--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sparaig" <LEnglish5@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sparaig" <LEnglish5@> > wrote: > > > <snip> > > > > If it WAS in common use, they couldn't have made it a trademark > > > > > > BTW, Transcendental Meditation couldn't be > > > trademarked in the U.K. and several other > > > countries precisely *because* it was > > > considered to be too common a phrase. > > > (Not an *everyday* phrase, certainly, but > > > common enough, presumably in spiritual > > > circles.) > > > > Well, actually, you're wrong. The Oxford English Dictionary > > (thanks to my urging) changed its dictionary definition of > > the term to note that it is trademarked in the US, at least. > > I know that some countries have different trademark rules, > > but it is NOT, as far as I know, due to "transcendental > > meditation" being "too common" that it can't be trademarked > > in those countries. > > You'll need to show exactly why it can't be in > each country, then.
But even if you can come up with their reasons for not trademarking it, it *still* is the case that it was a common enough term that people complained about MMY appropriating it--and hence my point to Barry stands. In any event, there are zillions of other examples of a term meaning something generic when it's lower- cased and something more specific when it's capitalized--e.g., democratic/Democratic, republican/ Republican. Barry thought he was being real cute by using "Transcendental Meditation" as an analogy, but that doesn't hold water for lots of reasons in addition to the trademark angle. He got caught lecturing somebody when he didn't know what he was talking about, as usual, and then tried using a bogus analogy to wiggle out of his booboo.
