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Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

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Re: Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

#21

Post by lutorm »

ZachPruckowski wrote: post #20
chopsueyar wrote: post #11

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm 7. What constitutes tradenmark infringement? If a party owns the rights to a particular trademark, that party can sue subsequent parties for trademark infringement. 15 U.S.C. �� 1114, 1125. The standard is "likelihood of confusion." To be more specific, the use of a trademark in connection with the sale of a good constitutes infringement if it is likely to…

The priest thing seems more legit to me than the Newegg thing. The priests were deliberately trying to "cash in"[1] on similarity between their brand and the Geek Squad brand, whereas Newegg was just trying to use the positive associations between the work "geek" (which Best Buy doesn't own) and computer buying. [1] - Personally I think there should be accommodations for the fact that it's non-commercial.

The "God squad" reminds me more of the "Mod squad", both in literal similarity and in the implementation. Maybe it's BestBuy who's on shaky ground here?

Re: Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

#22

Post by chopsueyar »

bhousel wrote: post #18
chopsueyar wrote: post #11

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm 7. What constitutes tradenmark infringement? If a party owns the rights to a particular trademark, that party can sue subsequent parties for trademark infringement. 15 U.S.C. �� 1114, 1125. The standard is "likelihood of confusion." To be more specific, the use of a trademark in connection with the sale of a good constitutes infringement if it is likely to…

They sued a priest driving around in a black Volkswagon Beetle with a God Squad logo that looks exactly like the Geek Squad logo. It may seem counter-intuitive, but Best Buy did the right and necessary thing to defend their trademark.

I can't tell you how many times I accidentally called the God Squad to fix my computer, thinking it was in fact, the Geek Squad.

Re: Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

#23

Post by hugh3 »

chopsueyar wrote: post #22
bhousel wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They sued a priest driving around in a black Volkswagon Beetle with a God Squad logo that looks exactly like the Geek Squad logo. It may seem counter-intuitive, but Best Buy did the right and necessary thing to defend their trademark.

I can't tell you how many times I accidentally called the God Squad to fix my computer, thinking it was in fact, the Geek Squad.

Not the point.

The point is that if they allow "God squad" to pass without comment, then they'll have to allow "Hot Dog Squad" as well. And then "Pho Squad" and "Grog Squad" will show up, followed by "Mop Squad" and "Pizza Squad" and "Gutter Cleaning Guy Squad". Pretty soon someone opens up a "Dork Squad" which is actually a Geek Squad competitor, but with the roads clogged with black and white and orange Beetles providing squad-themed services, there'll be enough precedent that it'll be impossible to defend.

That's a somewhat exaggerated scenario, but it's essentially the logic behind these apparently overly sensitive trademark defense cases.

Re: Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

#25

Post by hack_edu »

rmc wrote: post #9
wccrawford wrote: post #2

Someone the other day was commenting on the whole 'everyone wants to be a geek now' thing and wondering what to call true geeks now. I told him not to worry and that another word would soon be coined to make fun of the true geeks, as always happens. People just can't resist tormenting people who are different. I am a little surprised that it hasn't happened yet... But then, maybe I'm too old and not hip with the new…

Hacker. It's still a term that's viewed negatively by mainstream, so you're unlikely to see "Hacker Squad" signs.

But 'everyone' wants to be a hacker these days too. Read the top left corner of this website. We fought for a decade to redefine the word in the eyes of the public, and yet its quickly become defined as most any person interested in startup culture.

Re: Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

#26

Post by metellus »

hack_edu wrote: post #25
rmc wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hacker. It's still a term that's viewed negatively by mainstream, so you're unlikely to see "Hacker Squad" signs.

But 'everyone' wants to be a hacker these days too. Read the top left corner of this website. We fought for a decade to redefine the word in the eyes of the public, and yet its quickly become defined as most any person interested in startup culture.

The vast majority of people don't think "person interested in startup culture" when they hear the word hacker. In the eyes of the public, a hacker is someone who breaks into websites or writes viruses.

Re: Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

#27

Post by dkarl »

rmc wrote: post #9
wccrawford wrote: post #2

Someone the other day was commenting on the whole 'everyone wants to be a geek now' thing and wondering what to call true geeks now. I told him not to worry and that another word would soon be coined to make fun of the true geeks, as always happens. People just can't resist tormenting people who are different. I am a little surprised that it hasn't happened yet... But then, maybe I'm too old and not hip with the new…

Hacker. It's still a term that's viewed negatively by mainstream, so you're unlikely to see "Hacker Squad" signs.

Yeah, but it's a term that's used differently by the mainstream than by hackers, so you'd be constantly explaining yourself to avoid misperception. Constantly explaining what you mean is fatally geeky. It's better to use a word people don't know and only explain if they ask.

Re: Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

#28

Post by rmc »

dkarl wrote: post #27
rmc wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hacker. It's still a term that's viewed negatively by mainstream, so you're unlikely to see "Hacker Squad" signs.

Yeah, but it's a term that's used differently by the mainstream than by hackers, so you'd be constantly explaining yourself to avoid misperception. Constantly explaining what you mean is fatally geeky. It's better to use a word people don't know and only explain if they ask.

it's a term that's used differently by the mainstream than by hackers

Exactly like "geek". It used to be an insult.

Re: Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

#29

Post by nhangen »

ZachPruckowski wrote: post #20
chopsueyar wrote: post #11

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm 7. What constitutes tradenmark infringement? If a party owns the rights to a particular trademark, that party can sue subsequent parties for trademark infringement. 15 U.S.C. �� 1114, 1125. The standard is "likelihood of confusion." To be more specific, the use of a trademark in connection with the sale of a good constitutes infringement if it is likely to…

The priest thing seems more legit to me than the Newegg thing. The priests were deliberately trying to "cash in"[1] on similarity between their brand and the Geek Squad brand, whereas Newegg was just trying to use the positive associations between the work "geek" (which Best Buy doesn't own) and computer buying. [1] - Personally I think there should be accommodations for the fact that it's non-commercial.

Yeah, because as we all know, that priests are all about raking in the Benjamins.

Re: Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called

#30

Post by burgerbrain »

dkarl wrote: post #27
rmc wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hacker. It's still a term that's viewed negatively by mainstream, so you're unlikely to see "Hacker Squad" signs.

Yeah, but it's a term that's used differently by the mainstream than by hackers, so you'd be constantly explaining yourself to avoid misperception. Constantly explaining what you mean is fatally geeky. It's better to use a word people don't know and only explain if they ask.

My solution is to simply not clarify, and let people think the worse. Crime is glamorous.
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