From: whuang@ugcs.caltech.edu (Wei-Hwa Huang) Date: 16 Feb 1998 17:38:31 GMT Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena Message-Id: <6c9tin$2ni@gap.cco.caltech.edu> "David Byrden" writes: > I got a letter from a Washington >firm of lawyers about a week ago, saying >that they were the advisers to Seven Towns >Limited, holders of the 'Rubik' trademark. >The site was "diluting" the value of the >trademark and causing "customer confusion". >I was engaging in "unfair competition" >(despite not selling or distributing anything >or taking any money or having any advertising >on the site). They have to say stuff like this to demonstrate that they've protected their trademark. Apparently the word "Rubik", when applied to puzzles, is trademarked. In US law, if one doesn't protect a trademark by this manner, one may lose it. Of course, since Rubik is also the name of a person, you should be able to use "Rubik" when referring to the person. The specific thing they're worried about is phrases like "The Rubik Page" or "Rubik Puzzles." Change the wording to "Puzzles based on those invented by Erno Rubik," and I don't think they can touch you. > Not only did they want the word 'Rubik' >removed from the website, they wanted one of >the Java puzzles removed as well. They called it >an "electronic version of the RUBIK'S CUBE". >Fair enough, being a hexahedron sliced into 26 >equal parts it bore a certian visual resemblance, >but obviously there was none of their mechanism >involved. It was all brand-new software. This is bunk. No one can trademark that stuff. At most, there's a patent (which you can't have violated). The lawyers are just asking for extra. - -- Wei-Hwa Huang, whuang@ugcs.caltech.edu, http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~whuang/ - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "...he put a wire in his cap and called himself Marconi." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 00:45:33 -0500