[gnso-rds-pdp-wg] "Thanks" is Trademarked!
Sam Lanfranco
sam at lanfranco.net
Sat Jun 11 13:36:59 UTC 2016
I am with Greg on this one. There are dark corners in the world of
trademarks and trademark litigation, but this is not one of them.
On both a lighter and more substantial side one can check out the
Electric Frontier Foundation (EFF) "/Stupid Patent AND Trademark of the
Month/" offerings,
and their latest offering around "My Health" at
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/05/stupid-patent-and-trademark-month-my-healthr
Sam L.
/On 6/11/2016 2:24 AM, Greg Shatan wrote://
/
> /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
> <mailto: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
>> <//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
>> //<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
>> <http://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/
>> //
>> /
>> /
>> //
>> /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 <tel:876-818-1799>//
>> ////Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround/
>> =============================
>>
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--
------------------------------------------------
"It is a disgrace to be rich and honoured
in an unjust state" -Confucius
邦有道，贫且贱焉，耻也。邦无道，富且贵焉，耻也
------------------------------------------------
Dr Sam Lanfranco (Prof Emeritus & Senior Scholar)
Econ, York U., Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - M3J 1P3
email: Lanfran at Yorku.ca Skype: slanfranco
blog: http://samlanfranco.blogspot.com
Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852
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