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- Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
- Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!darwin.sura.net!rsg1.er.usgs.gov!isdres.er.usgs.gov!rhadden
- From: rhadden@isdres.er.usgs.gov
- Subject: RE: Trademark legends
- Message-ID: <30DEC92.18394982@isdres.er.usgs.gov>
- Sender: news@rsg1.er.usgs.gov
- Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
- References: <1992Dec24.090824.20013@ringer.cs.utsa.edu> <Geoff.6b4p@equinox.gen.nz>
- Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 18:39:49 GMT
- Lines: 6
-
- Bayer was the drug company that had the patent of aspirin before World War I.
- When the war started, the British were not about to pay a fee to a German
- firm, so they changed the law so the Burroughs Wellcome Co. could manufacture
- aspirin on their own. The resulting product was called Empirin, a combination
- of the terms "Empire" and "aspirin". BTW, "aspirin" at that time was a trade-
- marked name as well. Now, only Empirin is.
-