Well, after a short conversation with the USPTO's server, I now have an application on file for a trademark which I can use to defend my business' web address. Unfortunately, after a short discussion with the California Corporation Commission, it appears that I cannot now incorporate under the name "Disappearing Inc" because these guys already did. As it turns out, all the trademark applications they've filed that would interfere with the application I filed are being disputed by the USPTO as being too general -- they are mainly just descriptive words. So they don't actually have trademarks they could use to kick me off my domain name yet. Anyway -- the way it looks now, there's a decent chance of my application being approved, and if that happens, then it will conflict/interfere with the trademark applications they've filed and those applications will have to be refused. There is also a chance that the trademark applications they have filed will be approved, and if that happens then mine will be refused as it will be found in conflict with theirs. And the wheels grind on.... Sigh. I ordered DSL service so I could put this site up on my own server way back in April. It's scheduled to be installed on October 3. Argh, Argh, Argh.... Ray On Mon, 25 Sep 2000, Ray Dillinger wrote:
Correction:
After a web search through USPTO, I find that there is another company also named Disappearing Inc, on Howard street in San Francisco. This is probably the company that was referred to.
To clarify: I have done business as "disappearing inc", and I am the owner of the domain name "disappearing-inc.com", which I have not yet used.
This pisses me off.... now they'll probably try to evict me as a cybersquatter.
Ray Dillinger
On Mon, 25 Sep 2000, Ray Dillinger wrote:
On Sun, 24 Sep 2000 anonymous@openpgp.net wrote:
Rival products include HushMail, ZixMail, Disappearing Inc. and Authentica.
I own Disappaering Inc. We have no such product and we have no such product under development.
Ray Dillinger