NationStates Jolt Archive

Now that the UN told Max Barry to to stop using it's trademarks in NS I wonder what you think about trademark protection and why?

I didn't know Governing Bodies could have Trademarks, learn something new everyday.

wheres your poof

Now that the UN told Max Barry to to stop using it's trademarks in NS I wonder what you think about trademark protection and why?I prefer things that have eco labels on them to have eco in them. Without legal means to prohibit anyone from making such a label, the label becomes useless to a consumer.

Now that the UN told Max Barry to to stop using it's trademarks in NS I wonder what you think about trademark protection and why?
Too bad it isn't a trademark...
Anyway trademark cannot be registered "just for any kind of use". Let's suppose I sell hotdogs and want to use a logo sporting a three-pointed star inscribed in a circle: Mercedes-Benz cannot tell me anything, unless they registered their logo for the dairy sector, too.

Let's suppose I sell hotdogs and want to use a logo sporting a three-pointed star inscribed in a circle: Mercedes-Benz cannot tell me anything, unless they registered their logo for the dairy sector, too.
I always wondered what are they made of. Now I know :)

Now that the UN told Max Barry to to stop using it's trademarks in NS I wonder what you think about trademark protection and why?
Trademarks are Bad(TM).

wheres your poof
I keep him under the bed. ;)

I keep him under the bed. ;)

my work is done :p

next thing UN trademarks blue and white

I think that while it may be the proper thing to do Max Barry should not have changed it at all. The letter was sent to him at the start if the year and if the UN has yet to send a follow up letter than just leave it they may have forgotten about it and found something more important to do like selecting a new desk lamp.

They should have dismissed it and kept it they way it is until they got another warning from the UN

I think that while it may be the proper thing to do Max Barry should not have changed it at all. The letter was sent to him at the start if the year and if the UN has yet to send a follow up letter than just leave it they may have forgotten about it and found something more important to do like selecting a new desk lamp.


If this is true, all it means is that the UN is afraid NationStates is a competitor in the field of uselessness.

If this is true, all it means is that the UN is afraid NationStates is a competitor in the field of uselessness.

*trademarks Bann-ed*

If this is true, all it means is that the UN is afraid NationStates is a competitor in the field of uselessness.

Well if a follow up letter was sent I hope one of the mods will correct me on it

And yes they may be afraid but I think more importantly it was just the case that the laywers saw this and went straight into power drive and sent out this letter, as there is no follow up letter then it wasn't so important thus an empty threat which the mods and Max Barry should have dismissed and mainted the United Nations until such time when the UN decided to get more involved.

I went to make a country called United Nations or some variance but it seems all the variants at least the ones I could think of were used by former nations. Either that or the mods got involved and banned the usage

I do not believe in intellectual property at all, because it imposes restrictions onto real, tangible, scarce property. There is no reason that I shouldn't be able to, say, draw five concentric circles together seeing as how I have made no agreement with the Olympics to give away part or all of my title to the paper (BTW, a company called Alterac entertainment had to cease making its logo because the Olympics had the right to any configuration of five circles.)

The UN letter to Max over stepped current trademark laws.

The reason being is your allowed to use a trademark for fiction. Thats why movies do not have to ask every car manufacturer for permission ot use thier cars even if they leave the logo on it.

This is a fictional game based on a work of fiction. It is clearly acceptable under current trade mark laws to use the UN. Trade mark laws would only come into effect if Max was trying to suggest in real life he represented the UN in some way.

wheres your poof

What this poster said. And i ordered that waffle five minutes ago people, what sort of business are you supposed to be runn....ah, never mind about the waffle.
yay, i woke up late yesterday (5pm)and have now been awake through the whole night. Go me. *waves flag*

The UN letter to Max over stepped current trademark laws.

The reason being is your allowed to use a trademark for fiction. Thats why movies do not have to ask every car manufacturer for permission ot use thier cars even if they leave the logo on it.

This is a fictional game based on a work of fiction. It is clearly acceptable under current trade mark laws to use the UN. Trade mark laws would only come into effect if Max was trying to suggest in real life he represented the UN in some way.

Well according to Max Barry's blog which can be read via the news section of the NS website (yes I could link it people but I can't be bothered). He said he spoke to his attorney and he said that Max was in the wrong, maybe Max should be told about this especially if it is true and Max Barry might need to find a new solicitor if it is

Now that the UN told Max Barry to to stop using it's trademarks in NS I wonder what you think about trademark protection and why?

Wasn't that an april fools joke?

anyway, unlike other forms of copyright I don't see any problems with trademarks. It seems practical.

The UN letter to Max over stepped current trademark laws.

The reason being is your allowed to use a trademark for fiction. Thats why movies do not have to ask every car manufacturer for permission ot use thier cars even if they leave the logo on it.

This is a fictional game based on a work of fiction. It is clearly acceptable under current trade mark laws to use the UN. Trade mark laws would only come into effect if Max was trying to suggest in real life he represented the UN in some way.This isn't comparable to referring to the UN in a work of fiction. It's a game which functions similarly to the UN, while not being the same. Even MUN has "Model" added to it to avoid confusion with the real thing, and it actually functions pretty much the same way the UN does.
To be honest, I think the World Assembly being an original creation makes it much cooler anyway.

my work is done :p

next thing UN trademarks blue and white

Deutsche Telekom tried to trademark a shade of pink last year. They failed iirc.

This isn't comparable to referring to the UN in a work of fiction. It's a game which functions similarly to the UN, while not being the same. Even MUN has "Model" added to it to avoid confusion with the real thing, and it actually functions pretty much the same way the UN does.
To be honest, I think the World Assembly being an original creation makes it much cooler anyway.
It is fiction it is not the real world anyone with an IQ above 20 could see that.
No one who looks at the game would ever mistake this for the real UN....


Another issue and perhaps bigger why is the UN communicating directly with an American citizen. If the UN has a problem with something I do with in my own country they need to take it up with my state and let them decide what to do about it.

It is fiction it is not the real world anyone with an IQ above 20 could see that.

Well there's your problem.

they look pretty on shrink wrapped packaging in the toy store, but i like the atmosphere at the farmer's markets and local co-ops a whole lot better.

trademarking ought to be limited entirely to infrastructure trademarks and public transit color schemes, and people shouldn't have to buy secondary use rights to them to paint them on their miniature plastic scale models of such things either.

i can understand institutions protecting the integrity of their identity. i see nothing wrong with that. what i see as flawed and harmful is the commercial promotion of the brand name mentality.

i don't think people should intentionally immitate anything. there's a big universe out there and its insane to narrow and narrow and narrow our perceptions and our lives for the symbolic profit which gratifies nothing, ulitmately even for them, of the few and the expense of the many.

pretty colors and cryptic graphics are totally cool as decorations, preferably when their NOT connected with, nor symbolic of, any sort of coercive brainwashing, be it economic, political or elsewise.

=^^=
.../\...

It is fiction it is not the real world anyone with an IQ above 20 could see that.
No one who looks at the game would ever mistake this for the real UN....Not the point.
Another issue and perhaps bigger why is the UN communicating directly with an American citizen. If the UN has a problem with something I do with in my own country they need to take it up with my state and let them decide what to do about it.1) Max is Australian, not American.

2) I'm sure you've been told that before.

3) If the UN has a problem with something you're doing in their own country, they can sue you or contact you explaining they will sue you if you don't cease your activities without having to involve your government at all. In fact, depending on the issue, they might not even have to use your country's legal system to do so.