Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site eosp1.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!princeton!eosp1!robison From: robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison) Newsgroups: net.legal Subject: Trademark protection for "UNIX" Message-ID: <930@eosp1.UUCP> Date: Wed, 13-Jun-84 23:57:16 EDT Article-I.D.: eosp1.930 Posted: Wed Jun 13 23:57:16 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 14-Jun-84 07:10:28 EDT Organization: Exxon Office Systems, Princeton, NJ Lines: 21 References: I'm not a lawyer, but: I think that the word "UNIX" will soon be in the public domain with no special rights left for ATT. They have not taken the vigorous action necessary to protect it. (That is, I can't believe they have without my noticing.) The problem is that only adjectives receive trademark protection, as in "UNIX operating system", or "Aspirin compound". Nouns are not trademarks. When the general public turns a brand name into a noun, the courts stop protecting it. I have never seen an advertisement or other memo from ATT warning people to use the word UNIX only in phrases that treat it as an adjective. - Toby Robison (not Robinson!) allegra!eosp1!robison decvax!ittvax!eosp1!robison princeton!eosp1!robison