Re: question about trademarked and registered names

**C* U* <c*@gmail.com>**

I once got such a letter from a lawyer in Ohio after I had neglected  
to capitalize Day-Glo in a column I wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times.  
It was mildly threatening.

Carolyn Ulrich

On Feb 26, 2013, at 5:50 PM, Judy Lowe wrote:

> I think this discussion needs some legal insight. Jeff Lowenfels,  
> are you listening??
>
> I was under the impression that companies want writers to use the TM  
> and copyright symbols because it helps the company protect its  
> trademark. The same with those lawyer's letters -- the company is  
> showing that it protects its copyright and the proper name shouldn't  
> be taken away from it and made generic.
>
> BUT do writers and publications have the obligation (legal or  
> otherwise) to help companies in their quest??
>
> I can't think of any newspaper that uses those symbols at all in  
> copy. (And they're very easy to screw up in newspaper -- and, I  
> assume -- other computer systems. They don't "translate" well if a  
> paper is sending copy to other papers, for instance, because they  
> all use different systems.)
>
> As an aside, did you know that companies used to hire readers around  
> the country to read local papers and magazines and let them know if  
> their trademarked product had been mentioned without the symbol?   
> That's how they knew to send the lawyer's letters, and where to send  
> them. I assume the searching is done online now.
>
> Judy Lowe
>
> _________________________________________________________
>
>
> From: frielster@aol.com
> Subject: Re: [GWL] question about trademarked and registered names
>
>
> Interesting thread. I used to work for a very TM & R-conscious  
> bunch, and I was told it was OK to cite TM and R on first reference,  
> then just use the name without them in subsequent text; to use it  
> every time interrupts the flow and annoys the reader.
>
> Companies that insist that you mind their TMs and Rs are simply  
> policing their property, lest they lose it. Aspirin, escalator and  
> zipper were once trademarked names. Someone mentioned Kleenex, and  
> asked how often you see a TM attached to that word. Kimberly-Clark  
> used to run ads in Writer's Digest exhorting authors to do exactly  
> that, with the tagline, "Kleenex says, 'Bless you.'"
>
> Duane, I like your approach: If reproached, just say, It'll never  
> happen again.
>
> JF
>
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