Why does JW.org need a registered trademark?

by cedars 35 Replies latest jw friends

  • LostGeneration
    LostGeneration

    Not an expert in trademarks, but I have some experience with domains.

    Having a trademark can help protect a domain if it isn't registered, or if they forget to renew it. Looking up jw.org on a "who is" search shows it is registered through March 6th, 2013. Kinda weird it isn't registered for as far out as possible, I mean domains are only $10 a year or so.

    But if there is ever a dispute over a domain name in court, having a trademark can help win the case. Still I don't get why they have to put the "TM" on the back of their magazine, looks dumb.

    I also checked the US database found here: www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp

    I don't see anything under jw.org registered in that office.

  • wannabefree
    wannabefree

    My guess would be it is their favicon for the website and they trademark it so nobody else tries to incorporate it in their website and have it show up as the favicon in the address bar ... just think of all of the chaos it would cause the entire world to think that the favorites bookmark of an apostate website might have the same icon as jw.org, the horror of it.

  • therevealer
    therevealer

    I could be wrong, but I think it has something to do with their being pathetic idiots.

  • Yan Bibiyan
    Yan Bibiyan

    Jehovah TM told them...

  • LostGeneration
    LostGeneration

    And therevealer nails it.... Really they are all about "legalism" so this fits right in.

    Yan- Maybe they can slip that into a future WT study article - "Jehovah - The Great Trademarker"

  • Yan Bibiyan
    Yan Bibiyan

    "Jehovah - The Great Trademarker"

    Sounds like a great slogan.

    Better hurry up and trademark it: Jehovah - The Great Trademarker TM

  • Pterist
    Pterist

    LostGeneration...yes, the Whoiswho shows its registered by Melbourne IT, Australia's largest domain name registrar. Maybe they intend to go privacy services, and protected it with the trademark ??!!

    5. premium whois privacy services
    Because your domain record is public for all to see, some registrars want to upsell you to "privacy services" or "whois masking", "private registration", where they put their own info in the whois record instead of yours.

    The important thing to know here is that in the eyes of the domain Registry to which all the Registrars interact, and the Registry's oversight body (like ICANN, or in Canada, CIRA), whoever is listed in the domain whois record as the domain Registrant is the legal owner of the domain name. Keep that in mind, if you use a service like this, they own the domain, not you, notwithstanding whatever contract or Terms of Service you enter into with them to "own" this name on your behalf. If it lands in a dispute proceeding it will be an open and shut case: they own the name.

    Taking it one step further, some "privacy" services will get you to sign up for the whois privacy service and then they turn around and happily offer to sell your true data to anybody else who cares to pay for it.

  • minimus
    minimus

    Cedars,what Sir said. Don't look too much into this stuff or you'll go crazy!

  • kurtbethel
    kurtbethel

    Again, I struggle to see the justification for registering a trademark for a logo to a website address when the website in question is not supposed to be commercial in nature.

    You say it's not commercial, they never said that.

    It is a big money making corporation, and much of their activities center around developing and sustaining their commercial activities. This includes developing brand loyalty (don't read other company's literature) and protecting their brand by enforcing copyright and trademarks. The "non profit" legalism they hide behind is a bit of legal fiction they can do by using the cover of a religion.

  • cedars
    cedars

    minimus

    Cedars,what Sir said. Don't look too much into this stuff or you'll go crazy!

    Thanks, but I'm not losing sleep over it. Your mattress situation, on the other hand, is another matter entirely!

    Cedars

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