Rainer Gerhards wrote: > was tempted to replace it by the abbreviation "SDE" in the protcol-02 darft. However, I found that this is a trademark.
I'm not a lawyer. However, it's a question of what it's trademarking. Trademarks are intended to distinguish where the product comes from, and trademark infringement comes when someone's using a trademark for their product that might confuse consumers into thinking it's someone else's product. If there's a trademarked laundry soap called SDE, it's unlikely to be confused with the letters SDE in a protocol description for a computer program. This is how you have Apple Computers and Apple Records, and the problem only came up when Apple Computers started selling computers that could play music. There's also a situation with "Well known" trademarks. You cannot, for example, call your car company McDonalds, even tho an automobile is unlikely to be confused with a burger joint. Of course, all this is a layman's understanding of US trademark law. YMMV. Consult a real lawyer before getting sued. -- Darren New, San Diego CA USA (PST) I am in geocentric orbit, supported by a quantum photon exchange drive....
