Interesting People mailing list archives
IP: Registered Trademark
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 17:10:24 -0500
From: "John F. McMullen" <johnmac () acm org> To: "Dave Farber" <farber () cis upenn edu>, "Declan McCullagh" <declan () well com> After writing a column for the Westchester Business Journal that contained the term "listserv", a term that I have used since 1989 in articles, columns and in teaching at college and university level, I received the enclosed message from Connie Newman at L-Soft, chastizing me for using a Registered TradeMark of her firm. After breiefly discussing the letter with Dave Faber, I replied to Connie asking when L-Soft had filed the trademark. She responded "The trademark is U.S. Reg. #2,001,258 for LISTSERV registered September 17, 1996.". While L-Soft may have acted within the framework of the law, I find this situation intellectually insulting - like me attempting to register "telnet" or "ftp" as registered trademarks of McMullen & McMullen, Inc. I did a quick check through books in the extensive McMullen library. "The Internet Unleashed", Sams, 1994 states "Listservs are one of the most accessible Internet resources .." (p 320) and then goes on for 46 pages describing the use. Esther Dyson on page 44 of Release 2.1 uses the term. "The Internet for Dummies Quick Reference" defines Listserv as "a family of programs that automatically manages mailing lists .. " .. and I have found a number of other references - all but the first since 1996 - and none refer to it as a Registered TradeMark. What about e-mail addresses like listserv () american edu? Is that a violation? I may be making too much of this but I find it galling. This is not a case of an uninformed public using a term like "Xerox" or "Coke" incorrectly. This is an outfit that had to know better grabbing a generic term and making it a brand name (In fact, one of the books that I came across refers to it as a "generic term"). As far as I'm concerned, this is intellectually dishonest. Please distribute this for comments to johnmac () acm org or on Dave Faber's list. I would hope that Jamie Love would be interested in something like this as well as our various net attorneys. I will write about it - but would like to see some outrage and, perhaps, action -----Original Message----- From: Connie Newman [mailto:connie () lsoft com] Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 1998 4:21 PM To: johnmac () acm org Subject: Registered Trademark It has come to our attention that you are using the term LISTSERV (r) to describe electronic mail distribution lists in your article, "Spam and other electronic annoyances" Unfortunately, that term is a registered trademark. It is a common mistake to use LISTSERV (r) as a generic term. It would be helpful if you would replace it in the future with another phrase, such as "mailing list" or "announcement service". We apologize if this causes any inconvenience. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Please contact me with any concerns or questions. Sincerely, Connie Newman ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Connie Newman <connie () lsoft com> L-Soft international, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com "When you come to the fork in the road, take it" - L.P. Berra John F. McMullen johnmac () acm org ICQ: 4368412 http://www.westnet.com/~observer http://www.westnet.com/~observer/Y2KCOACH.html (Y2K Site)
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- IP: Registered Trademark Dave Farber (Dec 10)