I've been approached regarding the use of the
(claimed-to-be) trademarked term bake-off. It
would be helpful if somebody can provide credible
evidence that this term has been used within
the technical community for many years.
Not necessary. Trademark protection only extends to uses of a trademarked
term or mark that might elicit confusion with the protected use. Thus,
Bake-Off might be protected with respect to use by companies in the same
business as Pillsbury, or in situations where use of the term might falsely
create the impression of a connection with or an endorsement by Pilsbury,
but in other contexts the protection does not apply. Protection for coined
terms such as Bake-Off is much stronger than for ordinary terms (such as
Windows), however.
Actually, I don't recall hearing this term used in technical circles. What
is it supposed to mean?
Did you know that Paramount Pictures has asserted trademark status for all
of the names of the characters in the original Star Trek series? Only in
America!