proz in the name of a company
Thread poster: Olivier Vasseur
Olivier Vasseur
Olivier Vasseur  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 17:53
Member (2004)
English to French
+ ...
Mar 3, 2006

hello,
What do you think of a company having "proz" in its name ("TransProz")? The company is quoting on proz, so they know it exists. It's hard to think they did not use the name on purpose.


 
Suzanne Blangsted (X)
Suzanne Blangsted (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:53
Danish to English
+ ...
proz Mar 3, 2006

I saw that one too after I got a job offer. I did not respond because of this type of "infringement", as it appears to me that a company who will take advantage of the proz name probably isn't worth dealing with.

 
Noelia Ruiz Pérez
Noelia Ruiz Pérez  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:53
Member (2010)
English to Spanish
Weird Mar 3, 2006

I have also try to email them and the emails come back to me. Dunno.....

 
accur@te (X)
accur@te (X)
Local time: 17:53
English to French
proz Mar 3, 2006

Sure right. They come from India by the way. There was a project earlier on today from a blueboard quoted (5), with a rate of 0.02 dollar per word.

 
Richard Creech
Richard Creech  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:53
French to English
+ ...
Not clear that there is infringement Mar 3, 2006

There is no infringment if there is no legitimate trademark. I don't know the trademark status of ProZ.com, and it may be open to legal debate. I don't believe ProZ.com was the first party to come up with the term "proz," which is a cool (kewl) variant of "pros," an abbreviation for "professionals," and this term is likely in the public domain and thus free for all to use. It is a well-established point of trademark law that words that are part of the public domain cannot be appropriated by o... See more
There is no infringment if there is no legitimate trademark. I don't know the trademark status of ProZ.com, and it may be open to legal debate. I don't believe ProZ.com was the first party to come up with the term "proz," which is a cool (kewl) variant of "pros," an abbreviation for "professionals," and this term is likely in the public domain and thus free for all to use. It is a well-established point of trademark law that words that are part of the public domain cannot be appropriated by one party to the exclusion of others, as everyone has the right to use the publicly-used words of a language in describing his or her goods and services.Collapse


 
Fred Neild (X)
Fred Neild (X)  Identity Verified
English to Spanish
+ ...
No infringement Mar 3, 2006

Richard Creech wrote:

There is no infringment if there is no legitimate trademark. I don't know the trademark status of ProZ.com, and it may be open to legal debate. I don't believe ProZ.com was the first party to come up with the term "proz," which is a cool (kewl) variant of "pros," an abbreviation for "professionals," and this term is likely in the public domain and thus free for all to use. It is a well-established point of trademark law that words that are part of the public domain cannot be appropriated by one party to the exclusion of others, as everyone has the right to use the publicly-used words of a language in describing his or her goods and services.


I fully agree with Richard. At first glance I see no infringement.

Fred


 
ENGSOL
ENGSOL
German to English
+ ...
TransProZ Mar 3, 2006

Fred Neild wrote:

I fully agree with Richard. At first glance I see no infringement.

Fred


They could have come up with something a little more original though.

TransPoZ.com
TransGreZ.com
TransFix.com
TransFiGa.com
...

Thomas




[Edited at 2006-03-03 20:39]


 
Monika Coulson
Monika Coulson  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:53
Member (2001)
English to Albanian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Well, as the quote says Mar 3, 2006

Imitation is Flattering to the Greats. (S. Wigler)

Monika


ENGSOL wrote:

They could have come up with something a little more original though.




 
Richard Creech
Richard Creech  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:53
French to English
+ ...
Originality is in tension with Informativeness Mar 3, 2006

ENGSOL wrote:



They could have come up with something a little more original though.




There is always a tension in using language between being original and being clear. Communication pre-supposes a shared vocabulary and a (relatively) shared understanding of the meaning of words. The clearest communication is the least original, because it is in terms that are already well understood and established. A term that is totally original would not be understood by anyone other than the person who coined it. I could open up a business called "gawokos," which is highly original (I made it up), but nobody knows what kind of business it is. Alternatively, I can open up a business called "cold drinks," and you have an idea of what I am selling, but there is nothing original about it. I am just using basic words to describe my products, and trademark law guarantees that no one can come along and lay claim to the words "cold drinks" as their own to the exclusion of all others. Language is no one's personal property, it is, by definition, a shared thing. Trademarks are legitimate only when they clearly "mark" something in a unique way, for example, a non-sensical sound (my "gawokos," or Kodak film), or if they involve a term that is connected to the product in an unusual, non-descriptive way (Apple computers).


 
KathyT
KathyT  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 03:53
Japanese to English
FWIW.... Mar 4, 2006

I know of one translation company (which I'm sure is not the same one mentioned in the original post of this forum), with "Proz" in its name, that has actually been around a lot longer than this website.

A case of 'reverse' name stealing??? hahahaha


 
telefpro
telefpro
Local time: 22:23
Portuguese to English
+ ...
No infringement at all Mar 4, 2006

legally I see no infringement. IT only shows how popular is PROZ.COM

 
kalpen
kalpen  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 22:23
'Proz' in the Name of the Company Jan 12, 2017

Richard Creech wrote:

There is no infringment if there is no legitimate trademark. I don't know the trademark status of ProZ.com, and it may be open to legal debate. I don't believe ProZ.com was the first party to come up with the term "proz," which is a cool (kewl) variant of "pros," an abbreviation for "professionals," and this term is likely in the public domain and thus free for all to use. It is a well-established point of trademark law that words that are part of the public domain cannot be appropriated by one party to the exclusion of others, as everyone has the right to use the publicly-used words of a language in describing his or her goods and services.


Thanks Richard, for a very balanced opinion. I just saw this thread (after almost 8 years !). We used "TransProz" to convey the sense of 'Translation Professionals'. We also write it as conjoined word with capital "P" to signify it. We are registered as a Company (under Indian Laws) since 2003 and also enjoy Trademark protection for the Logo etc. Unfortunately, we didn't even know at that point that a portal named PROZ.com existed ... Cheers !


 
kalpen
kalpen  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 22:23
'Proz' in the Name of the Company Jan 12, 2017

KathyT wrote:

I know of one translation company (which I'm sure is not the same one mentioned in the original post of this forum), with "Proz" in its name, that has actually been around a lot longer than this website.

A case of 'reverse' name stealing??? hahahaha


Thanks Kathy, for a very interesting opinion. I just saw this thread (after almost 8 years !). We used "TransProz" to convey the sense of 'Translation Professionals'. We also write it as conjoined word with capital "P" to signify it. We are registered as a Company (under Indian Laws) since 2003 and also enjoy Trademark protection for the Logo etc. Unfortunately, we didn't even know at that point that a portal named PROZ.com existed ... Cheers !


 
kalpen
kalpen  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 22:23
proz in the name of a company Jan 12, 2017

Olivier Vasseur wrote:

hello,
What do you think of a company having "proz" in its name ("TransProz")? The company is quoting on proz, so they know it exists. It's hard to think they did not use the name on purpose.


Hello Olivier, I just saw this thread (after almost 8 years !). We used "TransProz" to convey the sense of 'Translation Professionals'. We also write it as conjoined word with capital "P" to signify it. We are registered as a Company (under Indian Laws) since 2003 and also enjoy Trademark protection for the Logo etc.

Unfortunately, we didn't even know at that point that a portal named PROZ.com existed (but the word Proz did exist and was freely available) ... Cheers !


 
kalpen
kalpen  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 22:23
'Proz' in the Name of the Company Jan 12, 2017

Suzanne Blangsted wrote:

I saw that one too after I got a job offer. I did not respond because of this type of "infringement", as it appears to me that a company who will take advantage of the proz name probably isn't worth dealing with.


Hello Suzzane, I just saw this thread (after almost 8 years !). We used "TransProz" to convey the sense of 'Translation Professionals'. We also write it as conjoined word with capital "P" to signify it. We are registered as a Company (under Indian Laws) since 2003 and also enjoy Trademark protection for the Logo etc.

Unfortunately, we didn't even know at that point that a portal named PROZ.com existed (but the word Proz did exist and was freely available) ... Cheers !


 


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proz in the name of a company






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