Quote from: jimbobway on April 30, 2012, 01:55:08 AM

Todd, it is unlikely you can trademark BitcoinATM. BitcoinATM is a descriptive term and probably cannot be trademarked. The only thing you own is the domain name. Google "Trademark Act Section 2(e)(1), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1); see TMEP §§1209.01(b), 1209.03 et" for more info.

There is no trademark on the words "BitcoinATM" nor is there likely to be one filed by me (but that is not necessarily a good thing). During investor negotiations Dustin Trammell requested that one be filed. It was never done partly because of timing and because you are correct, it is a generic descriptive term. Also I believe in giving 'value for value'.

I named the repository BitcoinATM knowing full well that I was encouraging it's use, thus making it only a little more difficult for any future trademark or patent squatters to 'extract rent'. Such as the likes of Michael Pascazi filing then retracting a tradmark on 'Bitcoin'.

Additionally, to avoid this possibility, I propose that this Github repository(s), BitcoinATM defined as 'Bitcoin Automated Transaction Mechanisms'. This would encourage the code to go in all sorts of interesting directions for physical and virtual devices large and small.

One more thought on forking; this open source effort is essentially, seriously forked already. There are two repositories supporting the same hardware with very different approaches both having valid technical and security arguments.

Jim Nguyen created the C++ version. Senior Software Engineer at http://www.defenseweb.com, http://www.bitcoinblogger.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcnguyen
Email: jimmy.winn@gmail.com
Cell: 1-619-602-7588

Eric Lombrozo created the PHP version (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-lombrozo/37/2b/a79)
Email: elombrozo@gmail.com
Cell: 1-858-735-0270

Todd Bethell, CFM, MBA
toddbethell
Life stream at: http://bambuser.com/channel/toddbethell sometimes at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/toddbethell
Blog: www.BitcoinFever.com
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Contact: tbethell08@merage.uci.edu toddbethell@fastscanning.com
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