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Comment by TheLoafOfBread | Hacker News Reader

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In the context of "an online service for user communication and media hosting", it's valid. And thus they have one https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=86635386&caseType=SERIAL_...

Try to register a company called Apple that builds iPhone apps and you will find out pretty quick how well a sector-specific trademark can be enforced.

This is more like a company squatting an apple.io domain and redirecting to a Sign In With Apple page. I'm surprised Discord allowed it to exist.

Discord probably thought they were being nice and fostering a positive attitude towards their community. Whoops.

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The word "apple" is not trademarked. The use of the name "Apple" in connection with computers is.

You mean like “Apple”

> hard to trademark that

No, because trademarks given by USPTO apply for a specific kind of product or service. It’s never a blanket protection for all situations.

So first on Discord’s website we see info about their company https://discord.com/company-information

Discord Inc.

444 De Haro Street

Suite 200

San Francisco, CA 94107

United States of America

And then when we go and search in USPTO we can see the registrations they have for the name “Discord”

For example they have

> Word Mark DISCORD

> Goods and Services IC 045. US 100 101. G & S: Social networking services in the field of gaming. FIRST USE: 20181000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20181000

> Registration Number 6254199

https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4804:5l...

And they also have

> Word Mark DISCORD

> Goods and Services IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: online game services, namely, providing on-line computer games; organizing community cultural events; organizing community sporting events, organizing educational seminars, workshops, and conferences in the field of communications, online gaming, online communities and social media; providing non-downloadable webinars in the field of communications, online gaming, online communities and social media

> IC 042. US 100 101. G & S: rental of computer game programs and computer game software; online game services, namely, providing temporary use of online non-downloadable game software; providing computer game subscription-based temporary use of non-downloadable game software

https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4804:5l...

And they have another few as well probably. Didn’t read all of them.

With this Discord can protect themselves and their reputation within their own verticals.

Other people can still have a decent chance of being able to register a trademark for an unrelated product or service named “Discord”, as long as it is noticeably unrelated to the existing marks.

So for example maybe I could start a theatre and get a trademark named “Discord” accepted for my theatre.

You'll be surprised when you learn about "Windows"...

A long time ago I registered windowsupdate.ms and put a small timeline there about the technological advancements we've made to windows over time— from holes in the wall, to grease paper, to bullet proof glass.

Google “Trademark”

Apple has Apple trademarked. You can do that.

And Apple famously got in to several trademark disputes with another Apple: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer

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