You don't "trademark" things -- you register a trademark. Registration is not strictly necessary in most jurisdictions -- as long as you are actively using the branding, it is automatically considered your trademark. Order of registration only matters if you're talking about two commercial entities independently coming up with the same brand. Here we have two entities with an existing contractual relationship. Smart Projects therefore was not ignorant of the informal body that later became Arduino LLC. Who initiated the contract and who came up with the name? What did the original contract say about the name? Clearly the initial contracts were poorly drafted, or there would be a clear answer, and we wouldn't be having this conversation!!

Apparently the pilot is a master at voices.

Even if that half-assed attempt was true, it doesn't improve the safety - they'd still all be dead. It just gives us the ability to ogle and lay blame.

It turns out that Smart Projects had trademarked the Arduino brand in Italy in December 2008, before Arduino LLC got around to filing in April 2009 in the USA.

Don't forget roads with variable speed limits and electronic speed signs. They should invest in up-to-the-minute over-the-air GPS map updates!

There's also temporary limits imposed by road works.

If the conditions are so bad you can't read road signs, you shouldn't be driving.

GPS is not the answer.

Wouldn't you rather have your day in court to fight bullshit charges?

Agreed. Touching a competitor's setup at a trade fair is bush league.

I don't buy that "testing" defense for a second. If you're a company that large you test by buying a machine anonymously at retail, take it to your labs, complete a test plan, then take it apart the see the build and components. Just randomly poking at stuff before a trade show isn't even going to give you much data.

If you break your opponents washing machine, they'll have you "taken the the cleaners"....

Or we could stop having superficial bosses with superficial ideas. They tend to be dying off at faster than replacement rates so perhaps there's hope for us yet. I can't wait for the last of the suit and tie set to die off.

BTW, I have no tattoos and don't especially like them. I just like corporate attitudes a lot less.

What makes you think it will change in 2018?