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WEDNESDAY, 21 MAY 2008
Microsoft demands verb "msn-ing" to be erased from Dutch dictionary
An interesting example of policing the use of a trade mark comes from the Netherlands. Digital Media Europe and ZDNet.de report that Microsoft requested that Dutch dictionary Van Dale Woordenboek stop using its trade mark "msn" and delete an entry for the verb "msn'en" from the latest edition of the Dutch dictionary. Van Dale dictionary defines the Dutch verb "msn'en" (msn-ing) as "chatting via an messenger":
The request appears to be in connection with a lawsuit against Unicaresoft. Unicaresoft develops software that offers online security for children and had argued the necessity of registering the domain name "MSNLOCK" to be able to inform parents about Unicaresoft's solution to prevent excessive use of chat and internet among children. According to Digital Media Europe with its request to remove the entry for verb "msn-ing" from dictionary, Microsoft wants to prevent that the term be used by other companies as a brand name. Posted by: Birgit Clark @ 04.59
Tags: MSN, msn-ing, Netherlands, trade mark policing, |
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