From: "Perry E. Metzger" <perry@imsi.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 94 07:58:54 PST
To: jrochkin@cs.oberlin.edu (Jonathan Rochkind)
Subject: Re: We are ALL guests (except Eric)
In-Reply-To: <ab02cc0608021004d214@[132.162.201.201]>
Message-ID: <9412011558.AA03114@snark.imsi.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Jonathan Rochkind says:
> If my and my friends don't like coke, we can't copy their secret formula
> and sell something in a red can with a white curve down the side and
> "Coca-cola" written on it in cursive lettering. We'll be in court in about
> four minutes.
> 
> If me and my friends don't like the cypherpunks list, we can start our own
> list called "cypherpunks."  We can even get the list of subscribers from
> toad (it's public information), and subscribe them all to our list,
> although they might not appreciate it so much.

A person buys a building and places a nightclub within. By your logic,
he does not own the nightclub, because another person could open a
nightclub.

Were Eric to trademark "Cypherpunks" and use it in trade as the name
of a mailing list, you could NOT create another one for the same
reason you couldn't sell "Coke". The fact that Eric has no interest in
doing this and doesn't claim to own the name does not change the
situation.

.pm