Trademarks, unlike patents and copyrights, don't expire. However, if they
are not actively used in commerce, they can be considered "abandoned" and
lapse. I am not a lawyer and don't know the details, but it looks like this
might be the case here.
-s
On Jul 3, 2011 1:46 AM, "Steve Haflich" <smh at franz.com> wrote:
>
> Richard Fateman <fateman at eecs.berkeley.edu> wrote:
>
> On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 17:08, Richard Fateman <
fateman at eecs.berkeley.edu> wrote:
>
> I just visited
>
> http://www.macsyma.com/
>
> there is a note on the bottom that this domain may be for sale.
>
> Of course, but this doesn't mean what you think.
>
> It is common practice by the scummier animals of the internet when a
> longstanding domain name expires, to squat on that name by various means
> for some redicuously miniscule cost. (I forget the details.) Most
> expired domain names expired because the nae was no longer "in
> business", but sometimes a valuable, active nae isn't renewed because of
> the client's administrative screwup. The squatters try to make money by
> selling the name back to the original owner, or someone else who has
> legitimate use for that name.
>
> If you visit the www.macsyma.com site, you will see that it is nothing
> more than an automatic advertising squatting site. It has nothing to do
> with Macsyma, and clicking on the single Macsyma link just brings you to
> more scam links. After you do this, remember to close all the hidden
> pop-up windows. You might also want to restart your browser, and run a
> virus scan of your machine.
>
> This has little to do with the trademark status, although once some
> living people can claim the trademark, that might have bearing on
> reclaiming the url.
>
> Free online trademark search tells me that Macsyma is still a
> trademark (from 1984) and so is Macsyma Newsletter, owned by Macsyma
> Inc. (no address?)
>
> Owned, I believe, by Ira Topping. But he's dead. "So it goes."
> (Vonnegut) So until that trademark expires (when will it?) his estate
> (which, last I heard, lives on in a cardboard box in some lawyer's
> office) will continue to own it. Richard and I know someone who might
> know how to find this lawyer, in case anyone wants to make an offer.
> The name isn't worth very much -- although not so much that the maxima
> community couldn't collect that much. But this would not be enough for
> the estate (aka the lawyer) to want to bother doing business.
>
> Macsyma CD-ROM appears to be for sale at Amazon for $61.05. go figure.
>
> Does it come with a license?