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November 2000

IP's Middle Child Grows Up

Trademark is the ignored middle child of intellectual property. But branding an idea is crucial.

By Evan I. Schwartz

On June 21, lawyers for Microsoft filed an application to trademark a stylish, logolike version of the term ".net." Big deal? You bet. The following morning, the software giant unveiled its new .NET strategy, a "next generation Internet experience" that Bill Gates described as a bet-the-company plan to reinvent the way Microsoft does business. Analysts immediately hailed .NET as Microsoft's most important announcement in years.

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