[pp.int.general] trademarks

[Patrick Maechler v/o Valio]

Reinier Bakels wrote:
> Let me get back to basics. In our society, there are no *fundamental*
> problems with trademarks.
How do you define fundamental?
I agree that the problems currently posed by copyright and patent law
are by far more severe.
Also I would never advertise to concentrate on the abolishment of any of
those "IP" laws in an electoral campaign, but rather on their
improvement. Abolishment is an extreme POV/aim, that cannot be achieved
within the current frame.

> or at least allows you, the founder and owner, to take legal action
> against imitators.
Without trademarks there are still various ways to take legal actions
against unfair competitors.

> Are you opposed against domain names? Yes, there is a "scarcity" in
> the sense that a domain name once chosen can not be given to anyone else. 
The current technical implementation of domain names make them scarce.
You do not create the scarcity out of a legislative idea in this case.

> I would suggest that PP concentrates on the *real* problems with
> trademarks in today's society. Like parallel imports. Like the ban on
> reselling products from outside the EU using trademarks (criminalising
> eBay users). Like trademark owners curtailing freedom of speech of
> critics using trademarks. Like litigation cost reduction. Like
> trademark trolls (they do exist!). Like bad faith registration.
As stated above, I completely agree with you there. But in your first
mail you asked whether they are *basically* okay or not. Therefor I
stated my philosophical POV, adding that trademarks can become a more
severe problem if the legislation process goes into a more exaggerated
direction.

> enforcement should be based on *private* action
Did you forgot the "not"?

> Isn't it nice that the poor people of the tiny republic of Tuvalu have
> become very rich by selling .tv domain names? Domain name .nu (Niue)
> is also popular. In Dutch and Swedish it means "now". In French it has
> a more exciting meaning ...
It might be nice, but I miss the connection to the overall discussion ;-)