WetLeather Motorcycle Rider Information

"WetLeather", "WetLeather.com", "wetleather.com", the "wet rider" symbol of the motorcycle rider under a raining cloud, and the logotype including the wet rider symbol with or without the sytlized representation of the word "WetLeather" are trademarks of Carl Paukstis. The "wet rider" symbol and the logotype are Copyright 1995-2006 Carl Paukstis

I have no intention of being a jerk about trademark issues, etc. but: I invented the name; I started the mailing list; I do all the work; I get to make the rules. As always: I don't enjoy making rules at all, and will make only as many as I feel are necessary for everybody to get along and have fun. Since WetLeather is my creation, I want to maintain some semblance of control over use of the name so that I have some recourse in the unlikely event that someone tries to use it in a way I find undesirable.

Net.lawyers, jump in and tell me how I'm wrong here:

A trademark (as opposed to a Registered Trademark) is a common-law entity. It need not be registered, recorded, or governmentally-approved in any fashion to have the weight of legal enforceability. What it MUST have, in oreder to be legally enforceable, is _defense_. Meaning that the mark-holder must assert the trademark status; ask/demand that third parties using the mark do so with the mark-holder's permission; demand acknowledgement of the ownership by third parties via the ™ symbol and a notation of the mark-holder; and require that third parties using the mark in conjunction with their own products or meanings without permission must cease and desist.

So, the only way I retain control over the name without involving the government (the Registered Trademark thing), is to periodically remind people that it is a trademark and require that it be used by my standards and referring to my product, or with my permission. I give blanket permission to all WetLeather subscribers to use the trademark to refer to this mailing list. The proper form is shown previously - one word; capital W and L. I'm not so very concerned about defending the mark in purely-electronic media, but that's why I periodically ramble on about this. Please forgive me for being tedious.

- Carl