US PTO registered 103 Trademarks containing word Adobe, 18 of them consist of only one word:"Adobe" and only one of the latter is registered by Adobe we are talking about.
In 1997 adobe dropped trademark: "Adobe Type Set" :
ADOBE TYPE SET
Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 009. US 038. G & S: computer programs for creating fonts. FIRST USE: 19900221. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE:
19900221
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Cancellation Date October 13, 1997
I would suggest KIllustrator register it in its name and use as a part of KIllustrator Package
About registered trademarks containing word "Illustrator" and who owns them read my previous posting in this thread
US Patent and Trademark Office registered 26 trademarks containing word "Illustrator", all except two are registered by entities other than Adobe. Here are some of the examples (Adobe TM's are marked so):
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR
SIMPLE ILLUSTRATOR
DATABASE ILLUSTRATOR
ILLUSTRATOR [by Adobe, filing date September 19, 1995]
PEAK VIDEO ILLUSTRATOR
BIBLE ILLUSTRATOR
ILLUSTRATOR [not by Adobe, filing date April 24, 1990]
ILLUSTRATOR [not by Adobe, filing date April 4, 1979]
PC ILLUSTRATOR [not by Adobe,filing date May 13, 1985]
HIGH-RESOLUTION VECTOR ILLUSTRATOR/HVI
THE ILLUSTRATOR [not by Adobe, filing date August 7, 1981]
Furthermore, in its description of the trademark "Illustrator" Adobe have a lot of clames, but remarkably misses the crucial one: vector-based drawing tool:
"Word Mark:
ILLUSTRATOR
Goods and Services (covered/clamed):
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: computer software for use in graphic design, desktop publishing, electronic publishing, printing,
artistic and technical drawing, creating fonts and typefaces, and special graphical and textual effects; computer software containing clip art,
and typefaces; and users' manuals and instructional books sold as a unit therewith. FIRST USE: 19861215. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE:
19861215 "
On the other hand, trademark "HIGH-RESOLUTION VECTOR ILLUSTRATOR/HVI" registered by ARTRONICS, INCORPORATED CORPORATION apparently does include vector technologies. This trademark was not renewed by the company.
I would suggest KIllustrator to register "KIllustrator" as a trademark, and include what Adobe missed: vector-based technology, and hurry before Adobe fixes the blunder.
The pattern is clear: Adobe is pushing the envelope and watching closely any opportunity to register as much as possible in its name. This is one of the advantages of a big company having many lawyers on payroll: they are just doing their job--scaring stupid competitors. Registering a trademark cost less than a thousand bucks, and potential benefits could be great. Neverhteless even big lawyers make mistakes--like not putting crucial "vector" description in the TM application, which effectively leaves it up for grabs, say to KIllustrator.
about other details see my previous posting on this subject.
You are wrong,
Just think for example of Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola both use Cola both names are registered trademarks, and one would have hard time finding more look alike products on the market than these two -- both look the same, taste the same for an average customer, both compete for the same market, etc.
It looks like Old Man Kensey knows something about trademarks, but not enough to make clear judgement.
Adobe is blatantly wrong in asking KIllustrator to change their name. I'm sure they know it very well and nevertheless chose to do so ether to get free coverage in the press for an outrageous frivolous law suit (just imagine how many talking heads will discuss this issue on all the channels, increasing public awareness of Adobe products) or to crash any new evolving competitive products on the market, the way Microsoft does. They obviously prey on the ignorance of people making Killustrator. Adobe claims have no legal merit -- there is no question that Killustrator is named following generally accepted practices, e.g. MS Word; WordPerfect, etc.; MS Office; StarOffice. Just think for example of Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola both use Cola both names are registered trademarks, and one would have hard time finding more look-alike products on the market than these two -- both look the same, taste the same for an average customer, both compete for the same market, etc. And there are many Colas in any supermarket logos of which look "suspiciously" close to that of ether brand.
Adobe called their product "Adobe Illustrator" because they knew very well when they were a small company that it would be impossible to defend the name "Illustrator" from anybody choosing to call their product "xxx something Illustrator XXX anything", for example "EZ Illustrator" (ezillustrator.com), "F4Illustrator" (f4illustrator.com) etc.
More surprising is how fast KIllustrator people caved in. I do not blame them, they just need some basic legal advice for a couple of hundred bucks/euros, which they probably do not have. (I would suggest them instead of paying to Adobe, go and retain a lawyer and get an advice, it will cost much less). Paying Adobe will only damage their case, since in the eyes of a judge it would not look good: nobody in their clear mind would pay to somebody if they did not do anything wrong, paying Adobe will create an appearance of unclear consciousness.
There are at least 426 registered sites on the net containing word "illustrator" and more are coming. Majority of them have nothing to do with Adobe, and almost all of them can be registered as trademarks.
KIllustrator should keep the name, register it as a trademark (it does not cost much, even a student could afford it) and use this publicity to their advantage, and keep developing software. It will be safe as long as it does not violates anybody's patents.
Slashdot Mirror
In 1997 adobe dropped trademark: "Adobe Type Set" :
ADOBE TYPE SET
Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 009. US 038. G & S: computer programs for creating fonts. FIRST USE: 19900221. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19900221
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Cancellation Date October 13, 1997
I would suggest KIllustrator register it in its name and use as a part of KIllustrator Package
About registered trademarks containing word "Illustrator" and who owns them read my previous posting in this thread
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR
SIMPLE ILLUSTRATOR
DATABASE ILLUSTRATOR
ILLUSTRATOR [by Adobe, filing date September 19, 1995]
PEAK VIDEO ILLUSTRATOR
BIBLE ILLUSTRATOR
ILLUSTRATOR [not by Adobe, filing date April 24, 1990]
ILLUSTRATOR [not by Adobe, filing date April 4, 1979]
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR [by Adobe, filing dateApril 28, 1987]
PC ILLUSTRATOR [not by Adobe,filing date May 13, 1985]
HIGH-RESOLUTION VECTOR ILLUSTRATOR/HVI
THE ILLUSTRATOR [not by Adobe, filing date August 7, 1981]
Furthermore, in its description of the trademark "Illustrator" Adobe have a lot of clames, but remarkably misses the crucial one: vector-based drawing tool:
"Word Mark: ILLUSTRATOR Goods and Services (covered/clamed): IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: computer software for use in graphic design, desktop publishing, electronic publishing, printing, artistic and technical drawing, creating fonts and typefaces, and special graphical and textual effects; computer software containing clip art, and typefaces; and users' manuals and instructional books sold as a unit therewith. FIRST USE: 19861215. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19861215 "
On the other hand, trademark "HIGH-RESOLUTION VECTOR ILLUSTRATOR/HVI" registered by ARTRONICS, INCORPORATED CORPORATION apparently does include vector technologies. This trademark was not renewed by the company.
I would suggest KIllustrator to register "KIllustrator" as a trademark, and include what Adobe missed: vector-based technology, and hurry before Adobe fixes the blunder.
The pattern is clear: Adobe is pushing the envelope and watching closely any opportunity to register as much as possible in its name. This is one of the advantages of a big company having many lawyers on payroll: they are just doing their job--scaring stupid competitors. Registering a trademark cost less than a thousand bucks, and potential benefits could be great. Neverhteless even big lawyers make mistakes--like not putting crucial "vector" description in the TM application, which effectively leaves it up for grabs, say to KIllustrator. about other details see my previous posting on this subject.
You are wrong, Just think for example of Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola both use Cola both names are registered trademarks, and one would have hard time finding more look alike products on the market than these two -- both look the same, taste the same for an average customer, both compete for the same market, etc.
It looks like Old Man Kensey knows something about trademarks, but not enough to make clear judgement. Adobe is blatantly wrong in asking KIllustrator to change their name. I'm sure they know it very well and nevertheless chose to do so ether to get free coverage in the press for an outrageous frivolous law suit (just imagine how many talking heads will discuss this issue on all the channels, increasing public awareness of Adobe products) or to crash any new evolving competitive products on the market, the way Microsoft does. They obviously prey on the ignorance of people making Killustrator. Adobe claims have no legal merit -- there is no question that Killustrator is named following generally accepted practices, e.g. MS Word; WordPerfect, etc.; MS Office; StarOffice. Just think for example of Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola both use Cola both names are registered trademarks, and one would have hard time finding more look-alike products on the market than these two -- both look the same, taste the same for an average customer, both compete for the same market, etc. And there are many Colas in any supermarket logos of which look "suspiciously" close to that of ether brand. Adobe called their product "Adobe Illustrator" because they knew very well when they were a small company that it would be impossible to defend the name "Illustrator" from anybody choosing to call their product "xxx something Illustrator XXX anything", for example "EZ Illustrator" (ezillustrator.com), "F4Illustrator" (f4illustrator.com) etc. More surprising is how fast KIllustrator people caved in. I do not blame them, they just need some basic legal advice for a couple of hundred bucks/euros, which they probably do not have. (I would suggest them instead of paying to Adobe, go and retain a lawyer and get an advice, it will cost much less). Paying Adobe will only damage their case, since in the eyes of a judge it would not look good: nobody in their clear mind would pay to somebody if they did not do anything wrong, paying Adobe will create an appearance of unclear consciousness. There are at least 426 registered sites on the net containing word "illustrator" and more are coming. Majority of them have nothing to do with Adobe, and almost all of them can be registered as trademarks. KIllustrator should keep the name, register it as a trademark (it does not cost much, even a student could afford it) and use this publicity to their advantage, and keep developing software. It will be safe as long as it does not violates anybody's patents.