Antedating of "Motel"

[David A. Daniel]

I found this. Don't know how accurate it is, but I remember having read this
years ago about "motel" so there is at least some corroboration of memory
(which doesn't mean much, unfortunately).

Motel Inn in San Luis Obispo, California, is the world's first motel. It was
built in 1925 by LA architect Arthur Heineman, who coined the term motel
meaning "motor hotel." Motel Inn was originally called the Milestone Mo-Tel.
Back then, one night stay was $1.25. Heineman couldn't afford the trademark
registration fee, so his competitors were able to use the word "motel." The
motel is still in operation today.

It's here: http://www.oddee.com/item_96511.aspx
DAD


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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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