On Wed, 13 Dec 2000, Nick Smith wrote:

> 
> Ultimately this is what will happen if you tie domain names to trade marks:
> larger and more aggressive sites will eventually seek to control all
> versions of 'their' name across all domain name spaces.
> 

Actually this is an example of a larger company using
agressive legal tactics when it would appear they in fact do
not and have never owned a trademark. An application was
knocked back by the trade mark office - obvioulsy deemed
"not capable of distinguishing" so in my opinion they have
really shot themselves in the foot now .... 

BTW if you read the article its no wonder the trademark was
rejected in the context that they applied for it - 'fandom'
has been in common use since about 1930!

Extract from the article: 
------------------------------------------------------ " 
Fandom.com, Loschin suggests, offers a classic example of
such cyber-bullying -- and without any legal justification,
to boot. According to the U.S. Patents and Trademarks
office, Fandom.com's registration has the status "dead" and
"abandoned." The company's claim on the word is tenuous at
best, and to Burrell, symbolic of changing times.
"Fandom.com feels a need to apply their own trademark and
strictures on fannish activities," she says. "But what they
want to restrict and trademark isn't even something they
created themselves, but something created by fandom in
general."  
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regards doug

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