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Dell Loses Bid To Trademark "Cloud Computing"

Posted by kdawson on from the answer-cloudy-try-again-later dept.

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.

4 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Humanity by bigtallmofo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Does it make anyone else sad when they think that there are fellow members of our race that would patent breathing if they could and would idly watch people that couldn't afford to pay their licensing fees suffocate?

    --
    I'm a big tall mofo.
    1. Re:Humanity by Renraku · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Maybe it'll come to that one day. Look at what Monsanto pulls. Trust me, if Monsanto had their way, they'd own all food production in the US. Then they'd jack the prices up 50x, since its been shown that we Americans have enough disposable income to be able to make it to work and back when gas prices rise 400% in two years.

      1. Plant a field of GM crops.

      2. Test neighbor's crops for patented GM markers.

      3. Sue neighbor when nature spreads the GM genetic markers to other fields.

      4. Profit, force neighbor to burn their crops.

      5. Buy out their field and plant a field of GM crops, watch his neighbors get nervous.

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      Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
  2. Not quite so sudden by FilterMapReduce · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This article is tagged "suddenoutbreakofcommonsense", but U.S. trademark law is typically endowed with a little more common sense (a little) than copyrights and patents, the other major areas of IP law. For example, how trademarks can only be held so long as they're actually in use. Compare this to copyrights applying for the life of the author plus seventy years; as a result, abandonware sites can and often are prevented from providing software titles years after the publishers have ever tried to make them available for a profit, or at all.

    I expected that Dell would lose this ridiculous trademark bid and I'm pleased that the USPTO acted appropriately. Nonetheless, I'm sure that my fellow Slashdotters will be all too happy to expose my ignorance by providing plenty of counterexamples of trademark-related idiocy.

  3. Re:too bad by jlarocco · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Cloud computing" is the "web 2.0" buzzword for "Internet". It's used primarily to confuse investors and venture capitalists who remember how poorly the "... on the internet" fad turned out in the late 90s.

    The other words were made up to help solidify the illusion that "cloud computing" is something new.

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    Maybe not