Is "Grok" trademarked? page

[azleah]

Or copywrited. Can I use it in a product name? I wrote Mark, but am guessing the email got lost in the deluge of email he gets.
Thanks!

[bloodorchid]

you know what, you should ask mark

so email him again

[GuineaPigQueen]

United States Patent and Trademark Office

[Tribal Rob]

No I'm sure it's absolutly fine to steal a logo and use it on your own product with-out authorisation or anything, I mean it's not like people will associate the logo with Mark, Primal products or his books and work, so his reputation can in no way be compromised, plus there will be absolutly no assumtion that Mark in anyway approves of or reccomends this product. It's also not imoral in anyway either. Oh by the way I'm being sarcastic

[JoanieL]

I don't know if you can trademark just a word. Robert Heinlein used the word grok as a verb in his book Stranger in a Strange Land.

If you google "definition: grok," you can see it's not a new word, but Mark does use it as a noun/name/proper noun.

[Figlio di Moros]

United States Patent and Trademark Office

To speed it up:

Trademark search- Grok

[Nady]

It may be, but I don't think Mark has exclusive usage~ Welcome to Grok

[Nigel]

If I remember correctly, the word "grok" was used in a Robert Heinlein book many moons ago for the Martian word equating to "I totally understand everything about this" as in "I grok it." I would think of another name for a product line that is unique as it's just not worth winding people up.

[Tribal Rob]

I was assuming the OP was asking about the logo, Mark may not have ownership of the word grok, however, IMO using the Grok that Mark has created as a representation of pre-agricultural man in the same context would not be okay without permission, certainly if someone did that to me I would consider it use of my idea and it would piss me right off. IMO it's just like Disney can't stop you using the words duck or donald, but use them to represent an cartoon duck that talks like freak they will most likely take issue with it and set their nazi storm troopers on you.

[JoanieL]

I was assuming the OP was asking about the logo, Mark may not have ownership of the word grok, however, IMO using the Grok that Mark has created as a representation of pre-agricultural man in the same context would not be okay without permission, certainly if someone did that to me I would consider it use of my idea and it would piss me right off. IMO it's just like Disney can't stop you using the words duck or donald, but use them to represent an cartoon duck that talks like freak they will most likely take issue with it and set their nazi storm troopers on you.

And they have done it. About 30 years ago, there was a poster depicting Donald, Goofy, and one other Disney character all sitting around and smoking from a hookah with the caption, "Ain't Gonna Work on Dizzy's Farm No More." Disney stopped production.