RE: [DML] DMC and Trademarks

[Marc Levy <malevy_nj@xxxxxxxxx>]

As I stated before, I realize that in the squatter examples that there is some legal recognition for such a situation, but that does not make it ethically correct.

Your Esprit example, you say "the registered owner could not be found".  Where was the car?  Was it stored somewhere?  At some point the storage fees exceed the value of the car and the property therefore changes ownership.  It is not like the car was left in a public place, while everyone in the neighborhood had the ability to use it for free without consequence.  

But, lets follow that example.  If the car was in the "public domain" for 10 years or so, and everyone in the neighborhood was sharing it in a reasonable manor, is it fair for you to come along one day and say "Hey, wow!  A free Lotus!  I will take it for myself, and if anyone else wants to drive it you have to pay me to use it". My though is the rest of that group of people who drove it for free all those years (and never claimed THEY owned it) would be unhappy with you...  All while you pat yourself on the back for being the smart guy who decided to go to DMV and register this free car as YOURS.   

I have thought about trademarks, quite a bit (obviously), and Trademarks are NOT assigned by "Squatters rights", they are typically assigned to the person or company that created it.  At that point the owner can transfer ownership to another entity if they maintain it.  

In the case of the DMC Trademarks, they were clearly in the public domain and as you said before Mike, "If you let anyone use it willy-nilly, you can lose exclusive right to use the trademark".  So, once those exclusive rights are lost (as they were for the DMC Trademark), you think it is OK for someone else to come along and re-claim them just because no one else has??   I don't...

As I have said before, if we can agree (or get conformation from James/Stephen) that this is how DMCH came to claim ownership, then the decision comes down to the individual if that is ethical or not.  (I think we already agree that the legal answer will not be addresses unless someone hires a lawyer and lets a judge decide).




--- On Mon, 2/8/10, mike.griese@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mike.griese@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Actually yes.  Scenarios like
> this can and do happen - maybe not with real estate, but
> certainly with other private property.  One of my
> Esprits was converted by the person I bought it from. 
> The car was abandoned, the registered owner could not be
> found, and after a suitable period of time the title was
> converted.  
> 
> When you think about it, all trademarks are assigned by
> "squatters rights".
> 



      


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