Comments on: About trademarks in the IAM business

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:16:38 +0000

Hey, i just asked my wife – a trademark specialist – about this and am eager to see her reply! While checking out the website I also found the term Identity as a Service® (thus they ARE registered!) and then Managed Identity Services™
I simply lost my belief – this term is SO general while at the same time being descriptive, it makes me want to go to the office and punch that TM clerk in the face…

By: Jeffrey Huth

Jeffrey Huth — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:07:59 +0000

I'm not an expert on trademark law but you can use the 'tm' if you claim a mark even if you don't register it with the USPTO. If an application is pending you also will use the 'tm'. Only if it is registered and accepted can you use the registered trademark symbol (r inside a circle). Non registered mark claims are virtually not enforceable as trademark infringement. If indeed Fischer is applying to register the marks, I have to have faith that the reviewer will find the prior uses of IaaS and Identity as a Service and throw it out. IaaS would be easy to replace. Identity as a Service would be much harder.

By: eric Norlin

eric Norlin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:42:18 +0000

see, i knew i was on to something. The first time I mentioned "identity as a service" was DIDW 3 (2004) – to Jamie Lewis. Apparently, I missed out on a good trademark opportunity

By: Alexei Balaganski

Alexei Balaganski — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:58:17 +0000

Maybe you should trademark the name "Martin" and then just start collecting royalties!