TMs (many of which are image TMs on the names of their products) have won what can
only be described as unmaginable bonuses for those who originally registered the
product names.Take for instance the Unilever 1930s TMs on the words "surf" and
"tide", originally registered to protect names of cleaning products.
With the advent
of the Internet and the new TLD .info, these TMs have a new reach, a new market and
value.
Does anyone seriously believe that Unilever owning surf.info and tide.info
will produce greater cleaning product sales and dividends for Unilever shareholders,
or that Unilever will develop these names in the manner that the public would appreciate,
given the broader meaning and associations the public puts on these words.
Does
anyone seriously believe that the housewife, the fisherman or surfer or anyone for
that matter will go to www.tide.info or www.surf.info for information on the removal
of the red wine stain, the removal of the fish blood stains, the burger stains?
I
think these washing powder examples (go see the lists of good generics that the car
manufacturers have TMd) of the misuse of TMs, especially image TMs. Good words
with real Internet applications are being locked away or will be sold for a windfall
profit.
Seems to me that the IP mandarins have really stuffed up, may be just trying
to justify their own existance and fat salaries by involving themselves in areas
where TMs shouldn't hold sway.
Sunrise is an abomination!!