Sorry to interrupt the flow. Does the country of juridiction also matter. Say the WOW (as In World of Warcraft) is trademarked in USA and EU so can they sue someone who is a resident of India and is hosting this site in India?
Sheesh, you actually answered it yourself: Tide is a dictionary word for the waves and a trademark for detergent. What exactly isn't clear there? It can matter in certain situations, especially if either the registrar or the Registry of that domain extension is within U.S. or EU jurisdiction. OTOH, UDRP is a cheaper option to suing and might be more practical in other scenarios. Essentially, the question here is if Blizzard is indeed using the letters W-o-W as a mark or not. IMHO no because I've yet to see any Blizzard product actively using just WoW rather than the full words themselves, though I can be wrong. Then again, just be aware of anyone else using those letters as a trademark also and avoid it.
I want to thank all of you for your comments. I have made my mind not to use WOW in my domain name. This forum is sure better than namepros where i got only a single reply for my query. Thanks again
WoW is claimed as a TM by Blizzard. http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=110000034 Edit: It is also a Registered Mark. Word Mark WOW Goods and Services IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES, NAMELY, PROVIDING ON-LINE COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES, TIPS AND STRATEGIES FOR COMPUTER GAMES; ARRANGING AND CONDUCTING COMPUTER GAME COMPETITIONS Standard Characters Claimed Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK Serial Number 78518928 Filing Date November 17, 2004 Current Filing Basis 1B Original Filing Basis 1B Published for Opposition September 23, 2008 Owner (APPLICANT) BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 16215 Alton Parkway Legal Department Irvine CALIFORNIA 92618 Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED Attorney of Record Rod A. Riogle Type of Mark SERVICE MARK Register PRINCIPAL Live/Dead Indicator LIVE Word Mark WOW Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: downloadable computer game software and computer game software for an on-line role-playing game; downloadable entertainment computer software and entertainment computer software in the nature of a game capable of being played on a personal computer, television gaming system, portable gaming system, global computer network, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant or wireless communication device Standard Characters Claimed Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK Serial Number 78518924 Filing Date November 17, 2004 Current Filing Basis 1B Original Filing Basis 1B Published for Opposition February 3, 2009 Owner (APPLICANT) BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 16215 Alton Parkway Legal Department Irvine CALIFORNIA 92618 Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED Attorney of Record Rod A. Rigole Type of Mark TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
Ahhh...so Blizzard indeed uses WoW as a trademark. I guess I didn't look hard enough in USPTO when I first checked it out. Thanks.
One more thing. Using "wow" in my URL anywhere will also be illegal? example - www.mysite.com/wow-strategy/
the examples you gave link to issued trademarks, as I have already said, that are either pictorial images, or CAPS versions of dictionary words. There is no issued trademark on the dictionary words 'Tide' or 'tide' in any class. 'TIDE' is not a dictionary word (because it's in CAPS - perhaps you are using the 'junior learn to spell BIG LETTER DICTIONARY FOR THE HARD of SEEING)
my, how incisive. How pithy. How cutting. Listen up fool. You can trademark words, images, whatever. They ain't the same. It's VERY common that if the trademark office declines to allow you to trademark a word, you go for a pictorial representation of it, i.e. (deep breath) a specific rendering of it in a particular font, color or style that makes it distinguishable. I know this because I've actually been in that situation, and that, unfortunately, is how the UK trademark system works. AFAIK (and I'm no expert, but then again neither does anyone else on here seem to be), it's a long standing principle of UK trademark law that you can't trademark a dictionary word in a category that the word directly links to. For example, you can't trademark 'Food' for a food company. If this wasn't the case, it would be possible for someone with deep pockets to basically 'grab' the entire English language and prohibit other people from using it ('Food' is my trademark. I demand that all chefs stop using that word immediately. Or pay me royalties). Although as I keep on pointing out, you CAN trademark pictorial representations, CAP-versions etc of just about anything. And so far, no one has been able to point us to anything that contravenes that understanding. So feel free to sling some more insults, little boy.
You are just arguing with yourself now. Here is another dictionary word mark just for you: And before you make a fool of yourself [again]:
And if you look at the sample I gave, is Tide being used as a trademark for waves? Or is it generically or descriptively known for detergents? "Hey, Joe, what do you use to wash your clothes?" "Oh, I use Tide. It works!" Is Joe referring to Tide as the waves above? It doesn't matter if it's upper or lower case. The point of a trademark is for consumers to recognize the source of that good or service used distinctively in commerce. You're right that a generic word like food can't be used to describe a food company. It seems lost that a generic or dictionary can be used as a mark depending on context. Speaking of U.K., much of trademark law used around the world is essentially based on theirs. Go ahead and check the U.K.'s trademark engine for Tide, and see if you find it like I did. If you want, I can even refer you to some trademark lawyers I know. Can't guarantee they won't be as patient and snarky as I am, though browntwn already gave you some concepts used both in the U.S. and U.K.
thank you for you wonderful patience and snarks. You should probably trademark 'snarky' btw. edit, there's a nice thread on the forum elsewhere - mjewel gives a nice explanation of the process, especially as regarding 'generic' terms. edit edit heres the linky - http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=207159 Keep snarking.