Python trademark at risk in Europe [LWN.net]

Python trademark at risk in Europe

Posted Feb 15, 2013 14:42 UTC (Fri) by rsidd (subscriber, #2582)
Parent article: Python trademark at risk in Europe

So here's the thing. Why not trademark every name you use in the first place? If you care about the trademark (like Mozilla), you'll be forced to defend it. If you don't and someone challenges it as generic (like aspirin), let it go - but then no one else can trademark it either. Why wouldn't that work?

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Python trademark at risk in Europe

Posted Feb 15, 2013 15:55 UTC (Fri) by xnox (subscriber, #63320) [Link] (4 responses)

Because one never knows if something that "is NOT portable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks" will become so big.

Python trademark at risk in Europe

Posted Feb 15, 2013 15:58 UTC (Fri) by rsidd (subscriber, #2582) [Link] (3 responses)

But that's why one should trademark it, right?

Python trademark at risk in Europe

Posted Feb 15, 2013 16:33 UTC (Fri) by farnz (subscriber, #17727) [Link] (2 responses)

Registered trademarks aren't free - a UK trademark costs £200 (£170 if you're prepared to apply via the online forms) for your initial application in one class, and £200 for each renewal (every 10 years). Add an extra £50 to each fee if you want to hold the mark in multiple classes.

It's generally more sensible to rely on unregistered trademarks - the fact of use of a trademark is enough to establish it such that you can either reclaim the trademark yourself if someone else applies and you think you can show you're using it (£200 fee), or have the IPO declare it a "generic" mark (£200 fee). You can also (£200 fee for this) have an existing trademark removed due to non-use.

Basically, costs of registering your trademark for 10 years are about the same as stopping someone else from obtaining it or using it. You might as well wait until you need to claim it before you do so - it's similar cost, and that way, you're not out the price of a reasonable SSD every time you start a project.

Python trademark at risk in Europe

Posted Feb 15, 2013 23:01 UTC (Fri) by ssmith32 (subscriber, #72404) [Link] (1 responses)

The article states that opposing the trademark will cost them tens of thousands of dollars. Pretty sure that more than 200 pounds.. I know the dollar isn't quite what it used to be, but I don't think the exchange rate is that bad ;)

Python trademark at risk in Europe

Posted Feb 16, 2013 18:49 UTC (Sat) by farnz (subscriber, #17727) [Link]

That's including the costs of retaining a good trademark lawyer, not just the fees from the IPO - they would pay a similar amount if they hired a trademark lawyer for the initial application.

Python trademark at risk in Europe

Posted Feb 15, 2013 16:24 UTC (Fri) by endecotp (guest, #36428) [Link]

Because registering a trademark is not free-of-charge, and is non-trivial.

Python trademark at risk in Europe

Posted Feb 15, 2013 23:30 UTC (Fri) by compudj (subscriber, #43335) [Link]

If you intend to create an open source project that could possibly be used across the globe, and if you wish to protect your trade mark by registering it, you will need to secure it on a per-territory basis. The WIPO Madrid system helps a lot in this matter nowadays, but US and EU only joined this system in 2003 and 2004, respectively. However, even today some countries require trade mark registration for their territory.

Therefore, it's not just a matter of a single 200 pounds for 10 years; you must multiply that by the number of independent territories on which you want to protect your trade mark. I expect that providing world-wide protection for a trade-mark was even most cumbersome than it is today when Python was created.

I'm only talking from my own experience, and I advise people to ask experts in that field if they need to secure a trade mark.