公司因“钻石标准”这一名称威胁以太坊标准的作者。
我是以太坊“ERC-2535 Diamonds”标准的作者，这是一种在生态系统中使用多年的模块化智能合约标准。
在2020年，标准发布不久后，我收到了来自一家名为Diamond Standard Inc.的公司的商标侵权威胁。他们声称我通过将标准命名为“ERC-2535 Diamond Standard”侵犯了他们的商标。因此，我将其更名为“ERC-2535 Diamonds”。
当时，我并不认为以太坊的智能合约标准会实际侵犯商标——这并不是一种产品或服务。但由于威胁的严重性，我选择遵从，主要是为了避免不必要的法律纠纷。
现在，我公开了这个故事，并发布了我收到的经过编辑的法律信函（链接如下）。我也在考虑提出一个新的智能合约标准，这将是ERC-2535的简化版本，我想知道“Diamond Standard”这个名称今天是否仍然会引发法律问题。
我非常希望能听到熟悉商标法、知识产权或开源治理的人的意见。特别是：
1. 技术标准的名称是否会侵犯商标？
2. 当没有商业产品时，商标法是否适用？
3. 他们的原始主张在美国商标法下是否有效？
4. 是否有涉及技术或开源标准命名的先例？
以下是经过编辑的法律信函和我解释背景故事的帖子：
https://x.com/mudgen/status/1997650412090826959
感谢您提前提供的任何见解。
—— Nick Mudge
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I'm the author of Ethereum’s "ERC-2535 Diamonds" standard, a modular smart contract standard that has been used in the ecosystem for years.<p>In 2020, shortly after publishing the standard, I received a trademark infringement threat from a company called Diamond Standard Inc. They claimed I was infringing on their trademark simply by naming the standard “ERC-2535 Diamond Standard.” Because of this, I renamed it to “ERC-2535 Diamonds.”<p>At the time, I didn’t think an Ethereum smart contract standard could realistically infringe on a trademark — it isn’t a product or service. But the threat was serious enough that I complied, mostly to avoid an unnecessary legal battle.<p>I’ve now gone public with the story and released the redacted legal letter I received (link below).
I’m also considering proposing a new smart contract standard that would be a simpler version of ERC-2535, and I am wondering whether the name “Diamond Standard” would still present any legal issues today.<p>I’d really appreciate informed opinions from people familiar with trademark law, intellectual property, or open-source governance. In particular:<p>Can the name of a technical standard infringe a trademark?<p>Does trademark law apply when there is no commercial product?<p>Does their original claim seem valid under U.S. trademark law?<p>Are there precedents involving naming of technical or open-source standards?<p>Here is the redacted legal letter and my post explaining the backstory:
https://x.com/mudgen/status/1997650412090826959<p>Thanks in advance for any insights.<p>— Nick Mudge