Apple to Bonobo – Retina is trademarked, change your app name

Re:Apple to Bonobo – Retina is trademarked, change your app ... by jasonlotito on Sunday February 20, 2011 @09:08AM (#2241868)

You can't take product's name and use that product's name in your product when your product is about the original product without the owner's consent, even if the word is common. I find it funny that Bonobo would wonder that Retina is trademarked, considering the parent company is known as Apple.

Bonobo might feel they are in the right, but Unretina is using Retina specifically because of Apple's product, and it's directly related.

Just because a word is common doesn't mean you can't trademark it. I can't create a PC called the unApple and stand in shock when Apple comes calling.

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Re:Apple to Bonobo – Retina is trademarked, change your app ... by buggalug on Sunday February 20, 2011 @09:36AM (#2241924)

I think you missed the point. It's a Mac app to downsize images. The trademark is for 'Electronic hand-held game units other than those adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor;'.

Also Apple were happy with the name for the first 6 weeks of the Mac App Store being open.

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Re:Apple to Bonobo – Retina is trademarked, change your app ... by jfager on Sunday February 20, 2011 @11:06AM (#2242131)

It is possible to have more than one trademark for a given word, and Apple has (at least) two for "retina":

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4003:o8... http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4003:o8...

The one not mentioned in the article is for "Computers; computer hardware; computer displays; computer software; handheld mobile digital electronic devices used as a telephone, handheld computer, personal digital assistant, electronic organizer, and electronic notepad, and used to access the Internet, electronic mail, and other digital data".

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Re:Apple to Bonobo – Retina is trademarked, change your app ... by jasonlotito on Sunday February 20, 2011 @11:31AM (#2242223)

> I think you missed the point. It's a Mac app to downsize images

I got that. As has also been mentioned, the trademark is for other things as well.

Essentially, Apple's Retina display is a specific trademark. Unretina isn't billed as an app to downsize images. Rather, it's an app that downsizes Retina® images.

Essentially, their marketing is piggybacking on Apple's trademark.

> Also Apple were happy with the name for the first 6 weeks of the Mac App Store being open.

That's an awful assumption based on no evidence. That it was on the App Store only means that they hadn't yet decided to take action, or that those responsible for taking action hadn't decided they should.

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