morris/arla johnson wrote:
> den Otter wrote:
> >
> > "The spiral mark, ExI, and Extropy are trademarks of Extropy Institute. ©1999
> > Extropy Institute--all rights reserved."
> >
> > Hmm, does this by any chance include "Extropian"? ;)
>
> I would think that the term extropian meaning someone or thing
> operating in an extrophic manner has been used extensively enough
> to be a generic public domain term like libertarian, lutheran,
> egallitarian etc.
>
> What does everyone else think?
I think that while promulgation of the use of these terms over as wide an area as possible is beneficial to extropy as a whole, there is the risk of dilution of its meaning, as well as the possible development of negative public opinion of it if its use, especially for commercial purposes, if it is not overseen and licensed by someone at ExI. While common use of the word obviously is not restricted under the 'fair use' clauses of copyright laws (in the US or Canada), use by a corporate entity which ExI does not have interest in or some measure of oversight or control over is a definite infringement on the copyright and trademark.
Just this past year, there was a debate over a group of european list members calling their local chapter 'Excedo'. They eventually settled on 'Transcedo' to maintain friendly relations and good will with everyone.
Mike
-- TANSTAAFL!!! Michael Lorrey ------------------------------------------------------------ mailto:retroman@together.net Inventor of the Lorrey Drive MikeySoft: Graphic Design/Animation/Publishing/Engineering ------------------------------------------------------------ How many fnords did you see before breakfast today?