...consider that organizations can lose their trademarks if they don't actively defend them against even vague and doubtful potential infringements. If they let this case slip without issuing a token C&D, it could be cited later by an actual competitor as grounds for permitting their own infringement.
That's not to say that the law isn't stupid, but the proper target for complaints about the stupidity of the law is your local congresscritter, not the lawyers who are just dealing with the laws as they are
[C]onsider that organizations can lose their trademarks if they don't actively defend them against even vague and doubtful potential infringements.
I agree with you that we shouldn't have a knee-jerk reaction against lawyers and I would add that there was not even a potential infringement here, the statment "the other white meat," was not being used in trade. Pork's lawyers should have waited till next April to send their complaint.
That's not to say that the law isn't stupid
It isn't stupid enough to permit this action. Moreover, the law which requires trade mark owners to defend their marks exists to ensure that abandoned marks don't memory leak.
Before having a knee-jerk anti-lawyer moment... (Score:5, Informative)
...consider that organizations can lose their trademarks if they don't actively defend them against even vague and doubtful potential infringements. If they let this case slip without issuing a token C&D, it could be cited later by an actual competitor as grounds for permitting their own infringement.
That's not to say that the law isn't stupid, but the proper target for complaints about the stupidity of the law is your local congresscritter, not the lawyers who are just dealing with the laws as they are
Re:Before having a knee-jerk anti-lawyer moment... (Score:3, Insightful)
[C]onsider that organizations can lose their trademarks if they don't actively defend them against even vague and doubtful potential infringements.
I agree with you that we shouldn't have a knee-jerk reaction against lawyers and I would add that there was not even a potential infringement here, the statment "the other white meat," was not being used in trade. Pork's lawyers should have waited till next April to send their complaint.
That's not to say that the law isn't stupid
It isn't stupid enough to permit this action. Moreover, the law which requires trade mark owners to defend their marks exists to ensure that abandoned marks don't memory leak.