"Pocket PC" Is Not Trademarked

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/library/toolbar/3.0/trademarks/en-us.mspx">http://www.microsoft.com/library/toolbar/3.0/trademarks/en-us.mspx</a><br /><br />Just an interesting list of what Microsoft holds trademarks for. ActiveSync and Windows Mobile are listed but Pocket PC, Smartphone and Windows CE are not. And where is "Connection Manager?" :wink: <br /><br />Hmmmm.... I am not finding "Bob" either. That one must have expired recently. :lol: Let's see, what else. Oh, good. There is is: "Iskoola Pota." Wanted to make sure they had <i>that</i> one covered. Heh - Tax Saver. That'll come in handy one of these days when they try to defend all of the brand recognition that one time 2001 program generated.<br /><br />Office is interesting. Outlook, PowerPoint and Visio are there, Word, Excel and Access aren't. I know those last three are common words in the English language, but so are Outlook and Windows.

[Jonathan1]

MS doesn't stand a chance of having Windows hold up in court. The reality is windows is so generic they may as well try trademarking MS Car. Up til now no one has had the guts to go head to head with MS. (Lindows.) Someday someone will and it will be all over.

[darrylb]

I remember there was some legal reason for this - but I cant find any reason on the net for it. They started naming it something like Palm PC or something and US Robotics or 3Com (cant remember who owned palm then) jumped up and down about it and it got turned down....

This was years ago - so my memory is fuzzy.... anyone else remember this?

[Stik]

my memory is fuzzy.... anyone else remember this?

A journey back to 1998...

3Com May Sue Microsoft over Product Name

http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,9543,00.html

which led to...

Microsoft sued over Palm PC

http://news.com.com/Microsoft+sued+over+Palm+PC/2100-1023_3-208765.html?tag=st.rn

The issue was resolved when...

3Com, Microsoft shake hands

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-209994.html?legacy=cnet

Unrelated, but 4 years later... :lol:

Going mano a mano with Microsoft

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-805115.html?legacy=cnet

[marcm]

Ah, the good ol' days....
I still have a Palm-Sized PC (PSPC) that i never use...

[safelder]

As a mark for a computer operating system, WINDOWS is almost certainly arbitrary. Further, even if WINDOWS was originally descriptive, it has gained secondary meaning. Either way, it'll stand up in court.

As to why Word, Excel, and Access aren't treated as trademarks...I have no idea.

[OSUKid7]

Hmm...maybe Microsoft reads PPCT closer than I thought. (or where did you think of this subject anyway?)


Microsoft registers trademark--19 years late

Microsoft introduced its Excel spreadsheet program in 1985, but didn't get around to officially registering its trademark until earlier this year.

[Ed Hansberry]

Hmm...maybe Microsoft reads PPCT closer than I thought.
Pretty sure Bill and Steve get the PPCT RSS feed. :wink: :lol:

[uzetaab]

What's funny is that palm got sued by Pilot pens for using the name Palm Pilot in their early days.

So it would seem there has been quite a bit of confusion over the names of these little devices.

PalmPC was obviously a rip off, but I think that Palm Pilot had little to do with pens. Sure they have stylii, but in this case I think they were going for palm 'control' not palm 'pen'.