Re: LDP project going online

[David Lawyer <dave@lafn.org>]

> On Thu, 7 Sep 2000 brichardson@lineone.net wrote:
> >>I'm putting together a new form of the LDP project which is along the
> >>lines of what you've stated below:
> >
On Thu, Sep 07, 2000 at 07:28:56AM -0700, Poet/Joshua Drake wrote:
> 
> Actually he can use the LDP name. Legally we do not exist.
> 

He can't legally use our name.  If we were incorporated, it would not
give any more protection to our name than we now have.  Here are some
excerpts from:

       Corporate Names, Trade Names, Trademarks, and Fictitious Names
                               by Mary Hanson

   A common mistake regarding a business name is the belief that the
   filing of a DBA or the registration of a corporation with the
   Secretary of State protects the name. They don't. Do not assume that
   any name filings provide protection of the name. Those types of
   filings are not intended to protect your rights to a name and they
   only remotely affect the protection of a name from use by others.
   
   The key to creating rights to a name is the actual use of the name in
   business. The party first using a name or trademark in a particular
   geographic area in selling a type of product or service has the
   superior right to the name or mark in that area for that type of
   product or service. All other considerations of rights to business
   names or marks have to contend with that basic rule.

Well, our geographic area is the entire world and we were first with
our name which is now well established.  So I think that we have legal
rights to it.  Even though we are not formally organized we still
exist legally as an informal organization.  Although LDP does not have
the legal status to sue, members could sue on behalf of the
organization.  If we won damages they would need to be paid to some
organization which would use them for our benefit since as an informal
organization we have no way to accept money.  I don't think the fact
that we are not formally organized is much of a problem.

			David Lawyer


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