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May 27, 2006
O'Reilly to IT@Cork: Stop using our Web 2.0 Service Mark
O'Reilly has sent a cease-and-desist letter to IT@Cork, demanding that they not use "Web 2.0" in the title of their conference. Sara Winge, O'Reilly VP of Corporate Communications explains why on the O'Reilly corporate blog.
May 27, 2006 in News | Permalink
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Comments
Everyone has the right to protect his intellectual property. But it appears that O’Reilly may not have protected his. A genericized trademark is “a trademark or brand name which is often used as the colloquial description for a particular type of product or service as a result of widespread popular or cultural usage.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark
I have read that in America and other countries, for years, there have been numerous conferences and other events with “Web 2.0” in the name. http://blog.softtechvc.com/2006/05/the_web_20_lega.html
If this is true, then since O’Reilly and his company did not previously enforce their rights and send Cease & Desist letters to *those* conference organizers, it seems to me that “Web 2.0” has been allowed to become a genericized trademark. Hence, trademark rights may no longer be enforceable or at least it may be difficult for O’Reilly and crew to now legally enforce their rights. A long list of other genericized trademarks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks
Also, see the very brief opinion of The Trademark Blog on this topic: http://www.schwimmerlegal.com/2006/05/web_20_v_web_20.html
Posted by: Kal | May 30, 2006 1:24:21 AM
