[benatkin]

The word apple has other meanings besides Apple, Inc, but it is a registered trademark in the USA. Since instagram is based in the USA, it's pretty clear that Apple, Inc is the rightful owner. Whether or not they should have a trademark on such a common word is a separate question.

[gbear605]

It’s only a registered trademark for their business field. For example Apple Records also has a registered trademark on Apple in the USA. So by your measure they’re just as valid a rightful owner.

[benatkin]

It's pretty obvious what the most well-known trademark is. I don't think Google would be giving ibm.dev to the International Brotherhood of Magicians [1]. Here's an example as it pertains to domain names [2]. Of course Instagram is different and there's much less oversight, but they would probably do something similar, where they first verify a trademark, and if multiple parties have the same word in the trademark, determine which.

"2.5 Does putting my trademark in the Clearinghouse mean that I automatically get my trademark as a domain name in all new gTLDs?

No. The Clearinghouse verifies and maintains information from many jurisdictions and classes of goods or services, and many parties may have legitimate rights in the same trademark. Allocation of domain names in a particular TLD occurs according to the registry policies for that TLD."

1: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4806:9gr...

2: https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/trademark-clearinghouse/...

[toast0]

> It's pretty obvious what the most well-known trademark is.

The apple growers association of america?

[UweSchmidt]

This is absolutely not clear. How does someone who has @apple and posts pictures of apples infringe on Apple, Inc's trademark?

[benatkin]

I didn't say that they would be infringing on Apple, Inc's trademark and I don't think that. I only think that in disputed ownership, based on instagram's purpose of providing a communication platform, the rightful owner would be Apple, Inc, not someone who happened to register it first. And they have a way of determining who the rightful owner, to them, is. Clearly the definition of rightful owner isn't universal, nor is it 100% consistently determined, but a process can be made for determining it. Here's an example: https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/trademark-clearinghouse/...

[skinnymuch]

Do you think people don’t understand why Instagram is doing this? We know why a [powerful] entity would help another powerful entity. We’re not happy about it. Why would we be okay with the process of determining being of such sheer elitism?

[hopler]

This is bootlicking. Private companies don't own the English language.