Kindle Name Can't be used

Andrew Kaufman · 09-24-2010, 08:38 PM

I feel bad for all those people who use the word "Kindle" in their website. After all, isn't it just more advertising for Amazon?

http://www.kindleminds.net/2010/09/2...r-just-go-away

Drew

desertgrandma · 09-24-2010, 08:42 PM

Oops. There goes KindleBoards.....

ardeegee · 09-24-2010, 08:52 PM

Site owner needs to contact http://www.eff.org/

rcuadro · 09-24-2010, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Oops. There goes KindleBoards.....

Maybe KindleBoards is a forum about setting things on fire... and PyroBoards was not avalable

Andrew Kaufman · 09-24-2010, 08:57 PM

LOL. There you go. Really, though, kindle was a word before they decided to use it. I don't see how they can stake claim to it as their own. It's not like they made it up themselves.

rcuadro · 09-24-2010, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Kaufman

LOL. There you go. Really, though, kindle was a word before they decided to use it. I don't see how they can stake claim to it as their own. It's not like the made it up themselves.

I just sent this to Endgadet

Dylrob · 09-24-2010, 09:05 PM

This is nothing but a corporate bullying tactic.

JeremyR · 09-24-2010, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Kaufman

LOL. There you go. Really, though, kindle was a word before they decided to use it. I don't see how they can stake claim to it as their own. It's not like they made it up themselves.

Yeah, but you can trademark real words as part of a brand name in a specific context. In this case Kindle as a name of an e-reader.

And that's exactly how it's being used. It's not like they are going after something named "Kindle" that was totally different (like that day care play for children, Kindle-Care*)

That said, it's never a good idea to go after fan sites. Most companies don't care (for good reason).

* I know, it's different but I couldn't think of anything else.

meromana · 09-25-2010, 01:21 AM

But this isn't about free speech or trademarks, in which case, I'd be all for David standing up to Goliath. Rather, this is about the associate agreement contract between Az and the guy at KindleMinds. As an associate, he agreed (perhaps without reading the fine print) not to have a website with the word Kindle in it, so as he points out himself, he can either stop being an associate or stop using that site name.

As KindleMinds points out, of course, Az is biting the hand that feeds them, but I suppose they're more concerned about misrepresentation than whatever amount of sales they get from his site. This is surely a policy they will selectively enforce...

--Maria

Dulin's Books · 09-25-2010, 01:37 AM

Well they signed an agreement so thats binding. He can drop the links or drop the name. That bit about Amazon buying the domain name is disturbing because they are saying they would buy it and the person agrees to NEVER use kindle in the name for any other site, ever for any other purpose.

I see it more as Amazon trying to hide it better that they pay people to run websites to sell and "review" Kindle that pretend to not have an affiliation with Amazon at all.

brecklundin · 09-25-2010, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

Well they signed an agreement so thats binding. He can drop the links or drop the name. That bit about Amazon buying the domain name is disturbing because they are saying they would buy it and the person agrees to NEVER use kindle in the name for any other site, ever for any other purpose.

I see it more as Amazon trying to hide it better that they pay people to run websites to sell and "review" Kindle that pretend to not have an affiliation with Amazon at all.

ahhhh man, you know better than that. And agreement is only as good as the willingness of both parties to abide by the terms of the agreement. Learned that early on as a consultant...sure you can sue but it never works out well in the end.

Still, I feel if you make the agreement then you need to live by it as along as it's fair to both sides...and here in the US it does have to be fair all parties must get a reasonable benefit from the terms for the agreement to be vaild.

BTW, I think you could be right about the Amazon wanting the "independent" afilliate with all positive all the time content...it's all about the brand dillution crap.

HarryT · 09-25-2010, 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Kaufman

LOL. There you go. Really, though, kindle was a word before they decided to use it. I don't see how they can stake claim to it as their own. It's not like they made it up themselves.

It's a registered trademark, which means that it can't be used when referring to the Kindle reader, without Amazon's permission. This is entirely normal - Amazon HAVE to protect their trademark or they risk losing it.

etienne66 · 09-25-2010, 09:32 AM

I don't know if they could prevent him from owning any site that has the name Kindle in it. Surely he could register www.kindlesucks.com if he wanted to and claim freedom of speech. There is no way that website would be assumed to be endorsed by Amazon.

Or maybe he could do like BlogKindle.com and stick an "Unofficial" label in the banner of his website.

Personally I like the Kindle and Amazon's pricing of ebooks, when that damned "Agency Model" isn't involved. But I prefer the touchscreen on my new Sony and its support for the epub format.

Etienne66

Kali Yuga · 09-25-2010, 10:50 AM

This is all pretty normal. I also suspect that these type of trademark issues are far narrower than most people assume.

For example, Facebook is currently pressing a website called "Teachbook" to change its name (or at least its suffix). However, it looks like Facebook is not (and most likely cannot) control the use of "-book" as a universal suffix; e.g. if I make a site called "readbook.com" that is dedicated to literacy, Facebook has no case. Teachbook has an issue because it is, at least in part, a social networking site for teachers; there isn't much reason to doubt the name was derived from Facebook.

As to protest websites, as far as I know you often can get away with appending "-sucks" to a website. However, you may well face a lawsuit if you append "sucks" in a commercial context, e.g. using "dyson-sucks.com" to try and sell 3rd party goods for Dyson Vacuums.

HarryT · 09-25-2010, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

As to protest websites, as far as I know you often can get away with appending "-sucks" to a website. However, you may well face a lawsuit if you append "sucks" in a commercial context, e.g. using "dyson-sucks.com" to try and sell 3rd party goods for Dyson Vacuums.

That is, of course, a uniquely American term of insult. Here in the UK, for many years Dyson used the slogan "Nothing sucks like a Dyson".

09-24-2010, 08:38 PM	#1
Andrew Kaufman Author/Suspense Thrillers Posts: 56 Karma: 4360 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: CA Device: Kindle	Kindle Name Can't be used I feel bad for all those people who use the word "Kindle" in their website. After all, isn't it just more advertising for Amazon? http://www.kindleminds.net/2010/09/2...r-just-go-away Drew

09-24-2010, 08:57 PM	#5
Andrew Kaufman Author/Suspense Thrillers Posts: 56 Karma: 4360 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: CA Device: Kindle	LOL. There you go. Really, though, kindle was a word before they decided to use it. I don't see how they can stake claim to it as their own. It's not like they made it up themselves. Last edited by Andrew Kaufman; 09-24-2010 at 09:12 PM.

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desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Oops. There goes KindleBoards.....

09-24-2010, 08:52 PM	#3
ardeegee Maratus speciosus butt Posts: 3,292 Karma: 1162698 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-350	Site owner needs to contact http://www.eff.org/

09-24-2010, 09:05 PM	#7
Dylrob Murderous Mustela Posts: 10,234 Karma: 48000000 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The other land of schnitzel and beer Device: iPad M1 Pro, Kindle Paperwhite	This is nothing but a corporate bullying tactic.

09-25-2010, 01:21 AM	#9
meromana Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 11430 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: NC, USA Device: my laptop	But this isn't about free speech or trademarks, in which case, I'd be all for David standing up to Goliath. Rather, this is about the associate agreement contract between Az and the guy at KindleMinds. As an associate, he agreed (perhaps without reading the fine print) not to have a website with the word Kindle in it, so as he points out himself, he can either stop being an associate or stop using that site name. As KindleMinds points out, of course, Az is biting the hand that feeds them, but I suppose they're more concerned about misrepresentation than whatever amount of sales they get from his site. This is surely a policy they will selectively enforce... --Maria

09-25-2010, 01:37 AM	#10
Dulin's Books Wizard Posts: 2,806 Karma: 13500000 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Portland, OR Device: Boox PB360 etc etc etc	Well they signed an agreement so thats binding. He can drop the links or drop the name. That bit about Amazon buying the domain name is disturbing because they are saying they would buy it and the person agrees to NEVER use kindle in the name for any other site, ever for any other purpose. I see it more as Amazon trying to hide it better that they pay people to run websites to sell and "review" Kindle that pretend to not have an affiliation with Amazon at all.

09-25-2010, 09:32 AM	#13
etienne66 Groupie Posts: 185 Karma: 9832 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Texas, US Device: Kindle 2, PRS-600 Black, PRS-650 Red, Adam w/ Pixel Qi(pre-ordered)	I don't know if they could prevent him from owning any site that has the name Kindle in it. Surely he could register www.kindlesucks.com if he wanted to and claim freedom of speech. There is no way that website would be assumed to be endorsed by Amazon. Or maybe he could do like BlogKindle.com and stick an "Unofficial" label in the banner of his website. Personally I like the Kindle and Amazon's pricing of ebooks, when that damned "Agency Model" isn't involved. But I prefer the touchscreen on my new Sony and its support for the epub format. Etienne66

09-25-2010, 10:50 AM	#14
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	This is all pretty normal. I also suspect that these type of trademark issues are far narrower than most people assume. For example, Facebook is currently pressing a website called "Teachbook" to change its name (or at least its suffix). However, it looks like Facebook is not (and most likely cannot) control the use of "-book" as a universal suffix; e.g. if I make a site called "readbook.com" that is dedicated to literacy, Facebook has no case. Teachbook has an issue because it is, at least in part, a social networking site for teachers; there isn't much reason to doubt the name was derived from Facebook. As to protest websites, as far as I know you often can get away with appending "-sucks" to a website. However, you may well face a lawsuit if you append "sucks" in a commercial context, e.g. using "dyson-sucks.com" to try and sell 3rd party goods for Dyson Vacuums.