skunk works – Techdirt (original) (raw)

Stories filed under: "skunk works"

Would A Moron In A Hurry Confuse Military Equipment With A Bamboo Fishing Rod?

from the skunk-works-me dept

The term a skunk works project has become a pretty generic description over the years for a somewhat autonomous project within an organization (often used in secret or to build a self-competitor). The term originated with Lockheed Martin, and while the name Skunkworks is a bite off of the popular Li’l Abner comic, Lockheed has become incredibly aggressive over the years trying to enforce its trademark — almost certainly a losing battle. But, even so, the company seems to be going too far on some of its claims. George alerts us to the fact that Lockheed Martin sent a legal nastygram to the maker of some bamboo fishing rods that are sold on the guy’s domain SkunkworksFlyRods.com.

In typical giant conglomerate fashion, the cease & desist doesn’t spend much time on pleasantries and goes straight to the demands and threats. It claims that the use of “skunkworks” is clearly in “bad faith” and demands he not just cease & desist, but also hand over the domain name. While the article linked above notes, correctly, that LM needs to defend its trademark, that’s only in cases where there’s actually trademark infringement. You could make a pretty strong case, I imagine, that no one is going to confuse this fishing rod with a fighter plane.

Filed Under: fishing rod, skunk works, skunkworks, trademark
Companies: lockheed martin