Re: list lawyers

[Robert Houk - WorkGroup Server Firmware <Robert.Houk@East.Sun.COM>]

   I do believe Porsche is rather anal about name things- they forced a 
   magazine titled "Porshe Excellence" to shorten its name to "Excellence".  I 
   dunno about you, but if I were a car company, I would rather like a magazine 
   with that name in circulation.  But then again, I'm not a car company.

I think ("believe") that the issue is two-fold:

First, if any company does not "protect" its name/copyright/trademark/etc.
(by allowing others to use it), it loses rights to that name, and anyone
can use the name/etc. for "any other" purposes. (I very vaguely recall
that this happened to either "coke" or "kleenex" [I think the former]
who by failing to "enforce" that name as trademarked -- e.g., "Coke(tm)"
-- lost the battle in court over restaurants/etc. selling Pepsi(tm) etc.
to customers who asked for "coke", as distinct from "CocaCola(tm)".)

Second, if any company does (knowingly) _allow_ its name/etc. to be
used, I think that counts as an official sanction/blessing of what is
done under its name/etc. (think "liability", "slander", "warranty",
and other such horrors).

					-RDH