Forward of moderated message

[Linas Vepstas]

Hi,

On Sat, Aug 28, 2004 at 12:31:28PM -0400, gnucash-announce-bounces at gnucash.org was heard to remark:
> From: Pieter Valentijn <pvalentijn at delphidreams.nl>
> To: gnucash-announce at gnucash.org

Please don't post to the announce amiling list, its moderated.

> Subject: CASH Software is claiming there name.
> 
> Hi Im the Dutch programmer for TurboCASH like GNuCASH a opensource
> accounting package.
> The Dutch company CASH has send me a letter summuning me to take down
> the dutch site www.turbocash.nl
> And not to use the name CASH in anny actifitys that surround accounting
> package's. They wrote me a letter witch i had to sign for.

This is called a "registered letter", and lawyers like to use these
to prove that you received the letter.  You can always refuse to accept
registered letters.   Drives the lawyers nuts.

> Telling me to stop using the name CASH. All do i did not think of the
> name my self and they nevver phoned or maild me about it.
> I just wat to lett you guys about it couse you are probebly next. They
> seem to have a registerd trademark in the Benelux for the name CASH.
> I hope this wil end soon but im pritty confiused at the moment. Im just
> a programmer working for the world to make a good accounting package and
> they sew me :-(

You need to study Dutch/EU trademark law a bit.  Find a
freind-of-a-freind who is a lawyer or is in law schoo, and get them to
give you an overview.  In the US, they cannot do this because 'cash' 
is a common word, and one cannot trademark common words.  Its less 
clear to me what Dutch law may say about this. 

Note also: in the United States, there are 57 different trademark
categories.  Thus, some company could trademark "gnucash", for example,
for use on a line of refridgerators, and still couldn't make us stop
because no consumer could ever mistake a refridgerator for an 
accounting program.  The two are in different 'categories'.

--linas


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