| Below is a mail message that we received from the corporate legal
department verifying that ALL-IN-1 is a trademark. I have removed
all names.
From: Someone in LAW DEPT; 223-5511 21-Apr-1989 1129"
To: SHALOT::someone
Subj: ALL-IN-1 Trademark
ALL-IN-1 is a Digital trademark!!! The process of registering the mark
is underway. Registration has occurred in a limited number of countries;
is pending in the United States; and is likely to occur in a large number
of counties in the near future.
Registration of a term is not required in order for it to be a trademark.
Registration, however, stengthens the rights that exist in a mark because
it gives better notice to the others that a term is being used as a
trademark.
Hope this helps. Please call me if you'd like to discuss this further.
Regards,
PS A1INFO Note 535.17 has rather more detail on this...
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| When a company begins to use a trademark for a new product, it
does so to insure the buying public will recognize the product. A
trademark is a convenient means of distinguishing one company's
product from those of competitors. Over time, the recognition of
the brand name builds into a reputation earned by the quality of
the product itself. The better the reputation, the more people
are likely to hear about the product, to be well-disposed towards
it and to buy it.
Thus, a trademark is not only a label. It is a symbol, too. It
is the symbolic meaning of a trademark that determines its value.
When it stands for inherent quality and constant innovation, a
mark becomes a highly efficient and useful device in selling goods
and services. For example, in the years since the VAX mark was
first used, promotion and sales of both goods and services under
the VAX mark have increased exponentially. Today the VAX mark is
worth hundreds of millions of dollars and is one of Digital's most
important assets.
Just as a person who works long and hard to accumulate a fortune
would not want to squander it, Digital does not want its valuable
assets, such as the VAX trademark, diminished or lost. This is
why it is important that all Digital employees understand
trademarks and know how to use them correctly.
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| No Abbreviations
Do not abbreviate or add a prefix to a trademark. For example, it
is incorrect to say "NVAX" or "nVAX". This makes it difficult to
identify VAX as a mark and it weakens the strength of the
trademark.
Avoid Variations
Be consistent about the use of trademarks, e.g., always use
ALL-IN-1 in that exact form. Do not change the spelling or insert
or delete hyphens, make one word into two, combine two words
together or split a mark on two lines.
Handle with Care
Trademarks must be handled with care because improper use can
destroy the legal protection granted a trademark. If the
consuming public comes to treat a trademark as the name of a
product, rather than a designation for one particular brand of the
product, the name will no longer identify and distinguish the
goods of one manufacturer. The trademark then becomes a generic
term, which means it is available for anyone to use.
Generally, it is a manufacturer's advertising or labeling that is
at fault when a trademark is lost by conversion to a generic term.
Well-known examples of trademarks that have become generic in the
United States are kerosene, escalator, aspirin, yo-yo, milk of
magnesia, lanolin, dry ice and zipper.
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