December 13, 2008, 16:23
<Proofreader>Don't Wink!
A Russian businessman has been granted a trademark for ;-). Anyone using this emoticon will be sued!
Well, maybe it's not that bad but the BBc carried
this story.And he claims he may own :-), too.
December 13, 2008, 16:34
BobHaleAnd according to a friend of mine whose field is patents and trademarks law, it's pretty much a load of cobblers.
December 14, 2008, 01:44
Richard EnglishI agree. A complete load of old cobblers.
Actually I also liked the link on the Beeb page
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7780108.stm Clive James's commentary about nations' identities is, as is usual with his items, perceptive without being too cynical.
December 14, 2008, 01:58
BobHalequote:
Originally posted by BobHale:
And according to a friend of mine whose field is patents and trademarks law, it's pretty much a load of cobblers.
Though my friend did also throw in this
cautionary tale about a Frenchman who trademarked the yellow and black smiley button symbol, sent out a load of invoices, got paid by some of the more gullible and this act of paying turned it into a mark "used in trade" and validated the registration.
December 19, 2008, 20:11
KallehBesides agreeing that this is a load of you-know-what...the odd thing to me is that obviously these emoticons are used internationally, and yet these are national laws. Clearly it wouldn't meet the status of a patent in U.S. law.