

Dogecoin Users Outraged Over Trademark - ca98am79
http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/news/dogecoin-users-outraged-trademark/2014/06/23

======
pyre
The article is a bit confusing.

> Ultra Pro International, a case and sleeve company, announced plans to
> trademark the word “Doge.”

Why does a 'case and sleeve company' want to trademark the term?

> @UltraProIntl June 21, 2014 | 8:29 p.m.

> @DogeCarPR FWIW, we actually sought out the owner, signed a license & are
> paying royalties & donating to her charities :)

1\. Who is this owner? (Don't assume that all readers know everything about
Dogecoin or the Doge meme)

2\. If they are licensing / paying royalties, how can the get a trademark?
Wouldn't the owner be the one with rights to the trademark?

[edit: Reading the Twitter conversation, this seems to be paying for the use
of the image of Kabuso (copyright), which has little to do with 'Doge' as a
trademark.]

> With Rage Comics, companies were able to use them on their products because
> the original creator couldn’t quite be proven. The famous picture of Kabuso,
> the dog, can be found, and it seems as though they have been, but the word
> “Doge” may have a different creator. That creator would have automatic
> copyright under the Berne Convention.

This really needs an editor.

\- What is the reference to Rage Comics about? Either explain it, or provide a
link to more information.

\- What does "they have been" refer to? The sentence reads as "The famous
picture [...] can be found, and it seems as though they have been." Is this
referring to the creator of the famous picture (meaning that some words are
missing at the front of the sentence), or is it a typo for 'it' (referring to
the picture itself)?

\- What does automatic copyright of the 'famous picture of Kabuso, the dog'
have to do with the trademark on the 'Doge' term?

> Three years ago this was a much simpler process that would favor their
> community over the company; however, President Barack Obama signed a law
> into effect on September 16, 2011 that caused a shift to favor the first
> company to file.

Is this true? I thought that it only applied to patents.

~~~
fallinghawks
> 1\. Who is this owner? I wonder if this is the owner of the Shiba Inu used
> in the meme. The dog's name is Kabosu, and the owner is a strong supporter
> of animal rescue charities. "Doge" is another story.

I could certainly support paying Kabosu's owner for rights to use the image
(most certainly it's never crossed the mind of the dogecoin folk, though they
have donated to her). However, copyrighting "doge" in conjunction with
Kabosu's image is another matter entirely.

------
chicagomint
And the co-creator's response to the community:
[http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/27/the-co-creator-of-
dogecoin-...](http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/27/the-co-creator-of-dogecoin-
talks-about-building-one-of-the-funniest-and-most-popular-cryptocurrencies-in-
the-world/)

He has no interest in opposing the trademark. He called Moolah.io's
oppositional filing "white knighting the situation." Zing!

 _In my eyes, it’s a total waste of time and money being spent opposing a very
generic trademark that can’t and won’t be enforced_

------
asciimo
> but the word “Doge” may have a different creator. That creator would have
> automatic copyright under the Berne Convention.

They are also the creators of Homestar Runner
[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/doge](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/doge)

------
muaddirac
> The tweet was in shorthand, but was transcribed as follows.

I like this and hope other news sites start to do this as well.

------
izzydata
I could have sworn this was an onion article. How can this be real?

~~~
freehunter
Right? The dogecoin community is afraid vendors won't want to use their
currency now? It's... dogecoin. It's not meant to be taken seriously in the
first place. And "doge" is not their invention.

~~~
adamnemecek
It's not UltraPRO's invention either.

~~~
freehunter
Right, I'm not saying they should get a trademark. I'm commenting on how
ridiculous it is that the dogecoin community is worried no one will take them
seriously after this. I guess I didn't realize a crypto currency based on an
Internet meme was trying to get recognized as a legitimate money replacement.

~~~
qbrass
The reaction is against someone taking it seriously becoming a threat to the
people who just wanted to have fun with it.

