IS THERE nothing left in this world that can’t be patented, copyrighted or
trademarked? The latest move in the stampede to slap intellectual property
rights on everything that exists is the attempt to register trademarks on words
that are already in everyday use.
For example, a California company called Fandom has applied to the US Patent
and Trademark Office for a trademark on the word “fandom” for its online
entertainment and information service. The application claims that the first use
of the word in business was in 1999. That comes as a big surprise to
science-fiction fans, who’ve been using…
