# Dell tries to trademark "cloud computing"



## ekim68 (Jul 8, 2003)

After witnessing countless corporate attempts to patent common practices or trademark common terms, and seeing the resulting PR fallout, one would think that companies would just stop trying. Dell, however, seems to think that it should be able to trademark the term "cloud computing," a phrase that entered the tech lexicon many years ago to describe software processing that takes place on a distributed network, such as the Internet.

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/08/01/dell-has-applied-trademark-term-cloud-computing


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## AleciaBrent (Aug 21, 2008)

Good one. Cloud computing is giving a whole new dimension to online computing.


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## TechGuy (Feb 12, 1999)

I guess it doesn't hurt to try. It does look bad when they're denied, but only to the tech-savvy people who are paying attention.


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## Gulo Luseus (May 12, 2007)

As i recall, Marvel patented Death and a few others have managed to get some really weird patents. Not as new or as strange as it first seems, unfortunnately


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## rwt1933 (Sep 21, 2006)

Our patent and trademarks and intelectual property laws are useless with the pace of modern technology, and so is the office administering them. Examples:

A song or a movie that will be forgotten after about two months or weeks - protected for 75, or is it 125 years.

Drug patent that may takes years and millions of dollars to develop, and then 8 to 10 years to introduce to market - protection 17 years. Drug patents not recognized in Italy and freely pirated you know where.

Most of the patents are either non enforceable, or would not pass Court scrutiny. Once worked for a company which filed many technical product patents every year. There was no time we were not sued by our competitors for infringement, or that we not sued others. Never reached trial. Always agreed to pay some nominal license fee, which of course ended with the customers. Game is OK for big boys, but start-up companies do not have a chance, as lawyers fees would probably kill them.

The whole process is a joke.


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