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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: KDE 1.2-Preview: eyecandy.png
From:       Leon Widdershoven <l.widdershoven () fz-juelich ! de>
Date:       1999-07-27 16:34:24
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Stephan Kulow wrote:
> 
> Ming Poon wrote:
> >
> > Hi folks,
> >
> > I was just informed by our UI design team that the word 'Trash' and the
> > Trash icon are trademarks of the Apple Macontish and cannot be used. As
> > Apple can go after us (Corel) legally, we will be changing some of the
> > problematic icons in our version of KDE that may have certain legal
> > implications. For the Trash, we are thinking of using the word Dumpster
> > and a dark green Dumpster icon. Any thought on this icon and stupid
> > trademark issues. Thanks.
> >
> You can trademark words? I don't think so. And the icon is not even
> borrowed
> from Apple. The only thing the can have trademarked is the service, but
> then it doesn't help you to call it different.
> 
> Greetings, Stephan

Sorry, but you CAN trademark words, sentences and parts thereof. That's 
really no problem. The problem is that people really do it.

You can of course not forbid that people use those words, you can only 
sue people who use it to offer a service (use it as the important part
in an own slogan, as the name of a product or service etc).

We use it as a service, and especially since Apples wastebasket and the
KDE
wastebasket are so alike, KDE would lose the case.

The only hope is that the service and the trademarked word become
synonymous,
then you _are_ allowed to use it. It cannot be forbidden that scientists
on
cold fusion se that word in their papers, even if there exists a
software tool
with the same (probably trademarked) name:)

Greetz,
Leon

 
> --
> Better give your hours some more life than
> your life some more hours. - anonymous

-- 
In a world without walls and fences,  l.widdershoven@fz-juelich.de
who needs Windows and Gates?          Institute of Plasma physics (IPP)
                                      Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH

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