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Ask HN: What does a trademark of “Project Catalog” means?

2 points by stanislavb ↗ HN
I just noticed that Upwork has put a "trade mark" symbol next to the term "Project Catalog" (on their homepage and email communications).

Does anyone know what that means? That they are in the process of registering that generic term as a trademark that only they can use? That'd be a bit odd...

1 comment

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SLSMan
It means they’re claiming common law trademark protection for “Project Catalog” for now, essentially putting other businesses on notice that they’re claiming to own that term in their line of business. There’s no public record of them filing for the mark with the USPTO yet, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t or won’t. Anyone can do that; it’s the ® symbol that can’t be used unless the mark is registered.

While it may seem like a generic term, it’s likely not generic as far as trademarks go.