EZA article rejected due to trademarked term what's going on ?

13 years ago

I'm not sure about your specific trademark issue, but EZA has become much stricter since the Google Panda update, understandably so I think.

Robert Bayes

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Michael Shook 13 years ago

It is indeed a trademarked term. Must have had pretty good trademark attorneys.

This is a link to the google search. the only ad on the page is from spinning dot com, which often indicates a trademark term (not always)

Take a look at the wikipedia entry, right in the description it says the term is trademarked. Not that all information on Wikipedia is correct, but in this case it seems like it might be true.

spinning search
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Dan C. Rinnert

13 years ago

Originally Posted by hagendazz07

Now, I looked in the dictionnary and spinning is a regular noun so how can someone trademark it.

Spinning, as a noun, is a process for making thread or yarn or a fishing method.

Spinning, as a trademark, is an exercise machine/method.

If you were using the word "spinning" in an article about making thread or fishing, there shouldn't be a problem.

But, since you were using it in a weight loss article, it can be a problem if the use of the word infringes upon the trademark or if it tries to use the trademark as a common word.

Trademark holders have to protect their mark against becoming a dictionary word. Since there is no dictionary word for spinning in relation to exercise, likely that is the case here.

For example, escalator was originally a trademark. The trademark was lost when "escalator" fell into common use as a word and was used to describe any type of moving staircase as opposed to just Escalator brand moving staircases.

So, trademark holders have to protect their mark in order to prevent it from becoming a generic word.

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azmanar

13 years ago

Hi,

The word FACE is rumoured to have been trademarked by FaceBook.

It is a noun in English dictionaries indicating part of the human head.

The word is being used by millions of English speaking people for hundreds
of years. A face makes a person uniquely recognizable by parents, neighbours
and friends.

Yet, it could be trademarked.

Is this fair? I don't think it is fair.

They can trademark a phrase but how could they be allowed to trademark
verbs and nouns that are already in use by 500 million English speakers for
already hundreds of years.

After this what else ? eating, drinking, cycling, sleeping, walking, dancing ...

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KirkMcD 13 years ago

Originally Posted by azmanar

Hi,

The word FACE is rumoured to have been trademarked by FaceBook.

It's not a rumor, but it's use as a trademark is limited.
Patent Office Agrees To Facebook’s “Face” Trademark
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JohnMcCabe 13 years ago

The trademark does not prevent all use. The trademark protects against use in a very specific context.

Even the word 'spinning' use here could be used in relation to losing weight; the problem comes when using the word to decribe an exercise regimen featuring a stationary bicycle.

For example, they couldn't prevent you from talking about 'spinning a salad' to remove excess water.

Common nouns and verbs can be trademarked by tying the word to a specific usage.
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Richard Van

13 years ago

Originally Posted by azmanar

The word FACE is rumoured to have been trademarked by FaceBook.

It is a noun in English dictionaries indicating part of the human head.

The word is being used by millions of English speaking people for hundreds
of years. A face makes a person uniquely recognizable by parents, neighbours
and friends.

Well I've learned something new today.

I've been puzzling over a what a face was for years.

Sorry, I'm joking, I couldn't resist.

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Wibble, bark, my old man's a mushroom etc...

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Trevor 13 years ago

I think the term "spinning" has been popularized and made generic, though. I use it to describe the immobile bicycle and until now I didn't even know it was a trademarked term.
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azmanar

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Richard Van

Well I've learned something new today.

I've been puzzling over a what a face was for years.

Sorry, I'm joking, I couldn't resist.

Rich,

So you noticed. ...... I made that description up.... roflmao.

I still couldn't understand why any company can be allowed to limit the public from using common words.

Why can't they be more creative in inventing words like Google, Pepsi, Walmart, Vimeo, YouTube, Beebo, Yada, Yeedee, Yoodoo and etc.

Patent them for all they want, if those words they invented.

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Richard Van

13 years ago

Originally Posted by azmanar

Rich,

So you noticed. ...... I made that description up.... roflmao.

I still couldn't understand why any company can be allowed to limit the public from using common words.

Why can't they be more creative in inventing words like Google, Pepsi, Walmart, Vimeo, YouTube, Beebo, Yada, Yeedee, Yoodoo and etc.

Patent them for all they want, if those words they invented.

I wasn't being rude chap. Your description just made me laugh and I couldn't resist it

I fully agree as well, I think getting "face" is ridiculous. I genuinely thought it was a wind up when I first saw it.

Strange times we live in

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Wibble, bark, my old man's a mushroom etc...

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azmanar

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Richard Van

I wasn't being rude chap. Your description just made me laugh and I couldn't resist it

I fully agree as well, I think getting "face" is ridiculous. I genuinely thought it was a wind up when I first saw it.

Strange times we live in

No worries Rich. I enjoyed a good laugh as well.

On the subject of patenting common words, it seems like a new wave
of land grabbing activities by greedy and powerful schmoes.

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davezan

13 years ago

Originally Posted by azmanar

They can trademark a phrase but how could they be allowed to trademark
verbs and nouns that are already in use by 500 million English speakers for
already hundreds of years.

Oh, by using the word distinctively rather than descriptively. After all, trademarks
distinctively identify the source of its good and/or service.

Go to your local supermarket and count how many household products use everyday,
common, generic words nonetheless. And as already mentioned, that still won't stop
people from using those words in their generic, descriptive meaning.

We're probably just taking things for granted.

Originally Posted by Michael Oksa

This post reminds me of the time I saw a package heroin on an escalator. I wanted to turn it in, but didn't want to get my fingerprints on it either. So I used a phillips-head screwdriver to pick up the package and put it in my thermos.

Unfortunately, my zipper got stuck on the handrail, and I went up and down the escalator like a yo-yo. I hurt so bad I took some aspirin without any water, and it tasted like kerosene! Luckily I had some butterscotch candy on me to get the taste out of my mouth.

All the best,
Michael

And don't forget to wash your hair with head and shoulders, do gas up at shell, print
your stuff with your brothers, and make your lady's choice sandwich!

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David

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Michael Oksa 13 years ago

Originally Posted by davezan

And don't forget to wash your hair with head and shoulders, do gas up at shell, print
your stuff with your brothers, and make your lady's choice sandwich!

I could do as you suggest, but then I would be using trademarked names, as opposed to once trademarked names that are now generic.

~Michael
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Black Hat Cat

Banned 13 years ago

Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert

Spinning, as a noun, is a process for making thread or yarn or a fishing method.

Spinning, as a trademark, is an exercise machine/method.

If you were using the word "spinning" in an article about making thread or fishing, there shouldn't be a problem.

But, since you were using it in a weight loss article, it can be a problem if the use of the word infringes upon the trademark or if it tries to use the trademark as a common word.

Trademark holders have to protect their mark against becoming a dictionary word. Since there is no dictionary word for spinning in relation to exercise, likely that is the case here.

For example, escalator was originally a trademark. The trademark was lost when "escalator" fell into common use as a word and was used to describe any type of moving staircase as opposed to just Escalator brand moving staircases.

So, trademark holders have to protect their mark in order to prevent it from becoming a generic word.

Using trademarks in an article doesn't put a trademark at risk. Sony doesn't have to protect their trademark because I write an article about Sony tvs, or if I talk about a dog named Sony. EA is basically doing something they are under no obligation to do. Rejecting an article because it uses the word spinning is ridiculous. But this is EA, so it's not surprising, as ridiculous is pretty much par for the course for them.

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JohnMcCabe 13 years ago

Here's a practical solution you could try...

Simply add the (tm) or (R) symbol to acknowledge that, in your context, the word is a trademark.

Might be worth trying, and is likely to get you further down the road than "discussing" the subject of trademark law to death. That horse has been beaten so bad around here lately that the even the steaks have whip marks...
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Dan C. Rinnert

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Black Hat Cat

Using trademarks in an article doesn't put a trademark at risk. Sony doesn't have to protect their trademark because I write an article about Sony tvs, or if I talk about a dog named Sony. EA is basically doing something they are under no obligation to do. Rejecting an article because it uses the word spinning is ridiculous. But this is EA, so it's not surprising, as ridiculous is pretty much par for the course for them.

It depends on how the word is used. If it is used as a noun or verb, as though it were a generic word, then it would harm the trademark.

In writers' magazines, for example, a number of trademark holders will place advertisements telling writers the proper use of their mark. I remember Kleenex® brand tissues as a frequent advertiser, telling writers that no one should ask for a kleenex, but rather a Kleenex® brand tissue.

It's a cumulative effect. The more people see a trademark being used generically, the more it dilutes the mark and moves it toward becoming a generic word rather than a trademark.

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Targeted Traffic

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Black Hat Cat

Using trademarks in an article doesn't put a trademark at risk. Sony doesn't have to protect their trademark because I write an article about Sony tvs, or if I talk about a dog named Sony. EA is basically doing something they are under no obligation to do. Rejecting an article because it uses the word spinning is ridiculous. But this is EA, so it's not surprising, as ridiculous is pretty much par for the course for them.

Agree! Ezine has some ridiculous rules. One of my articles got rejected sometime because they said the content resembled a content from another article. They were referring to some names classifications of Pearl Necklaces. Well what can I do, they are the Proper Names of these items and what they are popularly called of course. :confused:

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Troy_Phillips

13 years ago

Replace with pumping out some revolutions on an exercise bike lol

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johnapo

13 years ago

I had the same problem with a known soft drink firm in EZA before some time, so i had to get another example from the same industry but not the know red C-C to pass the submission process

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Michael Oksa

13 years ago

This post reminds me of the time I saw a package heroin on an escalator. I wanted to turn it in, but didn't want to get my fingerprints on it either. So I used a phillips-head screwdriver to pick up the package and put it in my thermos.

Unfortunately, my zipper got stuck on the handrail, and I went up and down the escalator like a yo-yo. I hurt so bad I took some aspirin without any water, and it tasted like kerosene! Luckily I had some butterscotch candy on me to get the taste out of my mouth.

All the best,
Michael

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SashaDaygame

13 years ago

Pics or it didn't happen!

But seriously - it's mental. But then again, corporations are trademarking herbs/plants etc and making it illegal to use those to cure diseases, unless you buy their formula. We're talking about plants that have been around for thousands of years. THAT's even more ****ed up. Strange times indeed!!

Originally Posted by Michael Oksa

This post reminds me of the time I saw a package heroin on an escalator. I wanted to turn it in, but didn't want to get my fingerprints on it either. So I used a phillips-head screwdriver to pick up the package and put it in my thermos.

Unfortunately, my zipper got stuck on the handrail, and I went up and down the escalator like a yo-yo. I hurt so bad I took some aspirin without any water, and it tasted like kerosene! Luckily I had some butterscotch candy on me to get the taste out of my mouth.

All the best,
Michael

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kevinw1

13 years ago

"Real cyclists" (as in, bikes on the road rather than exercise machines) also use the term "spinning". It would be interesting to know which came first.

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Michael Oksa 13 years ago

Originally Posted by kevinw1

"Real cyclists" (as in, bikes on the road rather than exercise machines) also use the term "spinning". It would be interesting to know which came first.

That's the thing, it doesn't matter who coined the term first; what matters is who trademarked it first.

I'm not saying it's always logical, fair, or good; just that that's the way it is.

All the best,
Michael
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hagendazz07

13 years ago

Thx alot everyone, i learned a lot.

But what if I'm using an article with the word spinning on my website (hint: I am) could they, the trademark holder sue me, however unlikely it is.

Thx

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Michael Oksa

13 years ago

Originally Posted by hagendazz07

Thx alot everyone, i learned a lot.

But what if I'm using an article with the word spinning on my website (hint: I am) could they, the trademark holder sue me, however unlikely it is.

Thx

Most likely not.

As long as it's not a part of your domain name, and you are not trying to compete with them in any way.

If I want to write an article about the Wii Fit, then there shouldn't be any problem with it.

All the best,
Michael

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KateHunter

13 years ago

And this is why I dont bother with ezine articles anymore, I don;t have time to waste over ridiculous nonsense!

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kpaulmedia

13 years ago

Great ... I was just about to start up SpinningFace.com ... oh well, back to the drawing board!

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thebitbotdotcom

13 years ago

I wrote an article about spinning articles once and was rejected.

I think the term "spinning" in general is flagged because of its association with article spinning...an EZA taboo.

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myseoclub

13 years ago

I must admit they have become very strict.

Now i get outsourcers to write and submit the articles for me and pay them once they are approved.

works much better than constantly trying to deal with it yourself.

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Brian John 13 years ago

some of the stuff that's trademarked amazes me...
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- azmanar 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by B.J. Johns
  
  some of the stuff that's trademarked amazes me...
  
  Is the hairstyle patented, as well?
  
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hagendazz07

13 years ago

Well thanks again for this wealth of information.

Anyway I might go back to my articles and do a search and replace...just in case !

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EZA article rejected due to trademarked term what's going on ?

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