Myspace’s iLike Rises From The Dead To Block An Apple Trademark Request

http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/26/myspaces-ilike-rises-from-the-dead-to-block-an-apple-trademark-request/

by answerly • 14 years ago

32 10 14 years ago

csmeder• 14 years ago

Cases like this set a bad precedent. This means Apple needs to be even more on the offensive than it has been: to not let this issue arise in the future.

This encourages companies to register every single trademark they might ever need - right now. This is sad news. It means they will register tons of trademarks they may never use. And this will stop you and I from being able to use these unused trademarks.

Strict trademark rulings hurt everyone in our community...

mtgx• 14 years ago

Pretty sure that Apple tried to trademark it as soon as they launched the new iTunes icon. It's just that they've now gotten the final decision that they can't because one that is very similar to that already exists.

If only the Patent Office worked this way, too - rejecting many more new patents because there's already prior art for that. The problem with the Patent Office is that it's not strict at all about what they validate and approve as a patent. Pretty much anything goes it seems, from what we've seen recently.

inetsee• 14 years ago

This case does not set a bad precedent. Apple could probably buy the trademark using spare change they could find under their sofa cushions. Or they could come up with an alternative. It took me about 5 seconds to come up with something different (change the background color (I like green), and add a treble clef to the left of the notes). Voila, an image just as musical and sufficiently different to pass a trademark examination.

Strict trademark rulings don't hurt everyone in our community. They prevent big corporations from steamrolling over small businesses.

enraged_camel• 14 years ago

>>Strict trademark rulings don't hurt everyone in our community. They prevent big corporations from steamrolling over small businesses.

Yep. My company recently caught a very large software vendor using our registered trademark slogan in their ads. After a lengthy court process, we were able to force them to license it. If it wasn't for trademark law, they would be benefiting from intellectual property we came up with, and as a much smaller company we would be powerless to stop them.

jfoutz• 14 years ago

Nah, apple has done this before. iPhone was actually in use by some cheap 2.4ghz wireless handset, before the jesus phone came out.

chrischen• 14 years ago

How are these services too similar? One gives me my music, the other is an "Oops! Google Chrome could not connect to ilike.com."

fourstar• 14 years ago

Even though I didn't read the article (I rarely read TC articles), I will have to say I think this is more of a publicity stunt than anything to prep for their "reboot".

billpg• 14 years ago

You can trademark standard music notation for a music service?

Myspace’s iLike Rises From The Dead To Block An Apple Trademark Request

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