[darxius]

Are there laws that prevent legal entities from trademarking commonly-used words? I mean, if you invent some word for your product, you have the right to copy it. But "startup"? What would stop people from trademarking "the" and "computer"? I may be missing the point or interpreting the law incorrectly though - please correct me.

[RougeFemme]

Anyone is free to apply for a trademark for "the" or "computer". The applications would be promptly denied - well, promptly for a government bureaucracy.

[grabeh]

You can trade mark any word if it is sufficiently distinctive and can uniquely identify you as the provider of that product and/or services. For example 'Computer' for canned goods would be fine, but obviously registering 'Computer' for computers themselves would not be distinctive.

You can also only enforce your mark against someone using a mark in the course of business (at least in the UK) which would obviously exclude a whole range of potential third party uses.