Hacker News Reader

> Also, the aggressively protect your trademarks or lose them thing is a myth.

It's not. For example, Bayuer lost their trademark for aspirin due to genericization.[0]

For more context about copyright, trademark and patent protection by videogame companies and their motivation - I recommend this excellent on-topic video essay by a real lawyer[1].

[0] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_trademark

[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i13hrynnGNY

View on HN

I am aware of trademark becoming generic words and losing protection. But that is a process of a trademark becoming so wide spread in usage that courts find that it is just a common word now. Courts look a common usage, not a tally of all the times the trademark holder didn't defend the trademark.

A trademark might still be generic-ified even if the holder attacks every use of it.

If Valve ignores this one, and decides to attack some other project selling something with a Portal trademark on it, the courts won't look at this case and say "but you didn't do anything that time".

The whole premise of "defend it or lose it" is a misunderstanding of how trademarks becoming generic.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com