James Bond's Gun Gets A Trademark... Based On An Online Survey

from the can-we-also-vote-against-it? dept

Thu, Nov 4th 2010 8:43am — Mike Masnick

Apparently the maker of the gun preferred by (yes, fictional) James Bond has been able to get a trademark on the design, as "James Bond's weapon of choice." The USPTO initially rejected the trademark request, leading the company, Walther, who makes the PPK handgun, to do an online survey that suggested 54% of gun owners recognized the gun, with some of them mentioning James Bond in explaining how they recognized it. Apparently this online survey was enough to convince the USPTO that it had made a mistake. Who knew that the USPTO could so easily be influenced by online surveys? Can we have 4chan or Reddit folks stuff the ballot on future online surveys that might influence USPTO rulings?

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: guns, james bond, survey, trademark

37 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Dark Helmet (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 8:48am

Oh boy...
"Can we have 4chan or Reddit folks stuff the ballot on future online surveys that might influence USPTO rulings?"

That's got classic comedy written all over it. I'd love to see what 4chan came up with in their responses....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- scarr (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:03am
  
  Re: Oh boy...
  Pedobear will become an officially licensed product. Any unauthorized usage will result in your website being hacked and pr0n emailed to everyone you ever knew.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Sarah Black (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:44am
    
    Re: Re: Oh boy...
    lolcats will become an officially licensed product. **Any unauthorized usage will result in your website being hacked and lolcats emailed to everyone you ever knew.**
    
    oh wait... this already happend, amirite?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jason, 4 Nov 2010 @ 8:56am

yeah, but...
it is the only trademark to come across your desk in, like forever, that actually seems to pass the consumer confusion criterion.

I mean, imagine some poor schlep who buys another gun peddled with that slogan only to find out later he'd been double-oh-duped.

Is it meaningful or even worthwhile? Meh, but it does actually serve the correct purpose.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 8:59am

Aw geez
No love? We don't even get an "as a bunch of you sent in..."?

Ah well, I'm off to trademark Pedobear...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:02am
  
  Re: Aw geez
  Sorry, he's an official Vancouver 2010 Olympic Mascot. He's already covered.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- scarr (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:07am
  
  Re: Aw geez
  Clearly I read too slowly. I'm happy to see Pedobear is seen by others as the standard bearer (pun not intended) for 4chan.
  
  Sad Keanu is disappoint.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:32am
    
    Re: Re: Aw geez
    No worries. I'm doing the Leo Strut down to the USPTO...
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:13am

Patents are like anything else. If you stretch them to cover a larger area, they become thinner. Continued granting of any and all patents will stretch the definition of "patent" so thinly that it has less and less meaning until eventually it breaks and patents become completely meaningless.
Currently, we have reached the point where a 54% result from an arbitrary online survey can define whether or not something can be patented. How it can fall further, I don't know, but something tells me the USPTO will find a way...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:22am
  
  Re:
  Patent!=Trademark....
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:48am
    
    Re: Re:
    Normally, but with design patents the two definitely overlap.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:49am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Damn lack of edit. I meant 'dress trademarks' and 'design patents.'
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Pete Austin, 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:22am

Quick, run a Techdirt Survey about the USPTO
If the result is as expected, perhaps they will feel obliged to destroy themselves in an amusing way.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
R. Miles (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:27am

Another answer.
"Who knew that the USPTO could so easily be influenced by online surveys?"
It is a private organization now, Mike. Wave cash, get trademark. It's not hard to figure out.

Oh, and what the hell's up with that idiot bar now showing up on the bottom of the page? Can we disable this without having to click the thing every single time?

Dang, I hate these. I'd like to meet the idiot to start this fad and beat the crap out of them.

Isn't the toolbar below each article enough? Guess not.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- R. Miles (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:29am
  
  Re: Another answer.
  Nevermind. Just blocked the idiotic thing. :)
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - mattarse (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 7:23am
    
    Re: Re: Another answer.
    I don't know why those things have started to show up all over the place lately - I'm blocking all as I go but it's getting irritating.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - BearGriz72 (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 3:34pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Another answer.
      TGF-AdBlock?
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
shifty_eyes, 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:28am

summary error
The handgun is a PPK, the company that makes it is Walther.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_ppk
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Mike Masnick (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 3:07pm
  
  Re: summary error
  The handgun is a PPK, the company that makes it is Walther.
  
  Oops. Fixed. Thanks.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
iamtheky (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:32am

i would probably only recognize the silenced ppk as the bond weapon of choice, and thats only because of N64 Goldeneye.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Call me Al, 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:45am
  
  Re:
  Actually iamtheky I think I am right in saying that in Goldeneye the gun was referred to as PP7 because Walther wouldn't allow them to use PPK.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - imbrucy (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 10:27am
    
    Re: Re:
    You are exactly right, but the gun still looked like the PPK. The ingame name was the PP7, but it was the same gun.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Jason, 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:21pm
  
  Re:
  I'm sorry, but I can't resist this one. They actually call their gun a PP? I mean who does that, really?
  
  "James Bond prefers our PP* with his double oh's."
  
  *PP is a registered trademark of our PP, so don't even mess with our...oh nevermind.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 5 Nov 2010 @ 1:31am
    
    Re: Re:
    They actually call their gun a PP
    Less funny in German of course.... "Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell" Which suprised me - a "K" on German weapons I thought was usually "Kurtz" or "short" for shortened models.
    
    But yes a rather unfortunate translation - you'd think they'd let S&W re-brand it too if they're letting them sell it under license.... Unless they really do market it as "James Bond's Gun" in the US. If so, I'm not sure if that says more about the US or Walther's perception of it...
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:35am

Let me say only one thing...
Marblecake also the game.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- scarr (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:37am
  
  Re: Let me say only one thing...
  Marblecake also the game.�
  
  Fixed it for you.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Nov 2010 @ 10:04am

Never hear of PPK hangun. I know that Smith and Wesson imports the Walther PPK. Great gun, carry one with me quite a bit as a backup.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jeff, 4 Nov 2010 @ 10:20am

A more notable owner was Adolf Hitler.

Use that in your ad campaign.

Walther PPK, when you just have to shoot yourself in the head to avoid capture by the Russians.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 10:41am
  
  Re:
  "Walther PPK, when you just have to shoot yourself in the head to avoid capture by the Russians."
  
  WOLVERINES!!!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Nov 2010 @ 10:33am

Gotta wonder.....
... just what demographic Walther are going for with their marketing if people that say "I want to buy the gun that James Bond has" are actually part of their strategy.
Me I'm holding out for the new "Judge Dredd" gun.... :-)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- weneedhelp (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 10:44am
  
  Re: Gotta wonder.....
  Oh great, a gun for dumb asses:
  
  and as most of the work is done by the computing sight, the user doesn't need to be an expert marksman to score hits at these long ranges.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 4 Nov 2010 @ 3:19pm
    
    Re: Re: Gotta wonder.....
    Oh great, a gun for dumb asses:
    
    The "Judge Dredd" thing? No, a gun for soldiers surely?
    and as most of the work is done by the computing sight, the user doesn't need to be an expert marksman to score hits at these long ranges.
    Yes. A tool designed for the battlefield to kill the enemy in the most efficient way possible, not to win a skill competition. I'm sure there are people that would dissagree with me but I think that it's something a civilian should never own.
    I'm a tech geek so appreciate the technology involved, but the "I want Judge Dredd's gun" was sarcasm coming after the James Bond thing. Really, of course, I want a light sabre....... :-)
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Emilio, 4 Nov 2010 @ 12:13pm

Of course, Bond preferred a Beretta, but it was M who forced him into using the Walther (watch Dr. No and see...)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Thanatossassin (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 12:29pm
  
  Re:
  Ahh, very true! But his Beretta did jam on him according to that conversation, so does he change his opinion about the Beretta afterwards?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Thanatossassin (profile), 4 Nov 2010 @ 12:21pm

PPK Handgun Co??
I'm confused, is the company PPK Handgun a separate entity from Carl Walther?

Also, Smith & Wesson is supposedly the only source anyone can acquire new PPKs, so wouldn't they be the ones more concerned with James Bond's Choice Weapon?

Plus, James Bond's weapon of choice is arguable because in recent films & non-fleming novels, he uses a P99.

Ughh.....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- shifty_eyes, 4 Nov 2010 @ 12:28pm
  
  Re: PPK Handgun Co??
  There is no company named "PPK Handgun," Mike just made a mistake with his summary.
  
  The Hollywood Reporter article says "When the makers of the PPK handgun first tried to register the the sleek and elegant design..." (with "PPK handgun" in bold)
  
  The actual decision (in the PDF linked by the article) says "Karen A. Brennan of Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. for Carl
  Walther GmbH."
  
  Smith & Wesson distributes Walther branded firearms and accessories in the United States.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jake, 4 Nov 2010 @ 3:03pm

Just as an aside...
The PPK wasn't actually Bond's weapon of choice in canon until quite late in the series, in book and film continuity alike, and has since been replaced by more modern sidearms; if Beretta were still making the M1934, particularly the skeleton-grip variant, they'd have an equally valid claim.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]