Re: (r) vs. (TM)

[Tom Herme <therme -at- NVBELL -dot- NET>]

So then, do these "TMs" and "Rs" expire as copyrights do? If so, when?
Anybody know?

Thanks,

Tom Herme

Geoff Hart (by way of "Eric J. Ray" ) wrote:
>
> Tracy Boyington wondered about the appropriate use of (R) and (TM) in
> documentation. Which one to use depends entirely on the owner of the
> trademark: (TM) represents a trademark that has not yet been
> registered, but once registered, the trademark is forever after
> indicated as (R). For the sake of accuracy, use whichever symbol is
> used by the trademark owner, on the assumption that they know what
> they're talking about; if you can't confirm which is the correct
> symbol, and that should be a very rare situation indeed, use (R): my
> logic is that nobody will yell at you for granting their product more
> respect than it deserves, but they may well get irate if you portray a
> registered trademark as unregistered. One caution: if _you_ are the
> trademark holder, never use (R) until the trademark is legally
> registered; doing so can apparently cause various legal problems,
> though I can't remember details right now.
>
> As for using the symbols in your own documentation when referring to
> other people's products, don't waste your time: no major periodical
> (computer magazines particularly) ever does, and since they've got
> expensive lawyers advising them on this issue, I have to assume they
> know what they're doing. Give credit to the trademark owner and the
> type of trademark (TM vs. R) only once, in a special section at the
> front of the book (usually, the copyright page), and thereafter just
> use the unadorned product name. The only case where you might want to
> repeat the symbol is if it might appear that you're claiming the
> product as your own or trying to turn it into a generic term; if you
> try that, the trademark owner will quite properly get all irate and
> send you nasty letters, perhaps even threatening legal action.
> --Geoff Hart @8^{)}
> geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
>
>
--
Tom Herme
home mailto://therme -at- nvbell -dot- net
work mailto://hermet -at- dninevada -dot- com


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