knightcoin (OP)
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January 27, 2014, 12:40:44 PM |
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I mean... can I use the term bitcoin freely in my business ?
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"You Asked For Change, We Gave You Coins" -- casascius
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hilariousandco
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January 29, 2014, 05:46:33 PM |
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I mean... can I use the term bitcoin freely in my business ?
No, it's not trademarked, yes you can use it freely. |
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atias
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January 30, 2014, 05:47:48 PM |
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why, not ?  |
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yatsey87
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January 30, 2014, 08:31:53 PM |
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Are you scared Satoshi might sue you? lol
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DeathAndTaxes
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Gerald Davis
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January 30, 2014, 08:34:19 PM
Last edit: January 30, 2014, 08:48:18 PM by DeathAndTaxes |
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I mean... can I use the term bitcoin freely in my business ?
No, it's not trademarked, yes you can use it freely. Ahem https://www.mtgox.com/press_release_20111014.htmlhttps://oami.europa.eu/eSearch/#details/trademarks/010103646Of course at the time MtGox stated they "had" to keep the trademark as there is no way to release a trademark into the public domain. However there is now a non-profit foundation, however the trademark remains with a for profit company. All for your own good, of course. We all know that MtGox, its owners, and all future owners until the end of time will never attempt to profit from this very valuable trademark. So it certainly is trademarked and today MtGox (without any legal obligation on their part) says you can use their property as you see fit. Will they next year? Next decade? Of course MtGox could easily transfer the trademark either to an existing non-profit or create a new perpetual trust whose sole goal is to protect the Bitcoin trademark but that hasn't happened. I am sure they just haven't go around to it yet. |
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hilariousandco
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January 30, 2014, 08:45:33 PM |
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I mean... can I use the term bitcoin freely in my business ?
No, it's not trademarked, yes you can use it freely. Ahem https://www.mtgox.com/press_release_20111014.htmlOf course at the time MtGox stated they "had" to keep the trademark as there is no way to release a trademark into the public domain. However there is now a non-profit foundation, however the trademark remains with a for profit company. All for your own good, of course. We all know that MtGox, its owners, and all future owners until the end of time will never attempt to profit from this very valuable trademark. Oh, so Gox holds the trademark? Can't they sign it over to the foundation or something? Not really happy about them holding it. What happens if they go out of business or get bought out? |
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djarot
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January 30, 2014, 08:46:01 PM |
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yatsey87
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January 30, 2014, 08:47:32 PM |
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I thought trying to trademark something like Bitcoin would get thrown out because it's already in use and in the public domain?
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DeathAndTaxes
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Gerald Davis
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January 30, 2014, 08:50:34 PM |
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I thought trying to trademark something like Bitcoin would get thrown out because it's already in use and in the public domain?
In the theoretical world where are government functions work perfectly it would be. The rejection would be universal across every country and would occur no matter how often companies attempted registration again. In the real world? Patent and trademarks are big business they are routinely used by large companies (who have hundreds of lawyers who do nothing but seek patents and trademarks) and used as a weapon. Against larger competitors they are used to secure cross licensing deals, against smaller competitors they are used to simply destroy the competition. |
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sqabeloth
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February 24, 2014, 05:06:35 AM |
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It's not a trademark actually so I think you can use it. No one ask if he can use such words as "gold", "silver" etc.
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hilariousandco
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February 24, 2014, 02:34:01 PM |
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It's not a trademark actually so I think you can use it. No one ask if he can use such words as "gold", "silver" etc.
See DeathandTaxes post above. |
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Mrrr
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February 24, 2014, 06:57:17 PM |
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I thought trying to trademark something like Bitcoin would get thrown out because it's already in use and in the public domain?
In the theoretical world where are government functions work perfectly it would be. The rejection would be universal across every country and would occur no matter how often companies attempted registration again. In the real world? Patent and trademarks are big business they are routinely used by large companies (who have hundreds of lawyers who do nothing but seek patents and trademarks) and used as a weapon. Against larger competitors they are used to secure cross licensing deals, against smaller competitors they are used to simply destroy the competition. Fortunately we are in an environment that allows multimillion operations through forum handles. 'Mt. Gox vs. DeathAndTaxes'. I think we're safe. |
burp...
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BitcoinSean
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February 28, 2014, 03:14:00 PM |
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You can use the word / term "Bitcoin" when your talking about them, etc.. but you can create an online currency and call it Bitcoin as Im guessing they would take action.
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LostDutchman
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February 28, 2014, 08:17:34 PM |
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I mean... can I use the term bitcoin freely in my business ?
You need to go to: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jspAnd conduct a Trademark Search. The term "Bitcoin" was actually trademarked for about a month in connection with cryptocurrency but was abandoned. "Bitcoin" is trademarked in connection with certain goods and services but I'd bet that for must uses due to the ubiquitous nature of the term that subsequent registrations would not hold up. My $.02.  |
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DeathAndTaxes
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Gerald Davis
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February 28, 2014, 08:21:14 PM |
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I have heard there are other countries on this planet of ours. |
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LostDutchman
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February 28, 2014, 08:22:41 PM |
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I have heard there are other countries on this planet of ours. Yeah, so I am told but with notable exceptions, they are mostly harmless. My $.02. |
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kroleg
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March 01, 2014, 10:12:59 AM |
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Though it's not trademarked, it's not the best idea to use this term in your buisness
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LostDutchman
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March 01, 2014, 04:28:13 PM |
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Though it's not trademarked, it's not the best idea to use this term in your buisness
Why not? Enquiring minds want to know! ; |
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Entropy-uc
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March 01, 2014, 09:09:35 PM |
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I have heard there are other countries on this planet of ours. Fortunately a trademark must be actively defended or it will be ruled invalid. That means that every time Bitcoin was used MtGox would have needed to notify the user that they are using a trademark of MtGox. They could allow the usage to continue, but at a minimum they needed to insist that the TM symbol follows, and that a notation is included indicating that Bitcoin is a trademark of MtGox. Years of failing to do so, results in loss of the trademark to the public domain. |
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LostDutchman
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March 01, 2014, 09:47:47 PM |
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I have heard there are other countries on this planet of ours. Fortunately a trademark must be actively defended or it will be ruled invalid. That means that every time Bitcoin was used MtGox would have needed to notify the user that they are using a trademark of MtGox. They could allow the usage to continue, but at a minimum they needed to insist that the TM symbol follows, and that a notation is included indicating that Bitcoin is a trademark of MtGox. Years of failing to do so, results in loss of the trademark to the public domain. Yeah, Baby! What you wrote! |
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