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Dell Tries To Trademark "Cloud Computing"

Posted by kdawson on from the head-in-the-clouds-or-perhaps-some-other-orifice dept.

Ian Lamont writes "The Industry Standard reports that Dell is trying to trademark the term cloud computing . The phrase entered the tech lexicon years ago, but Dell's application (serial number 77139082) was made in early 2007 to the US Patent and Trademark Office, apparently in connection with data center products and services that it was promoting around that time. A quick search of Google News indicates that Dell itself did not use the term in press releases or discussions with indexed English-language media sources from 1996 to 2006. Dell is not the first company to attempt to trademark this term: The Standard notes that NetCentric, a company that provided 'carrier-class Internet fax technology,' also gave it a shot in the late 1990s, but was rejected."

28 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. New coin term: trademark troll by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And here I thought that only happened with patents.

    1. Re:New coin term: trademark troll by StreetStealth · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The obviousness of some of the colloquial expressions protected under trademark in the US is sometimes quite surprising. Dish soap marketers, for instance, must be careful in how they describe the effective concentration of their product, because "a little goes a long way(tm)" is a trademark of P&G group.

      --
      Your mind is clear / The things that you fear / Will fade with how much you / Believe what you hear
    2. Re:New coin term: trademark troll by damn_registrars · · Score: 2, Funny

      Be careful where you use that term, or someone could trademark it and sue you for infringement.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    3. Re:New coin term: trademark troll by 5of0 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You think that's bad, I passed a Carl's Jr. truck (Hardees to you east of the Mississippi) that said "It's Rude To Stare" next to a picture of their burger, and they had apparently trademarked the phrase, as it had a "TM" after it. And it was to the left of the burger, so it's not like they were trademarking the burger itself.

      I even found a picture of the truck (the TM isn't visible, but it's there, just to the upper-right of the "It's Rude To Stare"). Is there something I'm missing, or is the trademark world just that ridiculous?

      --
      You all have Oo.o and Firefox, so get World Wind.
    4. Re:New coin term: trademark troll by Free+the+Cowards · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You have to remember that trademarks are much more limited than, say, patents.

      If you patent something, you have exclusive say in who gets to use that patent for its lifetime. You can license it out at a price you decide, you can market your own product in a monopolistic fashion, or you can just sit on it. You can prevent anyone else from using something described in your patent, even if they invent it independently, even if they only use it privately, even if they're using it for something totally different than what you originally envisioned.

      Trademark, on the other hand, only applies to a specific area of business. For example, you could have an Apple Records and an Apple Computer both trademarking the name "Apple" with no conflict. (The famous serious of lawsuits between the two was over Apple Computer's various forays into music.)

      So yeah, you can trademark "It's Rude To Stare", but you're not going to get in trouble for using it with your vacuum cleaner business, and you're certainly not going to get in trouble for using it in everyday life.

      --
      If you mod me Overrated, you are admitting that you have no penis.
  2. Not only sneaky morals, but... by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 4, Funny

    Cloudy thinking by Dell.

    1. Re:Not only sneaky morals, but... by Ihmhi · · Score: 3, Funny

      Their heads are not that high. Think about 3 feet off of the ground and behind them.

      --
      Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
    2. Re:Not only sneaky morals, but... by EdIII · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "Xeroxing" is not, and was never, a technical term. It's the name of a company, Xerox, that makes copy machines.

      Uhhhh, I call bullshit on that. I grew up with people calling the act of copying a piece of paper "Xeroxing". Xerox made the first copy machines. It was obvious for people to use the name and create a new word. It IS a technical term. It describes an action that is specifically related to a specific action with a specific technology.

      That is my whole point. They made the first copiers and the people responded by using the corporate name Xerox to describe that very act. It is just as valid as anything else. The longer people use it, the more valid it becomes in fact. Language is constantly evolving and they add new words all the time. It is not up to you or I to determine the validity of a term. The majority made it, therefore it exists.

      Sigh. Did you even RTFS? Dell is trying to *trademark* the term, which is something completely different than a patent. The difference is brought up in almost every single article on /. involving copyrights, trademarks or patents. How can anybody not know the difference by now?

      Take it easy. I know what the difference is between copyright, trademarks, and patents. I misspoke. It happens.

      Instead of poking fun at my mistake, why not address my argument directly? Dell attempting to get a trademark on a well defined technical term is not about protecting anything original to them. It's dirty and will most likely fail. I was pointing out that it is motivated by greed and an attempt to secure an unfair and undeserved advantage over their competitors.

      It would be like Pepsi or Coke trying to trademark "soda". It can't be done, shouldn't be tried, and is pretty silly to anyone considering it. So is cloud computing and Dell.

    3. Re:Not only sneaky morals, but... by EdIII · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I didn't agree or disagree with your argument because you don't seem to know what you're talking about.

      I think it's clear that I do know what I am talking about. Once again, you use a distasteful tactic to make a point. You have yet to make any productive comment about Dell's attempt to trademark a well known term, yet still persist in attacking me personally over a disagreement about whether or not a term exists in one of my examples.

      Kind of pointless. Whether you acknowledge it or not, "Xeroxing" is part of our language. You can rant against that all you want. Apparently, instead of discussing it rationally, you just want to lobby personal attacks.

      Bravo.

  3. Where was this article in July? by LostCluster · · Score: 5, Informative

    The first comment to the article links to the USPTO page for the applicatoin where the status shows that the opposition period went by without anybody noticing, so the mark is one step closer to being validated. It appears only the dependable USPTO is left to block this thing on its own.

    1. Re:Where was this article in July? by LostCluster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Attempted humor in an otherwise serious post... not a good idea on /. I guess.

  4. Cloud opportunity by darealpat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was struck by the comment at the end of the article by a trademark attorney that no-one had opposed it when it was initially published. I think that points to a fundamental flaw in the process: who knows of or sees these things in order to oppose them?

    Perhaps that is the clouded thinking that permeates the USPTO and the tech entities that use them to further their cause.

    --
    For every present, there is a past
  5. USPTO record by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here is the U.S. Patent and Trademark listing: CLOUD COMPUTING

  6. I have a great idea for a new patent! by NoobixCube · · Score: 3, Funny

    A device for generating heat based on the constricted flow of subatomic particles through metallic pathways, embedded in a fabric base for easy folding and heat distribution! I call it an "electric blanket" :)

    --
    Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
  7. wtf?? by CranberryKing · · Score: 2, Funny

    ..like Al Gore did in creating the internet.

    Wait, I thought AOL created the Internet.

    1. Re:wtf?? by MrMage · · Score: 3, Funny

      If Al Gore or AOL created the internet, then why does every internet address begin with www? Bush clearly left his mark on the tubes.

  8. Re:Why not? by urcreepyneighbor · · Score: 3, Informative

    Microsoft trademarked "windows."

    Which only applies to operating systems, computers and related crap. It does not cover the use of the word for sheets of glass.

    Trademark law seems a little less insane than copyright. At least, to a layman.

    --
    "The fight for freedom has only just begun." - Geert Wilders
  9. Anybody by dereference · · Score: 3, Informative

    who knows of or sees these things in order to oppose them?

    Anybody. The marks are published weekly for opposition. The latest few are available as PDF downloads free of charge; follow the link and you can even subscribe to the paper copy (for merely $1,536/year).

  10. Too bad by ceoyoyo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Maybe if Dell patented it we could go back to calling servers "servers."

  11. I say let them have it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... if it means nobody else will be able to say "cloud computing" anymore I am all for it. Now it someone would have been able to trademark Web 2.0 life would be good.

  12. Who else is using it? by LostCluster · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "Cloud computing" is one of those "next big thing" products here on slashdot, but who's actually using the term in their marketing? Plenty of people are selling "cloud" applications, but nobody's calling it that as most people think of "the cloud" as untrustworthy.

    Is there an actual case of somebody like Amzaon's s3 actually calling themselves "cloud computing"?

  13. Fired by johndmartiniii · · Score: 2, Funny

    Didn't some asshole try to trademark "You're fired" a few years ago. Sheesh.

    --
    If you don't know what you're doing, you can't make mistakes.
  14. Re:Why not? by PitaBred · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Except that the "window" was a concept that was known to many OS's before Microsoft got ahold of it. Same case here with Cloud Computing. You should not be able to trademark a name of a generic concept or practice.

    --
    My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
  15. Why "cloud computing", just isn't that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...special, brings up images of warm spring days and cute fluffy bunny rabbits and various chick flick scenes and [voice="George Carlin"] BULLLLLL SHIT! Get that "sensitive" guy out of the damn room! Who wants a "cloud" computer, give me a category 10 hurricane computer with some richtor 25 earthquake RAM! And Krakatoa I/O!

  16. Re:Why not? by ceoyoyo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why not? So you can't call your operating system "Windows." You are perfectly free to refer to the square things in your OS as windows. And every GUI OS I know of does so.

    It's a stupid name anyway.

  17. The trademark has been allowed. by Animats · · Score: 4, Informative

    A Notice of Allowance was issued on July 8. Examination is over. Nobody objected during the objection period. So Dell owns "CLOUD COMPUTING" as a trademark. The remaining processing is just paperwork - publication in the Official Gazette, and printing and mailing the trademark certificate to Dell.

  18. Great!!! by Dynedain · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now could someone please trademark Web 2.0 so we won't have to hear that stupid buzzword either?

    --
    I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
  19. Re:Ah Ha! First Post! by TeknoHog · · Score: 2, Funny

    What about just 'cloud'? Can can trademark the sky!

    I'm afraid Can can is already trademarked.

    --
    Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.