Re: New TLDs and Registry charters

["Joseph J. Kim" <jokim@server.Berkeley.EDU>]

On Mon, 9 Dec 1996, Daniel Kaplan wrote:

> A (At) 19:21 7/12/96, Joseph J. Kim ecrivait (wrote):
> 
> >I just want to clear up a point here.  When trademarks become "generic" as
> >you say in the case of "kleenex" or "aspirin" for that matter, they are _not_
> >removed.  The trademark owners are, however, denied any offensive rights
> >and so would have no real legal case against anyone using the term to
> >refer to tissue paper in general.
> 
> Right, but that's not the issue. The issue is wether you can register a
> "kleenex.com" or "kleenex.tiss" or "kleenex.xyz" domain. Clearly, if you
> don't own a plumbing company called kleenex, or if your name isn't kleenex,
> they have a case, they'll win in court, and I don't see why they shouldn't.
> Because chances are, if you *did* register that name, you had some
> intention of either stealing some of their customers, or harming them in
> some other ways.

Uhh.. ok.  But we have to keep _context_ in mind, because I could register
"kleenex.com" and if it were a company that sells different kinds of kleenex,
or a web site that treated the trademark in a context referring to kleenex as
the entire class of tissue products, then I would win any legal battle if 
the kleenex folks were to raise one.  

-jjk