Trademarking Free Software
Wow, what do you know. I'm here in Libervis.com, after all.
Say, I'm coding this Linux/PHP/PostgreSQL project that's a ticketing system. I came up with a name for it, but it's a common name that you can search in the dictionary. Does anyone out there know a thing or two about USA laws on trademarks? I mean, if no one has written a ticketing software product on GPL license that has this very common English word as its name, and I register it first before anyone else does, will I be immune fairly much from lawsuit? Or, would you recommend I go with something like the Spanish word for it, or make up a nonsense name like "Flickr" did?
I'm cheap. I don't want to have to pay for a lawyer. I just want to fill out the paperwork, register my trademark myself, and move on.
"Windows" is a trade mark, and a common English word. But that was in the past, and judges may have changed name policy. Free software is a non-issue. Think of Linux®
I don't know anything about the process.
“I just don't want to eat an animal that's standing there inviting me to,†said Arthur. “it's heartless.â€
“Better than eating an animal that doesn't want to be eaten,†said Zaphod.
Well, IANITUSA and IANAL, but if you want to avoid all risks, you should choose an uncommon word or an uncommon word combined with a common word. "Uncommon" means "uncommon in the business you're in". For example, "apple computer" = uncommon + common.
So naming your ticketing system "Tickets" might be a bad idea, but MikeyTickets (or whatever) should be fine. Another advantage is that people are more likely to remember the second.
From what I read before I think that you can register a common name as a trademark and be safe as long as noone in your particular market has that same name. Also what Taco said, a combination between common and uncommon is probably the safest way to go while not dropping your common word.
Besides, if you are allowed to register a mark in the first place that would basically mean that you've been granted to use that mark in your area and that noone should sue you for that. Having a trademark also means being protected anyway..
But I'm not a lawyer.
Libervisco wrote:
Besides, if you are allowed to register a mark in the first place that would basically mean that you've been granted to use that mark in your area and that noone should sue you for that. Having a trademark also means being protected anyway..
Yes and no. If your software/business learns a new trick, it might suddenly conflict with another trademark it didn't conflict with before. Think of the recent apple music vs apple computer case.
Also, a trademark doesn't mean you're protected, it means you can sue (or countersue). You could register "ape computer", no problem, but you will get sued by apple and you will lose.
(oh my, too many examples with apple in them)
(gee, now that is a background image I totally want to have: an aqua styled banana with the word "ape" below it)
I see.. well it appears that you can count yourself as safe with a common name only if you can guarantee yourself not to expand to any other areas even an inch, which is quite limiting and not recommended, of course.
So yeah, uncommon name or a combination is the best bet. I always liked coming up with those actually, for web domains. ;-)
Taco said:
(gee, now that is a background image I totally want to have: an aqua styled banana with the word "ape" below it)