OSCAR

[Dr. Goodword]

• Oscar •

Pronunciation: ah-skêr • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: The nickname for a gold statuette given as an award in film-making by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Notes: Today's Good Word and the image it refers to are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the US, so use it with care. Everyone in the US knows who Oscar is and what he stands for, so there is little more we can add. It is a proper noun and so must be capitalized. Otherwise, like all proper nouns, it is a lexical orphan.

In Play: Although at tonight's 80th Academy Awards presentation it will reward all aspects of movie-making, the word Oscar today refers to excellent acting: "Mahatma Handh should get an Oscar for his performance begging the boss for a raise." However, it has also taken on a sense of an award for any kind of outstanding performance: "If they gave out Oscars for avoiding getting parking tickets, Oscar would win one hands down."

Word History: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was organized in 1927 and it immediately moved to create a trophy to recognize the achievements of film-makers. Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley created a statuette, a figure of a knight standing on a reel of film, hands gripping a sword, to represent the award. It was named the "Academy Award of Merit" but this name was quickly replaced by "Oscar". Some think that it reminded Margaret Herrick, the executive director of the Academy, of her Uncle Oscar, so she began calling it that, a habit that spread quickly. Keep in mind, though, no reliable verification of this story exists. (Don McCormick thought we should say something about the Academy Awards ceremony tonight, so we dedicate this word to him.)

[sluggo]

...
Notes: Today's Good Word and the image it refers to are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the US, so use it with care.

Wha... they trademarked a proper name?? How do they get away with that?

Trademarking a word seems rather legally tenuous, if not risible. Do they beg a royalty for every purchase of a certain cheap hot dog* or tropical fish? Or issue licenses for reruns of The Odd Couple?

* ♪ ♫Oh I wish I were an Oscar-mining whiner...♫ ♪
surely O$c@*r Levant is arpeggiating in his grave...

Ironically, I seem to remember o**** is (or was) Australian slang for money.

[Bailey]

surely O$c@*r Levant is arpeggiating in his grave...

maybe even Pirouetting horizontally?
mb

[sluggo]

surely O$c@*r Levant is arpeggiating in his grave...

maybe even Pirouetting horizontally?
mb

It is Wilde stuff, innit?

[Stargzer]

...
Notes: Today's Good Word and the image it refers to are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the US, so use it with care.

Wha... they trademarked a proper name?? How do they get away with that?

Trademarking a word seems rather legally tenuous, if not risible. Do they beg a royalty for every purchase of a certain cheap hot dog* or tropical fish? Or issue licenses for reruns of The Odd Couple?

* ♪ ♫Oh I wish I were an Oscar-mining whiner...♫ ♪
surely O$c@*r Levant is arpeggiating in his grave...

Ironically, I seem to remember o**** is (or was) Australian slang for money.

From the Oscar.com site:

ACADEMY AWARD(S)®, OSCAR(S)®, OSCAR NIGHT® and OSCAR® statuette design mark are the registered trademarks and service marks, and the OSCAR® statuette the copyrighted property, of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Something tells me they can only trademark the name in so far as it relates to an award. Obviously the statuette itself can be copyrighted. Wikipedia's Disambiguation Page for Oscar lists many Oscars, including an Open Source Car.

[bnjtokyo]

Actually, there are a great many proper names that are trademarked. I went to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov) and searched on "oscar."
There I found Oscar Wilde and Oscar de la Renta are both trademarked. "Oscar" alone is also registered dozens of times. Among these is
Oscar registered for use with certain chemicals owned by University Court of the University of Edinburgh

Oscar registered for use with cameras owned by Allied Vision Technology in Germany

Oscar registered for use with LCD displays owned by Emphasis Materials in Taiwan

Oscar registered for use with software featuring health care information owned by One Source Credentialing in Alabama

Oscar registered for use with software for billing owned by Satcom Direct in Florida

Oscar registered for use with consumer lending services owned by Enhanced Technology Financial Services in I forgot where

Oscar registered for use with wine owned by an individual in California

Oscar registered for use with water treatment owned by Avista Technology in California

Oscar registered for use with medical technolgy owned by Merit Medical Systems in Utah

and on and on

From the USPTO website: the goods and services for reg. no. 1096990
G & S: ENTERTAINMENT AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICE-NAMELY, TELECASTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE RECOGNITION OF DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY; LIBRARY AND REFERENCE SERVICES; THEATRICAL EXHIBITIONS OF MOTION PICTURES. FIRST USE: 19740402. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19740402
0wned by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences

Other registrations the Academy owns for "Oscar"
are No. 1996555 for sweatshirts, jackets, etc.
No. 2021582 for prerecorded videotype, etc
No. 1118751 for books about the motion picture industry

So as long as you do not use Oscar in connection with goods that covered by one of the many registrations or goods similar to goods covered, no problem.

[sluggo]

Thanks bnj. That does seem quite a bit different from the idea that the word itself is trademarked.

-Sluggo, who rates awards programs right up there with QVC reruns