Don't Confuse Generic Stun Guns with TASER® Brand Devices
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., November 3, 2005 -- TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq: TASR), a market leader in advanced electronic control devices, released the following guidance for those reporting incidents where a generic stun gun may have been used.
TASER® is a registered trademark of TASER International, Inc. and can only be used to identify TASER brand electronic control devices exclusively manufactured by TASER International, Inc. Some editors and copy writers incorrectly use the TASER trademark as a generic term to refer to any electronic control device or stun gun, regardless of its source or functions. This use is improper and a violation of TASER International trademark rights.
A trademark cannot be treated as an ordinary word or used as a noun. A trademark like the TASER mark is not the name of a product. It is a mark indicating the product's source and quality, and it is trusted by the public. TASER International has invested millions of dollars in enhancing and protecting the intellectual property rights to this trademark and this trust does not come cheap. A trademark's value is built though investment in product quality and advertising, but it can be irresponsibly reduced when the mark is not properly used as a trademark. We are legally obligated to vigorously pursue all improper and illegal uses of our trademarks to avoid the loss of our trademark rights.
TASER International, Inc. manufactures and sells advanced electronic control devices for use in the law enforcement, military, private security and personal defense markets. TASER devices use proprietary technology to safely incapacitate dangerous, combative or high-risk subjects who pose a risk to law enforcement officers, innocent citizens or themselves. A TASER device has the ability to operate in both a contact stun mode like generic stun guns when manually pressed against the attacker, or in a remote stun mode, firing wire-tethered darts toward an attacker. TASER devices are distinguished by utilizing patented state-of-the-art Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD) technology that temporarily overrides the sensory and motor nervous system, interfering with muscular control. This EMD technology temporarily debilitates individuals with minimal risk of injury. Generally, the individual cannot continue voluntary movement until the TASER device is turned off. Over 80 medical and safety studies and reports have confirmed that the TASER device is among the safest and most effective tool available to law enforcement today.
TASER International has also built an unprecedented level of accountability into TASER devices. Each TASER device is equipped with an on-board computer that records the time and date every time the trigger is pulled. TASER cartridges are serialized and registered to the individual user through an Anti-Felon Identification (AFID) tracking program. AFIDs are tiny pieces of confetti encoded with the serial number of the TASER cartridge from which they are deployed. When the TASER device is used, 20-30 AFIDs are dispersed from the TASER cartridge, providing evidence to trace the TASER device use back to the registered owner. No other weapon in the world has this capability.
While the consumer market may be flooded with a wide variety of cheap, generic, electric stun or shock devices, these must not be referred to in a story as a taser, TASER, or TASER weapon. These products are not TASER devices marketed by TASER International, Inc. since TASER brand products are marked with the TASER trademark and have unique, high quality features absent from the ordinary stun gun. Referring to these products as a TASER device would be a violation of our trademark rights. Only refer to a TASER device when the details of the reporting include the unique characteristics of a TASER brand electronic control device. If the device does not have these characteristics or distinct markings, or if you are unsure, is very likely not a TASER brand electronic control device and do not refer to it as a TASER device.
Only the AIR TASER 34000®, TASER® X26, TASER® X26C, and the ADVANCED TASER® M26 and M18 series can be properly referred to as TASER electronic control devices. The trademarks and model numbers are in all capital block letters. (Note that TASER is an acronym for Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle.) Attached please find our Trademark Guidelines to follow in using our TASER trademark
TASER® and ADVANCED TASER® are registered trademarks of TASER International, Inc.
When referring to the company, TASER International, TASER is not being used as a trademark, so no ® is appropriate.
* U.S. Department of Defense policy defines non-lethal weapons as "weapon systems that are explicitly designed and primarily employed so as to incapacitate personnel or material, while minimizing fatalities, permanent injury to personnel, and undesired damage to property and the environment..."- Joint Concept for Non-lethal Weapons, United States Marine Corps
If you have any questions regarding TASER electronic control devices or the proper the use of the trademark, please visit the Company's website at or contact Steve Tuttle, Vice President of Communications, TASER International, at 480-444-4000 or steve@TASER.com
