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Trademarks don't mean diddly until you have a competitor
infringe on your market or until you are involved in a lawsuit.
At that point, you had better have your i's dotted and your
t's crossed. When the legalities get involved it gets nasty!
And in this sue-crazy world, most companies will get
involved in a lawsuit sooner or later.
I leave it up to the lawyers. If they say do it, I do it. I have
lived through one lawsuit and have no desire to experience
one again. Trust me, by the time it was over, we had some
pretty strict TM guidelines in place. If you don't have a
legal team, I suggest having a pointy-haired boss sign-off
on your TM guidelines. This is NOT a place that you want
to make arbitrary decisions based on preference.
Do what you will, just be prepared to accept the consequences.
Melonie R. McMichael
Technical Writer
CG MarCom
Advanced Micro Devices
