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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jill Waite [mailto:jwaite -at- criticaldevices -dot- com]
> Subject: Trademarks and nouns - how often?
I've done quite a bit of research on this recently. Hopefully, this info
might be a bit helpful.
> The following two points were discussed thoroughly in the archives:
> (a) Trademarks are adjectives and must be followed by
> descriptor nouns.
This is not a requirement. The US Patent and Trademark Office doesn't give
any requirements on how to use trademarks in text. However, this guideline
is highly suggested by just about every legal person and reference I've
found.
> (b) Trademark symbols (i.e., R and TM inside a circle,
> superscript) should
> be used at first or most prominent use, but can be omitted
> thereafter as
> long as an attribution statement exists.
This is the issue that I was debating with my legal dept. He is going to
consult an outside lawyer (who, I guess) knows more. I've always done it as
described above, but he was concerned that that wasn't really enough.
> The following questions were _not_ addressed:
> 1. In printed documentation: Can we also omit descriptor following
> trademark, after first and most prominent usage? For example, the
> descriptor for Windows NT(R) or Windows(R) 95, 98, or 2000 is
> "operating
> system." Once I've defined it and used it correctly the
> first and/or most
> prominent time, can I thereafter say merely "Windows" or
> "Windows NT"? It
> strikes me as odd, because that's a little bit how Kleenex
> got into trouble
> - descriptor "tissue" got left off pretty frequently!
Given that there aren't really any "rules", I would check with the owner of
the trademark in question, in this case Microsoft. I know they have a whole
Web page regarding their trademarks and their usage, but I don't have that
bookmark handy right now.
> 2. What about on Web sites? My gut feeling is first use on
> each page,
> because you don't always know how someone will come into the
> Web site, but I
> thought I would check with the group.
I think there are two ways to address this in a Web site. Both using
trademark symbols on each page, and having a "legal" or "trademarks" page
that references both yours and anyone else's you might use.
