Genericide : Trademarking “Blockchain”
▻https://hackernoon.com/genericide-trademarking-blockchain-67cf2ab49562?source=rss----3a8144eabf
By charles adjovu, Ledgerback, and Alex RFederally Registered Trademark SymbolTrademarks are an often overlooked topic that have a substantial impact on the viability and social well-being of #blockchain communities.In “Collective Trademarks for Blockchain Communities,” we discussed the NIFTY trademark incident that occurred in August 2018, and proposed how blockchain communities can prevent future incidents by by applying for federal registration of collective trademarks (membership or trade/servicemark).In this article, we analyze two types of trademark-ineligible marks, generic marks and merely descriptive marks, because both arose during the NIFTY incident and are prevalent in the blockchain industry. Understanding these terms leads to greater certainty, fewer costs, and, hence, more (...)