[gnso-rds-pdp-wg] "Thanks" is Trademarked!

Greg Shatan gregshatanipc at gmail.com
Sat Jun 11 06:24:50 UTC 2016


Nothing in the reported case prevents anyone from saying Thank You or
Thanks.  Implying otherwise is unhelpful.

On Saturday, June 11, 2016, Stephanie Perrin <
stephanie.perrin at mail.utoronto.ca> wrote:

> I am with Carleton on this one.  Everybody should be allowed to say
> thanks.  not enough of it around....
>
> Stephanie Perrin
>
>
>
> On 2016-06-10 21:13, Carlton Samuels wrote:
>
> Greg:
> I hold no brief for Reuters. I looked at the PTO database and saw all you
> said. And quite frankly if I were an IP lawyer in the trenches and on the
> clock,  I probably would be encouraging these fellas to fight.
>
> All that aside, howsoever you slice or dice it, granting exclusive
> commercial rights to [qualified] "thanks" or "thankyou" seems over the top.
>
> Carlton
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 10, 2016, 5:13 PM Greg Shatan <
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','gregshatanipc at gmail.com');>
> gregshatanipc at gmail.com
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','gregshatanipc at gmail.com');>> wrote:
>
>> Not sure anyone needs to be tarred and feathered here.  But let's get the
>> facts straight. (Perhaps those who don't get the facts straight are the
>> ones who should be tarred & feathered, etc., but that seems rather harsh.
>> I prefer to educate rather than vilify.)
>>
>> Citi did not sue AT&T for "using the word in a commercial." Citi sued
>> AT&T for apparently seeking to brand its new customer loyalty program as
>> AT&T THANKS when Citibank already has a longstanding (since 2004) customer
>> loyalty program branded as CITI THANK YOU, with about 15 million members in
>> the US, and a trademark registered since 2011 for "Promoting the goods
>> and services of others through administration of incentive reward and
>> redemption programs by distributing rewards for credit and debit card use,
>> and for banking and wealth management customer *loyalty*".  And AT&T
>> didn't merely use the THANKS brand, they applied for a trademark
>> registration for AT&T THANKS for "Providing incentive award programs for
>> customers for the purpose of promoting and rewarding loyalty."
>>
>> It seems like an entirely reasonable claim that consumers could be
>> confused between a THANK YOU brand loyalty program and a THANKS brand
>> loyalty program.  Without opining on the likelihood of success, it's an
>> entirely reasonable claim of infringement.  Indeed the subject matter of
>> this email demonstrates such confusion -- THANKS is not "trademarked" by
>> anyone, in spite of the attention-getting headline.  CITI THANK YOU is a
>> registered trademark of Citigroup.  AT&T THANKS is the subject of a pending
>> application by AT&T.
>>
>> If AT&T had merely "used the word in a commercial" and not as a
>> trademark, there would be nothing to object to, and no claim, and this
>> email wouldn't exist.  The actual facts are significantly different.
>>
>> That's the problem with suggesting tarring and feathering, and other such
>> actions of a mob mentality.  They are based on incorrect facts and a desire
>> to inflame people, rather than to inform them.  Unfortunately, information
>> can come too late to save the victims of such an attack (hot tar causes
>> serious and often fatal burns).  Thankfully, all that was suggested was a
>> rhetorical tarring and feathering, so no one actually suffered at the hands
>> of an ill-informed, intemperate mob.
>>
>> Hope that is informative.
>>
>> Greg
>>
>> [Caveats: (1) I am a CITI THANK YOU cardholder and use my THANK YOU
>> points regularly on Amazon where they are available as dollars. (2) From
>> around 1999 to 2004, the firm I was with represented Citigroup in trademark
>> matters, though I personally didn't do very much of that work.  I have not
>> had any professional relationship with Citigroup since 2004 (3) This should
>> not be construed as legal advice.]
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 10, 2016 at 3:15 PM, Carlton Samuels <
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','carlton.samuels at gmail.com');>
>> carlton.samuels at gmail.com
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','carlton.samuels at gmail.com');>> wrote:
>>
>>> ..and Citi sues AT&T for using  the word in a commercial!  It also owns
>>> thankyou.com as well!
>>>
>>> I checked the USPTO database and it was a revelation; lots of "thankyou"
>>> there, dead and alive. See:
>>> <http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4803:ku1j42.1.1>
>>> http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4803:ku1j42.1.1
>>>
>>> So I ask you, who're the halfwits that need to be tarred, feathered and
>>> put in stock in the village square for a quick kick in the butt from every
>>> passerby?
>>>
>>> http://www.reuters.com/article/us-at-t-citigroup-lawsuit-idUSKCN0YW1K3
>>>
>>> -Carlton
>>>
>>> [Disclosure: I'm partial to AT&T on account they paid for graduate
>>> school.]
>>>
>>> ==============================
>>> Carlton A Samuels
>>> Mobile: 876-818-1799
>>> *Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround*
>>> =============================
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>
>>
>
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