Re: On not using (r) and (tm)

[John Levine <johnl at iecc.com>]

> Since Internet standards are global in nature, it is probably
> inappropriate to quote that a particular name is a trademark of a
> particular company without specifying a specific trade domain and a
> specific locale.

We can go as far into this swamp as we want, but I don't think it's a
good idea to do so.  Familiar trademarks are typically registered in
dozens of countries all over the world, and at least in the US there's
a category of "famous" trademark which has a significant degree of
protection outside of its nominal domain.

The reason that one puts the R in a circle or other notices is to tell
people that you have registered it.  The reason to do so is that it's
easier to win infringement damages if you can show that the infringer
knew or should have known that it was your trademark, and R in a
circle is presumed to be notice.

Since we are software guys rather than lawyers, and it's vanishingly
unlikely that any IETF document could infringe any trademark because
the documents are neither products nor services, I propose that we
don't try to deal with any of this.

If you or your employer want to tell people that you have a trademark,
it's quite adequate to say that FOO is a registered trademark of
Foocorp.  In the unlikely case that anyone cares, he can contact
Foocorp to find out what and where the trademark claims on that name
are.

Regards,
John Levine, johnl at iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://www.johnlevine.com, Mayor
"I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly.


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