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How did Motorola get away with calling their phone the "Droid"?

What's done is done, I suppose- but I'm just curious how Motorola was able to get around trademark and copyright issues, and why Google would allow this in the first place?
See below. Droid isn't Google's trademark and copyright isn't relevant.

That may be, but the definition of the word Android, is "a robot resembling a human being". The word "Droid", is simply short for that. It is like saying Mike instead of Michael. Same diff.
It's not the "same difference" with trademarks. Trademarking "Michael" does not automatically trademark "Mike".

The really appaling thing to me is that Lucasfilm was able to copyright a word like Droid to begin with.
They didn't copyright it. You can't copyright words (ask the estate of Philip K. Dick). It's a registered trademark.
 
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No...no you don't. You also don't have a Tivo, if it's a TIme Warner DVR. It's not Kleenex if the box says Puffs on it. The issue here is that you're confusing terminology that it appears that everyone else in this thread understands.

Verizon licensed the term to use in its marketing of the Eris, the Motorola 855, etc. It's not really that confusing. An HTC Hero isn't a droid. Because HTC doesn't use the term to market it. Pretty simple really.

Duh. If you go around calling a Kleenex a "Puff", because that's the name on box you happened to buy that week, you're the confused one. LOL. Jesus Christ...

Also, if the Eris (which is made my HTC) can be called a "Droid", no reason why the HTC Hero cannot be. The two devices are almost identical, and are made by the same company. It's just that one is available on Verizon, the other on Sprint. I don't give a sh!t if Verizon paid the money to market the name "Droid".
 
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