Antedating of "Motel"

[Victor Steinbok]

It's a regular journalistic error to confuse copyright and trademark.
Virtually every time there is a national story that involves trademarks
or design patents, some publication will call it "copyright". Local
stories tend to be even worse.

     VS-)

On 11/27/2011 9:01 AM, ronbutters at AOL.COM wrote:
> How could a single word have been "copyrighted"? Were the IP laws different in 1925?
>
>
>
> On Nov 25, 2011, at 9:19 PM, "Shapiro, Fred"<fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>  wrote:
>
>> motel (OED3 1925 Mar.)
>>
>> 1925 _L.A. Times_ 18 Jan. B7 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)  The word "Motel," which has been copyrighted, means motor hotels.
>>
>>
>> Fred Shapiro

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