THELOGICALINDIAN - n-a
Vitalik, we’ve got to talk. It has appear to our absorption that your foundation has been application the “Ethereum” mark for several years now. However, my aggregation has endemic the “Ethereum” brand anytime back we registered it aftermost week. Back we accept not accustomed you permission to use our trademark, we’re activity to charge you to accelerate us 3-5 Eth.
But don’t worry, we’ll accelerate you more ETH back.
The above-mentioned branch ability complete like a bad joke. But brand law is no bedlam matter, and a UK-based abundance has been ordered to stop infringing on addition company’s trademark. The behind material? T-shirts with the chat “Bitcoin.”
The Cease-and-Desist consisted of several scary-looking pages of legalese from a law close apery “the buyer of the BITCOIN trademark.”
“[Our client] has not accustomed your use of the BITCOIN barter mark on and in affiliation to clothing,” the letter states, afore aggressive that they “will accordingly accomplish should it be all-important to accompany affairs adjoin you for Barter Mark Infringement,” with added threats of injunctions, amercement and acknowledged proceedings.
It’s usually nice to end belletrist on a balmy note, and the attorneys continued a badge of their clients’ generosity. “Our applicant charcoal agog to burden from bringing acknowledged affairs adjoin you,” provided the agent attach to a continued account of demands, including sending the adversary their unsold commodity and accordant to pay “any accounting demands.”
A New Kind of Trolling
Although our Etsy storeowner hid the character of their belligerent correspondent, it didn’t booty abundant sleuthing to acquisition the culprit. ABC IP Holdings SouthWest LLC registered the UK Trademark for BITCOIN aback in December. The mark allows them absolute use of the chat “BITCOIN” in three categories, from “adhesive bras” to “yellow rice wine.” A abounding account of all the categories in which the brand has been claimed is available in PDF anatomy here.
Interestingly, ABC IPHOLDING is additionally pursing a brand for “WESTWORLD,” which is abiding to amuse HBO.
This isn’t the aboriginal time addition approved to booty acclaim for Bitcoin (lookin’ at you, Craig Wright). Patent trolling is added common—since cerebration up an abstraction is abundant cheaper than seeing it to fruition, abounding companies book patents and let others do the abundant lifting.
Cryptocurrencies are open-sourced, authoritative them decidedly accessible to cast trolling. There’s no one aggregation amenable for attention the brand, the foundations accept bound funds, and with trademarks, you use them or lose them.
Litecoin has faced several similar cases, causing several headaches for the nonprofit Foundation. One would anticipate that the actuality that Litecoin already existed as a artefact and article would be aegis enough. “That would accomplish the best faculty from a analytic perspective,” wrote a analysis in CoinJournal, but argumentation isn’t abundant area board are concerned.
Dogecoin additionally got apathetic by a few brand fleas which resulted in some beefing bawl in the Shibe community.
Can you absolutely brand Bitcoin? Really?
The abbreviate acknowledgment is, not for long. In the UK (as in the US) descriptive words cannot be trademarked. You could trademark a beyond phrase, like “HODL BITCOIN,” or a specific font/color combo, but the chat itself is fair game.
The acumen is explained by Sausser Summers PC, on a website agreeably blue-blooded onlinetrademarkattorneys.com. Because “BITCOIN is a accepted appellation to call a blazon of agenda currency,” the attorneys say, anyone can use the chat “Bitcoin” and no one can affirmation buying of it.
That doesn’t stop bodies from trying, and sometimes they get lucky. The catechism has appear up before, with a little aggregation alleged Mt. Gox. Although the barter auspiciously registered the name “Bitcoin,” it apparently shouldn’t accept been granted. IP attorneys told CoinDesk that “It may be that the brand examiner attractive at this appliance wasn’t absolutely abiding what it was, and aloof gave it to them.”
However, arduous a brand is no accessible task, alike if ABC IPHoldings is not the absolute name of Satoshi Nakomoto. Patent (and trademark) trolls await on alarming their opponents with acknowledged fees, and the blackmail usually works. You’d accept to advertise a lot of T-shirts to accomplish that accusation worthwhile.
At atomic Vitalik Buterin can beddy-bye easy, though. The Ethereum Foundation has covered its bases, and fabricated abiding to register its trademarks.
The columnist is invested in Ether and Bitcoin. Trademarks pending.
