IndyFrisco wrote:And if two drug companies make the same product and one gets to the patent office first, not to mention the company that made it first, what happens?
The patent attornies do extensive research to determine whether any other company has marketed the same product in the past, and if so, for how long. If the other company has been making said drug for over 20 years, then Company A can go ahead with the patenting process, but they're pretty much SOL when it comes to trying to block Company B from marketing the drug they've sold for 20+ years.
Not sure what the point is, since the issue is trademarks and not patents, although similar rules apply. "Patent" is on a new product or innovation, "trademark" is the name it's given.
While I root for any and all setbacks that might befall the Seahawks, I don't see this working out for A&M. The Hawks were using the phrase for years before A&M applied for the trademark, and it certainly could be argued that "the 12th man" was a marketing tool used by the Seahawks organization, and as such couldn't be trademarked after-the-fact.
Interesting case.
But fuck the Seahawks for being such unbelievable gravytrainers, and fuck aTm for being such unbelievably whiney little bitches.