Nextel Claims Trademarks On "Push To Talk" and "PTT"

dmurawsky writes "According to an article at Forbes, Nextel announced that it had been awarded a primary trademark for the term 'PTT' and a Secondary trademark for 'Push To Talk.' Now maybe it's just me, but this term has been used in the radio world for around 60 years. I would have thought it was in the public domain by now. I wonder how Motorola or other radio manufacturers are going to take this. Here's a discussion of the topic at QRZ, an amateur radio forum." Update: 06/24 01:03 GMT by T : Thanks to reader Dan Horn for pointing out the flubbed original headline: Yes, this is about trademarks, rather than patents.

Comments

Re:Not A Big Deal

[Kaeru the Frog]

But isn't it like an ice cream company trademarking the word vanilla? Its a term that is commonly used in the telcommunications field, is it not?

Re:Toll charges for local calls...

[Anonymous Coward]

Motorola does not "own" Nextel.. they didn't create Nextel at all. Motorola
came up with iDEN and several carriers around the world use it. Motorola
happens to own stock in Nextel (which they sold most of earlier this year),
but they definately don't own or didn't create the company. I think many
people needs to do some investigation before they make thenselves out to be
an ass and post/say stupid things like that :-)

The reason Nextel is all Motorola is because iDEN was made and is Patented
by Motorola. Therefore, legally, Motorola is the only company that can make
iDEN phones. Obviously if you created the "technology" of something, you're
also going to be the one that makes all the hardware/software/interfaces,
etc... right? Thus the reason why Nextel uses all Motorola equiptment.

Re:Better question

[DigitalJEM]

It's so nice using DC over a standard phone for the meer reason that it cuts out so much of the BS chitter chatter :D

Re:Toll charges for local calls...

[adolf]

*sigh*

I believe that you think you're right.

I work for one of the most successful full-line Motorola two-way radio dealers in the US. As it happens, parts of the company also work closely with Nextel service agents.

The dirt from the chiefs who create my payroll say this: Motorola wants a cell phone network, and starts making noises about creating one. Regulatory bodies get outwardly twitchy about it. Nextel is born.

I'd rather believe my well-informed rumors than your polished-and-pretty SEC garbage, AC.

Thanks, though, for the opinion.

During the day?

[siskbc]

HAMs don't need no stinking satellites, that's what the ionosphere is for.

At night, yeah. But for those who would like to bounce signals a long way during the day, satellites might be nice.