Hello, everyone,
I just read in an article from the German gaming site PC Games Hardware, that a German firm has registered the @ sign as a trade mark.
German-language article here : http://www.pcgameshardware.de/Internet-Thema-34041/News/Deutsches-Unternehmen-at-Marke-1032738/
I have no idea what consequences this might have outside of Germany, but German readers of this article might sense a good exploit by this firm which would follow the German wave of the so-called "Abmahn-Industrie".
The author of the artiocle says that Abmahnung ("cease & desist" letters) aren't to be expected, but I'm in doubt. I have seen quite a lot of exploits in the Abmahn-Industrie, where the most well known example is the now definct (?) company called Symicron, who had had a cease % desist letter sent to ALL German companies usung their trademarked "Explorer" - including Microsoft Germany ! And they even got money though the Abmahn-Industrie this way !
Another notable example occurred during the 90s, where Intel had had an chipset named "Triton", and a German lawyer had connfiscated motherboards from shops using "Triton" as a kind of advertisement word, because a Nederlands firm already had "Tricon" as a trade mark and their lawyers held the position that both terms could be mixed (can be read here : http://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/Die-Triton-Falle-284382.html ).
A similar thing happened with "Mendocino", by Intel as well : http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Abmahnung-fuer-Mendocino-Werbung-11073.html
The German Abmahn-Industrie had managed to create a state of fear among German IT-related firms - and private users, too !
Alrik
I just read in an article from the German gaming site PC Games Hardware, that a German firm has registered the @ sign as a trade mark.
German-language article here : http://www.pcgameshardware.de/Internet-Thema-34041/News/Deutsches-Unternehmen-at-Marke-1032738/
I have no idea what consequences this might have outside of Germany, but German readers of this article might sense a good exploit by this firm which would follow the German wave of the so-called "Abmahn-Industrie".
The author of the artiocle says that Abmahnung ("cease & desist" letters) aren't to be expected, but I'm in doubt. I have seen quite a lot of exploits in the Abmahn-Industrie, where the most well known example is the now definct (?) company called Symicron, who had had a cease % desist letter sent to ALL German companies usung their trademarked "Explorer" - including Microsoft Germany ! And they even got money though the Abmahn-Industrie this way !
Another notable example occurred during the 90s, where Intel had had an chipset named "Triton", and a German lawyer had connfiscated motherboards from shops using "Triton" as a kind of advertisement word, because a Nederlands firm already had "Tricon" as a trade mark and their lawyers held the position that both terms could be mixed (can be read here : http://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/Die-Triton-Falle-284382.html ).
A similar thing happened with "Mendocino", by Intel as well : http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Abmahnung-fuer-Mendocino-Werbung-11073.html
The German Abmahn-Industrie had managed to create a state of fear among German IT-related firms - and private users, too !
Alrik