« cambia pushes for "open source" biotechnology innovation | Main | NYC Files For New Slogan »

February 17, 2005

are trademark attorneys bullies?

It is an interesting question that is raised by author David Bollier is his book Brand Name Bullies : The Quest to Own and Control Culture reviewed by Wired News this week.  Bullies appears to be yet another entry into the “intellectual property” is bad for society genre.  According to Wired:

As the title suggests, the book is an intense critique of the U.S. copyright and trademark system and the corporations that use it as a weapon against competitors and anyone else who might threaten them. Bollier argues that the court's willingness to let corporations get away with such bullying is increasingly eroding our "cultural commons" -- the collection of images, stories, sounds and other creative expressions that, due to their significance and prevalence, no longer belong to any single person or company.

Interesting concept:  cultural icons, that were created by companies in first place, are being lost to bullying corporations that are enforcing their rights to their trademarks?  Because of the successful cultural acceptance of a trademark – the owner of that mark (that promoted, marketed and invested significant capital into protecting it) isn’t entitled to enforce it any longer?  Laying aside the genericism argument, it appears that the author is merely beating up on companies and individuals that protect and enforce their rights in the properties that they have created and promoted so that consumers are not confused between competing brands in the marketplace — exactly the purpose of trademark registration.

Fortunately, Wired News doesn’t let Mr. Bollier off the hook:

At 253 pages -- not counting the 55 pages of additional notes and indexes in the back -- Bullies provides more than enough case studies like these to convince you that copyright and trademark laws don't always serve the public. However, the book has one big flaw: It doesn't quite manage to prove Bollier's assertion that these laws, or the abuse of them, are greatly threatening our culture.

* * * *

Furthermore, many of the examples in Bullies are so entangled in the minutia of copyright law that it's hard for anyone without a law degree to see why one outcome is any better than the other. For instance, when a judge rules that Tiger Woods cannot prevent a publishing company from selling paintings of him playing golf, Bollier claims it as a victory for the commons. But a member of the commons might think to himself, "Would I want someone to get rich off a painting that they made of me at work?"

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 02:51 PM.
Permalink: are trademark attorneys bullies?
| Sphere: Related Content