“Tonight will celebrate the second anniversary of ‘iPod Monday’ at downtown Des Moines [Iowa] bar the Lift, 222 Fourth St. But it also will serve as a wake of sorts as the playlist-sharing theme night ends due to a trademark dispute,” The Des Moines Register reports.
The Des Moines Register reports, “Computer and iPod manufacturer Apple Inc. has asked iPod Monday’s creator and resident bartender, Clint Curtis, to remove any mention of ‘iPod’ from the event to satisfy Apple’s trademark guidelines. Curtis has decided to pull the plug on the weekly ritual rather than continue under an altered identity.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Genericide: The process by which a trademark becomes synonymous with its associated product, to the point where the owner may lose the ability to legally defend and protect said trademark. See: “aspirin,” “escalator,” “q-tip,” etc. Trademark owners may take various steps to reduce the risk of genericide, including educating businesses and consumers on appropriate trademark use, avoiding use of their marks in a generic manner, and systematically and effectively enforcing their trademark rights. More info here.
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