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Dell Loses Bid To Trademark "Cloud Computing"
1sockchuck writes "The USPTO has issued a 'non-final determination' refusing Dell's request to trademark the term 'cloud computing' (we discussed the application earlier), finding that the term is generic and 'therefore incapable of functioning as a source-identifier for applicant's services.' According to Data Center Knowledge, 'Dell has the option of filing a response to submit arguments to dispute the USPTO examiner's findings.'" Here is the USPTO's ruling. A week and a half ago the PTO cancelled its 'notice of allowance' for the mark, a move little remarked upon at the time.
"blogosphere"
Another term as bad as "cloud computing".
To do something right, you often have to roll up your sleeves and get busy.
I work for a company (a bank) that seems to apply a trade/service-mark to random word combos in at least every third or forth sentence of any marketing--even internal materials. I envisage a child claiming "mine" all the time or using a label maker ad nauseam.
"...objectivity resides in recognizing your preferences, subjecting them to especially harsh scrutiny." -Gould
Wikipedia to the rescue: Cloud computing
In short, it is a service where apps and data are stored "in the cloud" -- the cloud refers to the symbol used in diagrams to depict a network you have no knowledge nor control of the technology. Kinda like a black box, but very buzzword-worthy and makes you look cool. For example, Apple's Mobile Me is a cloud computing. It stores web 2.0 apps that you use to sync your computer with other devices. You don't need to know how Mobile Me works at Apple's data center, you just need to take care the business at your end like configuring what devices you want to connect to the cloud. You can push data from your computer to the cloud back to your iPhone and vice versa.
google terms: monsanto sue neighboring field
results:
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Corporations/PSchmeiser_Monsanto.html
Googling for the litigant (Percy Schmeiser) brings multiple sources for the lawsuit, including wikipedia
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
http://xkcd.com/181/
Specialization is for insects. -Heinlein
After having been through the area - I'll take 'legal' blame and fight that one in a heart beat. They tried that up here in Maine and got their asses handed to them. They're the makers of Round-Up and Agent Orange as I recall?
Maine doesn't have as many potato acres as Idaho but I guess we're second. They tried similar crap up in Houlton, Maine (way up north) and got tossed out on their asses. Sort of like the RIAA got tossed out. We're not a commonwealth but we seem to treat out of staters that way.
Illinois and Indiana both had strange signs marking the brand of crop they were growing, that was odd to me but then we went west. I'd never seen that before.
GM foods have a place, I think that place is in the bellies of hungry people or people who opt to eat it. My understanding is that they have things like the golden seed which will grow fricken rice in the damned near desert but it is unaffordable and doesn't germinate.
So, yeah. Post non-AC and blame it on me. Say I stole control of your PC... They can ask /. and they can give 'em my IP and they can come try that here in Maine. Potato, blueberry, and timber is all we have left. They, like the RIAA, were tossed out on their arses. I was amused.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Did you actually look up the trademarks for those?
Last I heard, the trademarks Microsoft owns are on "Microsoft Word," "Microsoft Windows," and "Microsoft Office." Why? Because Word, Windows, and Office are too generic.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
Uh, no. Cloud computing is a buzzword for non heirachical distributed infrastructure for services. If you have a set of nodes and any node can be any type of server, and the control of which node runs which service is part of a distributed infrastructure which self nominates nodes for running services based on some metric such as speed of storage, local need or need for offsite redundancy then you're in the cloud. Control of the cloud is yet another redundant self managed service.
Help stamp out iliturcy.