Remember years ago when people were paid to find and acquire .com names just so that someone else wouldn’t get them?  And in the hopes of reselling it to a client or a speculator.  Everyone got bored with that and has moved on to trademarks, which are actually quite a bit more expensive to squat on and will cost legal fees to enforce but it’s the new fashion and even the NY Times has picked up on the story.  And if your blood pressure is a bit low and you’d like to raise it, read Techdirt’s blog – someone wants to trademark SEO?

If you’re bored, you can search the database of approved, pending and denied trademark application at TESS, two people are currently trying to trademark SEO and people keep trying to trademark Romeo and Juliet even though it keeps being denied.  However if you want to object to a filing you’ll have to know what’s been filed recently by staying on top of the weekly Gazette here and then file an opposition here within 30 days of the Gazette publication date.  This week someone wants to trademark ‘words of peace’  I guess diplomacy will have to end in the Middle East now.  For a more legal but still in plain English, see Trademark Dispute Against my Favorite Author.

I’m wondering if the SETI people have checked out the Patent & Trademark Office for Vogons lately…