Week 7 Articles
http://www.davesenior.com/if-the-sony-blu-ray-folks-were-smart-hd-dvd-trademark-firesale/2008/
With Toshiba officially marking the end of HD-DVD, the Blu-ray camp is now in full swing. As retailers make room for Blu-ray players on their shelves, what happens to uninformed buyers? In an interesting topic brought up over at Davesenior.com, a buyer that doesn’t do research still has a likely chance of buying the fading HD player instead of a Blu-ray: the naming convention is incredibly elementary after all. Between common things HD Video and HDTV, the untrained eye would assume HD-DVD to be the highest end format they’ll be buying. The solution for some? Merge the trademarks. This fits in perfectly with those that believe we’ll be calling Blu-ray HD soon enough.During our class 12 and 13 discussion of trademark, we normally relate to prominent cases. I thought this issue was an interesting class relation because it follows a tangent we haven’t explored much: trademark cooperating instead of conflicting. Time will be the true judge of what merges in the long run, but combined efforts may yield less competition, and perhaps even a better end product.
Radio Trademark Battles
http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/$rol.exe/headline_id=n17741
ROL (Radio Online) has recently renewed trademark infringement claims against XM radio based on operation name over web streams: XM radio uses “XM Radio Online” as its quick tag, which ROL claims is “clearly causing confusion.” ROL also claims that XM is diluting their distinctive quality.While it is nowhere near the level of popularity it achieved in years passed, radio is still a valid part of today’s media society. As we discussed in class 12, Infringement suits don’t always come up based off of blatant and direct theft issues, but often over “brand confusion” as well. In a competitive market where name and brand advertisement mean so much, brand holders have resorted to extreme and savage measures of protecting their identity at all cost. Who are they with no name?
Domain names and Infringement
How important is domain name? Critical. A recent article in the localtechwire online column posted a detailed breakdown on the first-come first serve basis of domain name registration. The article also encourages users to conduct careful research before making a domain name choice, as well as how to protect themselves from liability and misleading an audience. As we touched on in class 12, confusion can be a hot point for beginning a suit. With the ever expanding web and tech culture, the demands on the user to become more advanced and integrated with current trends is undeniable. More individuals (especially those in Multimedia-based fields) need to equip themselves with knowledge as soon and as thoroughly as possible
