Fark Seeks to Trademark NSFW 199
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The term NSFW is about to join the :( emoticon, going from a generic, oft-used internet abbreviation, to one company's exclusive trademark. Fark is seeking a trademark on the use of NSFW to describe naughty online content. Of course, they may face a bit of a battle because more than a few other people are already using the term NSFW to describe their products and services. Not that that's stopped anyone in the past." And, of course, the whole thing could be a big practical joke.
Hello? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hello? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Hello? (Score:4, Funny)
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Oops. Look like you mistyped that. The cost to file for a federal trademark is $275 (or more, depending on the details).
You can see the PTO's current fee schedule here: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/qs/ope/fee2007september30.htm [uspto.gov]
You've got it all wrong! (Score:5, Funny)
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And both trademarks appear to be jokes. Despair, Inc does use the trademark as their logo (although it was Scott Fahlman [wikipedia.org] who first used it in 1982). I don't think prior art works for trademarks.
IANAL, but I'm dating one
Re:You've got it all wrong! (Score:5, Funny)
I<3ANAL should be your bumper sticker.
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I'm guessing that's a good thing.
Re:You've got it all wrong! (Score:5, Funny)
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Even if it is a joke... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Even if it is a joke... (Score:5, Informative)
One of two things will happen. One: the trademark is granted, Drew gets some laughs, lawsuits, and the TM gets taken away. Or two: the trademark is denied from the beginning. Either way, this TM is not going to hold up for obvious reasons already cited in the summary.
I don't think this is opening up any sort of Pandora's box. With or without this development, trolls will TM random shit regardless. We just have to hope that the system corrects itself -- which, in general, it has.
Re:Even if it is a joke... (Score:5, Insightful)
Then, he calmly dismisses it as a joke, while raking in profit.
The stupid thing about this is how a few months ago fark went from being fairly open about NSFW imagery, to banning anyone that links to or posts it. Apparently they can make more money by being family(or workplace) friendly.
Here's an idea ... (Score:2)
"The stupid thing about this is how a few months ago fark went from being fairly open about NSFW imagery, to banning anyone that links to or posts it. Apparently they can make more money by being family(or workplace) friendly."
Time to fork fark!
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That's *just* all the stuff that's NSFW. You need variety, or you'll go blind!!!
Or is this (people no longer subject to going blind) more proof that humans are evolving 100x faster because of "social changes"? [slashdot.org]
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Re:Even if it is a joke... (Score:5, Informative)
I've been a member of Fark for quite a few years now (five digit ID, aw yeah), and they have always been against the NSFW postings. You could never post actual NSFW images in the discussion forums, even for discussions of a NSFW link. You could link to stuff, but only if you had large notices that the link was NSFW. If something is questionable, they remove it anyway.
Even on the TotalFarker side (who are the only ones that can comment on Boobies links now) you can't post anything like that. Images are auto-disabled for "Adult content" links, too.
Drew has generally tried to keep Fark a place that could be browsed at work, uncaught by language and porn filters. This isn't new. They may have cracked down on porn links recently, but everything else is old hat.
Re:Even if it is a joke... (Score:4, Insightful)
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If you really want to screw Microsoft... (Score:2, Offtopic)
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What are the specifications for Xbox ? Can you install Linux on it and turn it into a web server, perhaps a mirror for the GNU project as the ultimate insult ?-)
Short answer: yes
Long answer: Its a 733mhz celeron with 64mb ram. The HD that comes with it will be 8-10gb but one generally desires to replace that part shortly after adding the modchip so you can run your own software.
There are a number of linux distros made avail for it, from some early xbox specific ones, to full debian, or fedora installs, even bsd.
Clustering them of course would get more resources, and potentially boost performance for cluster aware apps.
Its also possible to double the ram to 128mb,
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It's a news aggregator whose focus can best be described by the following MIB line:
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No... it sounds juvenile, puerile, and self-serving. The only thing that would make it worse is if the trademark is actually granted. Really, is this what you have to do to get people to notice you. If he's really hot for attention, walk through town in a purple plaid suit with neon orange tie, but leave the internet community out of it.
Re:Even if it is a joke... (Score:5, Insightful)
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No... it sounds juvenile, puerile, and self-serving. The only thing that would make it worse is if the trademark is actually granted. Really, is this what you have to do to get people to notice you. If he's really hot for attention, walk through town in a purple plaid suit with neon orange tie, but leave the internet community out of it.
But if he did that, how would he make money? Right now all this attention is pulling in banner ad impressions and such.
Unless one could find a company willing to pay you to walk through town in a purple plaid suit with neon orange tie, that would be really stupid for someone to do (Or atleast really pointless), while what he is doing now (making money) sounds really smart.
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Don't hurt yourself getting off that high horse.
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This is patent trolling 100%. Fark didn't invent NSFW and could easily try to extort money if they're granted this trademark.
I'm not sure why anyone's taking fark's side on this one..
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this application is social commentary with the added bonus of increasing fark's page views.
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Abuse of the legal and patent system == hilarious? Are you going to read a 200 page deposition and chuckle all the way through? Yeah I dont think so.
After Drew's disastrous book about the media being unquestioning idiots while his own site was doing its best to support bush's iraq adverentures/WMD and calling global warming a myth up until very recently, well, we're looking at another failure by this small loud-mouth businessman.
If this was trul
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Or three, there is a distinct possibility that the mark will be perfectly valid, will be granted and will be upheld in court. Or four, something else could happen. Or five, another something else could happen ...
I know that this has to be said every single time there's a trademark story on Slashdot, but this is not that big a deal.
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NSTRBMC (Score:2)
"Sounds like he's gone into damage control mode to me. He's trying to deflect critics by calling this a "prank." Baloney. What's so funny about this anyway? Nothing. Drew Curtis is a moron. Fuck him."
Sounds like you're bitter ... probably because you bit? Must bite to post on slashdot before you've had your morning coffee?
To help you, here's my contribution to the Aconmymica (TM) ... NSTRBMC (TM) - Not Safe To Reply Before Morning Coffee?
Seriously though, we all know that there are only a few outcome
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If they can do it (Score:2)
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Re:If they can do it (Score:5, Funny)
No, Apple already trolled the iOral for their sex toy
Then Apple has probably already trademarked iAnal, too.
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No, Apple already trolled the iOral for their sex toy
Then Apple has probably already trademarked iAnal, too.
I knew this trademark thing was going to be a pain in the arse somehow...
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NSFW (Score:2, Informative)
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WWJD? (Score:2)
In relatiation (Score:4, Funny)
/ sorry
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Y'all don't understand trademark law. (Score:5, Informative)
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Y'all don't understand Fark. (Score:2)
Trademark applications (Score:5, Insightful)
You think it's a joke? (Score:5, Funny)
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Eventually, the World Wrestling Federation changed their to name to World Wrestling Entertainment using the current "WWE" moniker, but included the tagline "Get the F out!" for several months following the ruling.
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American I take it? I always associated it with the World Wildlife Fund as the World Wrestling Federation was just some crap the cable networks would broadcast in the middle of the night because they could get it for cheap...
/Mikael
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Only if you're into wrestling. The rest of the civilized world doesn't pay any attention to it. The WWF has always been the World Wildlife Foundation to me.
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Maybe we need to start going back to the days of feeding christians to the lions to get a worthwhile audience...
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Kind of like why Intel switched to Pentium instead of using 586.
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It's OK if they get it (Score:2)
The dangers of NSFW! (Score:5, Funny)
Well played sir (Score:2)
They couldn't anyway (Score:2)
until this story (Score:2)
That's the place where shadowbanning occurs? (Score:2)
But it'd be quite nice to see that happen here for some of the obscured redirects.
Slashdot Trademarks (Score:2)
Why those... (Score:2)
Can't believe it's not being done already (Score:2)
* Only Chico
Bannination.com (Score:2)
Since all these people are nice, well spoken, and seemingly intelligent, it's hard to ignore. More and more stories accum
NSFW (Score:2)
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The fact that its freshness jumped the shark right around the first MicroSoft ad, while indeed tragic, is also peripheral.
Can't fault CdrTaco & Co. for making a buck--slashdot is not a vow of poverty, after all, but if the site is uncool, that's our problem.
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I don't fault either CmdrTaco nor Drew Curtis for trying to "make a buck". It's the method of doing so. If Slashdot tries to think of itself as a bastion of "open source" while running ads for Microsoft or Fark reeling back on it's past of "boobies and beer" by shadowbanning users that post non-moderator approved cleavage (despite the near NSFW ads they sometimes run) the sellout factor becomes apparent.
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I think there's details in the blog entry, and either the ad network got dropped or threatened to be dropped.
I never saw it though, I block all ads from both Slashdot and Fark. (Pretty much everywhere else too.) It's my internet, you all can get the fark off of it or figure something else out to make money. My eyeballs belong to the hotties at the bar I frequent.
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Today Slashdot is owned by SourceForge, Inc., but it is still run by many of the same people as it was 'Back in the Day'. [slashdot.org]
Combining user-developed content, online marketplaces and e-commerce, SourceForge is the global technology community's nexus for information exchange, goods for geeks, and open source software distributio [sourceforge.com]
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Re:Truer words were never spoken (Score:5, Insightful)
Are we saying that abuses of the copyright, trademark, and patent systems are not newsworthy now? If this is a joke, then more power to them, but I see no reason why those sorts of things shouldn't evoke outrage.
Re:Truer words were never spoken (Score:5, Insightful)
And the rest of the Farkers will post hundreds of variations of "pOwned" or the Nelson "Ha Ha" picture [wordpress.com]
Drew is just pointing out that the emperor really has no pants, and poking fun at the fact.
SOP at Fark.
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It's just an application. I can't think of any possible means by which you could prevent people from mailing in a piece of paper requesting a trademark on anything they want. Doesn't mean it will be granted.
The only reason this gets so much attention is because of the spastic crybaby melodrama. A
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IP *rights* and physical property *rights* are both intangible.
The *referents* of both IP and physical property rights are both tangible. (i.e. even IP restricts your use of *tangible* things, even if it is metaphorically phrased as use of an intangible idea)
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Anything tangible that can instatiate that message.
Yes, I understand there are good arguments against IP. My point was just that it does, undeniably, lay claim to tangible things.
_My_ keyboard? Contrast with real property, which I'd have to actually enter to trespass upon.
In other words, IP is invalid, because it infinges on rights that are valid, and IP isn't one of them. Nice and circular.
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You only have to resort to claiming the instruments of infringement as the "tangible things" in the case of IP because the property itself _isn't_ tangible.
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Actually, it makes perfect sense.
Just like the right to transmit radio waves along frequency 120kHz refers to pretty much every TANGIBLE transmitter which can broadcast along that frequency.
Just like the right to your "personal property" refers to pretty much every TANGIBLE thing that could infringe on it.
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