[Bug 25965] Does a TM (trademark), SM (service mark), (R) (registered trademark) symbol in a company's logo need alt text?

https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=25965

Karl Groves <kgroves@paciellogroup.com> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 CC|                            |kgroves@paciellogroup.com

--- Comment #3 from Karl Groves <kgroves@paciellogroup.com> ---
IANAL but I've hired some for IP purposes.  Whether or not a mark has been
registered or not, if business has been done under that mark, it is legally
protected. That being said, registering the mark does add an addition layer of
protection via its formality.

>From the USPTO:
"Although federal registration of a mark is not mandatory, it has several
advantages, including notice to the public of the registrant's claim of
ownership of the mark, legal presumption of ownership nationwide, and exclusive
right to use the mark on or in connection with the goods/services listed in the
registration."
http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/

So what does this mean, in the case where a mark has been registered? IOW, is
the little symbol meaningful enough to be included in the alt text?  I say no.
AIUI the Trademark owner is not required to indicate that they've registered
that mark. The identification (TM, SM, R, etc.) is placed at the owners
discretion.

So, my comment would be this:  Like any other text alternative, whether or not
to include something additional in the alt text depends on what you wish to
convey with the image. The age-old question: "What would I say if this image
was not here" applies.

Some organizations may be particularly sensitive to ensuring they've conveyed
their ownership of a mark and may want to explicitly declare that in their alt
text as well. To me, that's pretty silly and pointless, but that's a decision
for the organization to male.

-- 
You are receiving this mail because:
You are the QA Contact for the bug.

Received on Sunday, 8 June 2014 12:55:56 UTC