invention's originality is made
available to anyone who wishes to consult it? (via the
Patent Office)
Alain: Bottom-line, everyone, is that patent
protection sucks because it amounts to publicly
revealing what you want to protect in the first place.
Not to mention the fact that patent-infringment is
almost impossible to detect, difficult to prove, and
it is thus an expensive headache to enforce.
__________
Salutations
__________________________________________________
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