<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
The OED has a very brief description of "trademark" as a verb, with
no examples:<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"> <span class="lemma" id="eid17867963">ˈtrade-ˌmark</span>
<span class="ps">v.</span> (<em>trans.</em>) to affix or imprint a
trade-mark upon.</blockquote>
<br>
This seems a bit narrow, unless "affix" is treated quite generously.
In fact, current usage suggests that "to trademark" means to either
apply for trademark registration and protection or to make something
famous and exclusive (the latter in a somewhat transformative
sense). An easy search for the former includes "going to trademark"
string, which produces 70800 raw ghits.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://goo.gl/b5R6M">http://goo.gl/b5R6M</a><br>
<blockquote type="cite">We were also curious if it's even kosher to
trademark a number:<br>
...<br>
[Comments]<br>
The ability to trademark a number seems dumb. I'm going to
trademark the number 2, so there can't be any sequels anymore.
Bethesda did it for Scrolls well enough. <br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://goo.gl/qfLxA">http://goo.gl/qfLxA</a><br>
<blockquote type="cite">Is Disney really going to trademark "SEAL
Team 6"?<br>
...<br>
In a perfect example of a big media company looking to capitalize
on current events, the Walt Disney Company has trademarked Seal
Team 6, which happens to be the name of the elite special forces
team that killed Osama bin Laden.<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://goo.gl/0WR06">http://goo.gl/0WR06</a><br>
<blockquote type="cite">
Disney Trademarks "Seal Team 6"<br>
By Alex Weprin on May 13, 2011 4:25 PM<br>
<br>
In a textbook example of how big media company look to capitalize
on current events, The Walt Disney Company has trademarked "Seal
Team 6," which also happens to be the name of the elite special
forces team that killed Osama Bin Laden.<br>
<br>
The trademark applications came on May 3rd, two days after the
operation that killed Bin Laden... and two days after "Seal Team
6" was included in thousands of news articles and TV programs
focusing on the operation.</blockquote>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://goo.gl/UI8nR">http://goo.gl/UI8nR</a><br>
<blockquote type="cite">Citing the potential of “Occupy Wall Street”
to become a “global brand,” a Long Island couple has filed to
trademark the name of the amorphous organization responsible for
the protests and encampments in lower Manhattan and other U.S.
cities, The Smoking Gun has learned.</blockquote>
<br>
[deleted question on Yahoo! Answers]<br>
<blockquote type="cite">If im going to trademark a clo<span
class="st">thing line name, should i add 'clothing company' in
the trademark ? or just the brand name?</span></blockquote>
<br>
VS-)<br>
</body>
</html>
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org