At 3 01 05, 12:36 PM, Bill Potts wrote: >1. Of FFU, WOMBAT, USMA and BWMA, only WOMBAT is an acronym. The others are >simply initials (sometimes called initialisms). (Check your dictionary.)
Bill, I've posted this before, but maybe you missed it. Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (Mirriam-Webster, 1989) discusses acronyms and initialisms, and says (partially): ". . . Dictionaries, however, do not make this distinction [between acronyms and initialisms] because writers in general do not." The rest of the column-long entry (including four quoted items) pretty much supports this statement. Of course, any individual is entitled to make the distinction if they care to, but I don't think it is wrong to call FFU an acronym. >2. Nobody can "own" a set of initials. They can trademark a logo that uses >initials, but that doesn't prohibit others from using the same initials, >just as long as they don't use the logo. Actually, for commercial use a company certainly CAN own a set of initials. Try to start a computer company and name it IBM, regardless of that the logo looks like, and see what happens. Trademarks in the commercial world are intended to protect the consumer from being fooled by look-alike names, so trademark law helps prevent companies from using confusingly similar names. So, you COULD name a company IBM if it makes (for example) branding irons and stands for "Interesting Bovine Machinery", as no reasonable person would confuse branding irons and computer products. A company name can be trademarked, the logo itself can also be trademarked, and the initials (if they are commonly used to identify the company) can also be trademarked. Jim Jim Elwell, CAMS Electrical Engineer Industrial manufacturing manager Salt Lake City, Utah, USA www.qsicorp.com
