Hi All,
A couple of further thoughts:
* If the PD or whatever license we adopt allows sales as well as free
distribution, we can engage in commerce by having an OODL representative
sell a copy to someone in another state or country for $1.
* The legal owner of a trademark is not he who files first but he who uses
the trademark in commerce first; so as an alternative to registration we
could establish use of the name and then monitor new trademark applications
and challenge someone else's use of the name.
* From Nolo: "You may use tm ... next to an unregistered mark to show that
you claim ownership of the mark and intend to assert your rights against
copiers. While using the tm ... symbol provides no statutory legal
benefits, in practice it reminds would-be copiers that the name ... is
already being claimed as a mark and in most instances will cause them to
stay away from it."
Based on the above, it seems to me the first step in protecting the name is
to establish the name and begin using it.
If anyone would like to search the US Patent and Trademark Office trademark
database, you can find it at http://www.uspto.gov/tmdb/index.html
If you do, please check out my favorite candidate: VolksCard
Rob Cozens, CCW
http://www.serendipitysoftware.com/who.html
"And I, which was two fooles, do so grow three;
Who are a little wise, the best fooles bee."
from "The Triple Foole" by John Donne (1572-1631)
