Intel Corp (INTC)

[Windsock]

There was a lot of discussion on trademarks and all of it missed the legal mark. So here is a bare bones Trademarks 101.

First, the whole area of what constitutes a valid trademark and trademark infringement is pretty subtle. But it makes for great conversation fun over a beer or two.

A trademark is a word or symbol that designates the source or quality of goods. A trademark is a noun and "trademarked" is not an appropriate verb. You take actions to make a valuable trademark and protect that mark. An invention is patented and a trademark is protected and enhanced.

A coined word makes a very good trademark. It starts with no descriptive meaning and the effort of the owner establishes the meaning as aource or symbol of quality. Examples are Kodak, Xerox, and Pentium.

Good trademarks can become descriptive if they are widely used as a name of the product. Aspirin was once a trademark of Bayer but it came to mean the product -- acetylsalicylic acid. Kimberly Clark works hard to maintain the usage Kleenex (R) brand facial tissues so the mark does not become generic.

Purely descriptive terms can not become trademarks. Examples are yellow for bananas and fast for a processor.

Words that have a meaning can become a trademark if they have secondary meaning that allow them to serve the function of a trademark.

The standard for trademark infringement is likelihood of infringement. The same mark can be used on different goods if there is no likelihood of confusion. 'Total' for a mainframe data base can coexist with 'Total' for a cereal.

The sophistication of the buyer is also a factor. Buyers of a nuclear reactor for generating electric power have much more product relevant knowledge than retail consumers that buy TV sets. A relevant situation here is that server OEMs who buy Xeon processors and fortune 500 companies who buy Xeon powered systems are more sophisticated than retail buyers of laptop computers.

Famous marks are entitled to more protection than ordinary marks. The buyer is more likely to have knowledge of the famous mark than an obscure mark. The use of Chevrolet on most any product -- not just automobile stuff -- would likely confuse many consumers.

A corollary to famous marks are weak trademarks. Dictionary words that have common usage and little secondary meaning provide limited exclusive rights.

The R in a circle symbol designates a registered trademark that has superior rights. The TM symbol means that the owner "asserts" trademark rights. The owner may have trademark rights, limited rights or no rights at all. Use of the TM symbol for Yellow on bananas does not generate any rights -- it is merely descriptive.

Intel is a a famous and very strong trademark. Pentium is a coined word and a very strong trademark. Core is a very dodgy trademark. The statement that a processor has 4 cores is a purely descriptive usage. The usage Intel (R) Core (TM) 2 Duo processor uses two trademarks for a product. The association of Intel with Core enhances the secondary meaning and strengthens the Core trademark. The usage Core (TM) 2 Duo has a growing secondary meaning. Notice that "2" and "Duo" are purely descriptive.