Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: Digiman on May 10, 2012, 12:56:46 AM
-
I'm going to split this off to an isolated thread after starting a reply in case by thedaddy thread.
Now it Appears Amiga Inc have no claim to Amiga as software, firmware,OS,hardware parts or complete computers.
Amiga has nothing live on uspto.gov website.
Here is the kicker, kickstart also has no active entry not by Cloanto, Amiga Inc or anyone......strange.
We can make Amiga cases and computers without restriction now :mickeymouse:
That's exactly what they can't do though.
The Amiga trademark is only dead for software. For hardware it's still alive, but not for cases. However, the trade-mark does cover disk drives.
I suspect this is why all the C=USA "bare bones" systems all come with blu-ray drives built-in. This way they can claim it's a disk drive, as they don't have the license to produce a case.
ALL entries for the word "Amiga" in isolation are dead except for whirl-pools or MRI scanners and something else. Amiga Inc's registrations are all dead or non existent.
This means Gateway held everything and let it rot. Kickstart Roms there are also dead? Nothing remotely related is live so Kickstart is now free!
Also this is all Cloanto have..
Word Mark:AMIGA FOREVER
Translations:The foreign wording in the mark translates into English as FRIEND.
Goods and Services:IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038.
G & S: Interactive multimedia computer program for displaying information about the history of computers; Interactive video game programs; Pre-recorded CD's, video tapes, laser disks and DVD's featuring information about the history of computers and computer games; Video magazine recorded on electronic media featuring computers. FIRST USE: 19971007. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19971202
Erm nothing there forcing anyone to buy it for 'legal kickstart' I guess, if you like the front end GUI sure buy it then.
Any trademark for Amiga computers or parts or cases nowhere to be seen nor is Kickstart active today. I searched the entire USPTO database for everything with the word Amiga or Kickstart in the broadest search possible.
Now all we need are case replicas of our favourite machines :)
Fireworks!!
-
I will point out that a trademark for the name "Kickstart" is not the same thing as the copyright on the actual Kickstart ROMs, but this is still very interesting news.
-
I dont know if thats actually a good or bad thing...
When someone held the rights previously it kept everyone at bay, but now if the flood gates open Im more worried about ALOT more ppl trying to profit and rape the Amiga name...
hmmm it might be best if a new gate keeper is selected, which is trusted within the community (if trust still exists) which can distribute/lease out the rights to worthy ppl... Last thing I want is a few more CUSA to popup freely... Food for thought..
-
If they have no exclusive right to the name, then neither do their licensees.
This could be very, very good.
hmmm it might be best if a new gate keeper is selected, which is trusted within the community (if trust still exists) which can distribute/lease out the rights to worthy ppl... Last thing I want is a few more CUSA to popup freely... Food for thought..
How would that even work? It would be completely unenforceable, and if there's one thing the Amiga 'community' is incapable of doing, it's coming to a consensus on how they want the platform to evolve.
-
I will point out that a trademark for the name "Kickstart" is not the same thing as the copyright on the actual Kickstart ROMs, but this is still very interesting news.
I know, but as custom chips and original Amiga computers with Paula chips wont be manufactured as before ever again Amiga is free.
Also, If there is nobody enforcing Kickstart trademark it is more than likely that copyright was withe Escom/Gateway and very difficult to find. Amiga Inc never owned that and therefore nor can Cloanto. They probably shouldn't even pay Amiga Inc a cent anymore.
I bet the true copyright owners don't even know that they are themselves.
-
I dont know if thats actually a good or bad thing...
When someone held the rights previously it kept everyone at bay, but now if the flood gates open Im more worried about ALOT more ppl trying to profit and rape the Amiga name...
hmmm it might be best if a new gate keeper is selected, which is trusted within the community (if trust still exists) which can distribute/lease out the rights to worthy ppl... Last thing I want is a few more CUSA to popup freely... Food for thought..
It just means a-holes like Barry can't claim to be "official". That means products are judged on merit by people who recognise the name.
And actually as I understand it the owner of C= logo and "Commodore" name are currently AWOL so even Commodore name is not official.
Wow this whole mess is like a David Copperfield stunt!
-
How would that even work? It would be completely unenforceable, and if there's one thing the Amiga 'community' is incapable of doing, it's coming to a consensus on how they want the platform to evolve.
Registering without the copyright holders permission is rocky road. Best to leave it dead.
-
If they have no exclusive right to the name, then neither do their licensees.
This could be very, very good.
How would that even work? It would be completely unenforceable, and if there's one thing the Amiga 'community' is incapable of doing, it's coming to a consensus on how they want the platform to evolve.
Well there is wishful thinking... haha! I know what you mean, some ppl cant even decide what colour of LED's to have on a certain case :)
-
If this is really true then how can it be checked legally so that say loriano or team natami or the community could bring an amiga case amiga hardware and the amiga name together in a system.That would be sweet.If possible the community should jointly pay for the trademarks and then nominate some gatekeepers.
-
Whoa! Could be the start of something really great.
-
Whoa! Could be the start of something really great.
Your avatar makes me suspicious of your intentions...
-
Amiga has nothing live on uspto.gov website.
Can we please stop with this madness? This must be fourth thread on this topic.
1. During the vast majority of the Amiga's life, there was only one registered trademark: It was filed in 1985 by Commodore, is currently owned by AInc and can be found in the USPTO database under serial number 73571532. This trademark registration is still active.
2. While Ainc only holds one remaining Amiga trademark in the US (Cloanto owns the other two) they still own a myriad of trademarks in Europe.
For a list of live and dead amiga related trademarks see Amiga-Trademarks.pdf (http://aminet.net/docs/misc/Amiga-Trademarks.pdf).
Kickstart Roms there are also dead? Nothing remotely related is live so Kickstart is now free!
You're mixing up Trademark ownership (i.e. naming rights) and Copyright (i.e. owning software rights).
Also this is all Cloanto have..
No, they also own "Workbench".
kickstart [...] Kickstart [...] kickstart [...] kickstart
That never was a registered trademark as far as the Amiga is concerned.
-
cgutjahr is right - the "AMIGA" trademark is still alive. See here: http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4006:9md8s7.3.14
Not sure if the link works, but the Trademark Serial Number is 73571532
Still well and truly alive and covers computers.
Also, Copyright isn't registrable - so you can't just go and copy kickstart code etc.
-
This is correct, Amiga Inc. have a live claim. Also you should look up "likelihood of confusion" in US law as this is why a case (or anything computer-related)with the Amiga branding would be in breach of the trademark(despite it not being specifically listed on the claim).
-
AMIGA, INC. CORPORATION WASHINGTON is not Amiga Inc.
At least not according to Bill McEwen.
Seems that while playing the Amiga-Itec-KMOS-Amiga shell game, they forgot to transfer the trademark.
-
Doh!:eek::eek::eek:
-
AMIGA, INC. CORPORATION WASHINGTON is not Amiga Inc.
At least not according to Bill McEwen.
Seems that while playing the Amiga-Itec-KMOS-Amiga shell game, they forgot to transfer the trademark.
Naaa he was too busy learning to code for OS5 release which at this speed is on schedule for release in 2065..
-
Now it Appears Amiga Inc have no claim to Amiga as software, firmware,OS,hardware parts or complete computers.
So now the MorphOS team can release MorphOS3.0 as Amiga OS 5.0! Whohoo!
(You guys are funny, it seems like clueless armchair lawyers is all that remains in this "community"... :rolleyes:)
-
Can we please stop with this madness? This must be fourth thread on this topic.
1. During the vast majority of the Amiga's life, there was only one registered trademark: It was filed in 1985 by Commodore, is currently owned by AInc and can be found in the USPTO database under serial number 73571532. This trademark registration is still active.
Fair enough. So how comes then that there isn't a single active trademark registered for the word "Amiga" on the USPTO?
I searched for just that term and set no other conditions and there isn't a single active trademark for the word Amiga relating to a computer system? Ditto for the word "kickstart" and any kind of OS/Firmware classification.
PS I deliberately didn't look for Workbench because games don't need Workbench to run ;)
-
AMIGA, INC. CORPORATION WASHINGTON is not Amiga Inc.
Why would that matter? The same people are representing either incarnation of AInc, they would simply change the letterhead before sending you the cease&desist order. That's what they did during the proceedings against Hyperion.
-
So now the MorphOS team can release MorphOS3.0 as Amiga OS 5.0! Whohoo!
(You guys are funny, it seems like clueless armchair lawyers is all that remains in this "community"... :rolleyes:)
Except that is a Macinstosh OS replacement that has FA to do with real Amigas and costs more than OSX/Win 7 to license and is locked to the hardware you are running (which will probably stop working in a month or two because PPC G3/G4 Macs are SMELLY OLD SH1T :) )
-
Say goodbye to silly billy. He committed fraud with the shell games and profited from the amiga corpse long enough....
Say goodbye to CUSA "amiga" computers. HA HA.
Its time for someone to create amiga branded morphos, os4, aros, netami's fpga arcades and more, without interference from the amiga grave robbers.
AND YES even including kickstart roms and UAE....
-
So how comes then that there isn't a single active trademark registered for the word "Amiga" on the USPTO?
It's on the second page of results. The line that points out that there's more than one page of results is easy to miss and the "next page" button is confusingly labeled "next list" - I guess that's why you missed it.
-
So now the MorphOS team can release MorphOS3.0 as Amiga OS 5.0! Whohoo!
(You guys are funny, it seems like clueless armchair lawyers is all that remains in this "community"... :rolleyes:)
Except that is a Macinstosh OS replacement that has FA to do with real Amigas
No it's definitely an Amiga OS replacement, and now, because of what you say, it can be rightfully be called Amiga OS, and the version number 5.0 accurately reflects the much better performance/features differences compared to previous versions. Finally you rendered OS4 completely redundant! :)
and costs more than OSX/Win 7 to license and is locked to the hardware you are running (which will probably stop working in a month or two because PPC G3/G4 Macs are SMELLY OLD SH1T :) )
No, because you say it's free for everyone to replace the Mac brand with an Amiga brand, and a complete system, with HW and OS, costs $150-$400 (HW costs 0$-$250, most somewhere in between); you will get *ten* full systems compared to the $3,000 OS4 systems, offering equally old technology at the same old G4 performance, so... ;) :p
Great work Digiman! :)
-
No it's definitely an Amiga OS replacement, and now, because of what you say, it can be rightfully be called Amiga OS, and the version number 5.0 accurately reflects the much better performance/features differences compared to previous versions. Finally you rendered OS4 completely redundant! :)
Both MorphOS and AmigaOS4 are completely redundant.
If you really want to kill MorphOS then please give it the curse of the Amiga name.
-
Both MorphOS and AmigaOS4 are completely redundant.
If you really want to kill MorphOS then please give it the curse of the Amiga name.
What do you mean Morphos is redundant? But i agree that Morphos should not be given the Amiga name. It should be allowed to Morph into its own whatever that may be. Even though i resent them for using Apple hardware i am convinced they are doing something worthwhile. I definitely think they are better off without being associated with Amiga as i think there is too much crap that comes that name.
-
mikej's board probably could use the name legally, since it could be sold as a game console rather than a computer.
-
So now the MorphOS team can release MorphOS3.0 as Amiga OS 5.0! Whohoo!
Or call it AmigaOS 4+.
(You guys are funny, it seems like clueless armchair lawyers is all that remains in this "community"... :rolleyes:)
They are, but they have nothing else to do.
-
Why would that matter? The same people are representing either incarnation of AInc, they would simply change the letterhead before sending you the cease&desist order. That's what they did during the proceedings against Hyperion.
AMIGA, INC. CORPORATION WASHINGTON is inactive. They can not conduct any business.
-
Amiga, Inc Delaware is the current owner of the US trademark.
If you search TESS (the USPTO trademark search system), find the AMIGA trademark and click the button called "ASSIGN Status", you can see the history of all the assignments lodged to the USPTO for the trademark.
KMOS, INC originally told the USPTO it had changed it's name to Amiga Inc, Washington but then filed a corrective document stating the state and address was wrong. They corrected it to be Amiga, Inc Delaware.
The actual documentation filed is here (for the change of name to Amiga Inc, Delaware): http://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments/assignment-tm-3237-0792.pdf
-
The actual documentation filed is here (for the change of name to Amiga Inc, Delaware): http://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments/assignment-tm-3237-0792.pdf
Last bit was so blurry beyond recognition.. Guess the pen pushers in gov departments dont care :-/
-
Yes except its illegal to profit from the crime of fraud.
You can't take money from investors, then declare bankruptcy claiming you have no assets, then transfer those assets you lied about having (amiga trademarks and ip) to a new company. Thats not just unethical or immoral, thats criminal.
-
Probably well beyond the statute of limitations for criminal/civil action against Amiga Inc.
-
Probably well beyond the statute of limitations for criminal/civil action against Amiga Inc.
The only answer, then, is vigilante justice!
-
Cool. You get the flaming torches, I'll get pitchforks!
-
The only answer, then, is vigilante justice!
Should've gotten to that years ago, really.
-
Theres a game for that... Angry Farmers! believe it or not! :)
They look mad :)
(http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/9306/mb1v.jpg)
-
@thread
Post replaced by post following this one due a db error at time of submission.
#6
-
Why would that matter? The same people are representing either incarnation of AInc, they would simply change the letterhead before sending you the cease&desist order. That's what they did during the proceedings against Hyperion.
To bring this up to date:
Here is where we have a difference of opinion as to what has transpired since June, 2013...
Since Amiga Inc no longer owns, resells or develops computer systems or general computer operating systems we feel they have indeed abandoned the market.
Source (http://www.intuitionbase.com/roberto_irclog.txt)
And weeks later...
Oh they are dead here in the US. Look them up. So no, Im not wrong. Everyone already knows which ones are undergoing the USPTO process.
and...
as for the USPTO proceedings so far there have been no objections.
Source (http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic_id=37810&forum=17&start=800&viewmode=flat&order=0#713519)
The above is a restatement on what was said a day earlier in answering email questions:
Second, what I said in the Ashachat Q&A, I stand behind 100%. It doesn't take a genius to see that all software related trademarks of Amiga are dead.
and...
I also want to clarify something. It has come to my attention that I supposedly got 2 cease and desists orders from Amiga Inc. regarding our logo choice. Those are fabrications. I have gotten NO cease and desists from Amiga Inc.
Source section 4. (http://www.os4online.com/2013/07/e-mail-questions-answered.html)
#6
-
The only answer, then, is vigilante justice!
I'm with you :swords:
He's now even ripping off classic games to resell them :uzi::insane:
The fact that it's inactive means that it can do no business but can still
own Amiga trademark ...
New "Amiga" company to replace Amiga Inc. is Amiga Games Inc. and it's
active and owned by McEwen ...
-
I'm with you :swords:
He's now even ripping off classic games to resell them :uzi::insane:
The fact that it's inactive means that it can do no business but can still
own Amiga trademark ...
New "Amiga" company to replace Amiga Inc. is Amiga Games Inc. and it's
active and owned by McEwen ...
That's a somewhat related topic and I've tried my best to cover it:
Here (http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic_id=37892&forum=44&viewmode=flat&order=0)
#6
-
That's a somewhat related topic and I've tried my best to cover it:
Here (http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic_id=37892&forum=44&viewmode=flat&order=0)
#6
Yes , well no mystery here , Bill is making new company and killing old
company probably because old Amiga Inc. owns money or is being sued
or even both knowing Bill ...
If anyone wants to do something about it , there IS actually something that can be done ... As Piru once kindly explained there is no such thing as abbandonware , even games taht were given with free license as a free download from team 17 site are not abandoned ...
For Bill McEwen to do a distribution (that is to sell these games or give right to sell these games to others) he need a signed written statement from the person or a company that owns the right to distribution of the game ...
I'm pretty sure that he didn't get that right for all the games he will be trying to sell ...
People can inform game owners of what is being done and invite them to act ... Many of them will simply let it be rather than sue Bill but they don't have to sue to get Bill to remove their game from portfolio ... All they have to do is send a notice saying that they didn't grant Amiga Games Inc. those rights regarding their property ...
Tracking game owners and companies that own exclusive distribution rights is something that could be fun to do for a whole family :D