Who the fuck do they think they are? They think they own the word "red", so anyone who uses "red" in their branding is infringing copyright. What complete and utter arses. link
This is our worldwide, completely perverse patent laws at work. Welcome back to the age of robber barons - if you're big enough and rich enough, you can get away with anything. Thank you, 1980s Reaganomics/Friedman-economics/Ayn Rand greed-is-good crap.
I saw this the other day and thought it was disgusting.
It reminds me of an author friend, Adele Dubois, who received a takedown notice from Sony because they said they owned the trademark for the name Adele, and she was infringing on that trademark. "Adele" is the author's legal name yet she had to fight them (and Google, who took down a post promoting her book without hearing her side). It's since been cleared up but why should the little guy have to hire lawyers for such insanity and, frankly, greed? If a consumer doesn't know the difference between a singer and an author - or an energy drink and a brew - then the company has a lot more to be concerned about than their name.
It's not about reason, it's not about decency, it's about money. It's the greed-is-good mantra: it doesn't matter how you get your money, so long as it's not *actually* a crime (even if it should be), it's all perfectly all right. It's this kind of thing that is causing the decline of the west more than anything else. We need to curb the power of large businesses before they complete their transformation into a feudal aristocracy, beyond the reach of the law.
thomasquinn 32989 wrote:
It's not about reason, it's not about decency, it's about money. It's the greed-is-good mantra: it doesn't matter how you get your money, so long as it's not *actually* a crime (even if it should be), it's all perfectly all right. It's this kind of thing that is causing the decline of the west more than anything else. We need to curb the power of large businesses before they complete their transformation into a feudal aristocracy, beyond the reach of the law.
You're frighteningly correct in all you said here, TQ.
I am concerned, though, that it's too late to curb the power of large businesses since their power is already so great that they control the policy decisions of our elected officials. The US Supreme Court even sided with big business. How does one fight that? If a multitude of peons like myself banded together, we still wouldn't have enough clout or cash to combat corporations, and we certainly couldn't afford any type of sustained fight.
However, if little guys like Redwell Brewing somehow manage to win this one smallish fight- while making a whole lot of noise - maybe it'll get things going in a new, positive, direction. Maybe. People have to first recognize the problem and be willing to rise up against it. Good luck to us with that. Apathy might be the final nail.
magicalfreddiemercury wrote:
If a consumer doesn't know the difference between a singer and an author - or an energy drink and a brew - then the company has a lot more to be concerned about than their name.
The situation your friend faced was absolutely farcical. I've highlighted the above section of your post, however, because it hits the nail right on the head.
thomasquinn 32989 wrote:
It's not about reason, it's not about decency, it's about money. It's the greed-is-good mantra: it doesn't matter how you get your money, so long as it's not *actually* a crime (even if it should be), it's all perfectly all right. It's this kind of thing that is causing the decline of the west more than anything else. We need to curb the power of large businesses before they complete their transformation into a feudal aristocracy, beyond the reach of the law.
As MFM says, this is frighteningly true. But I share his fears and concerns about how we combat it.
Btw, cheers TQ and MFM for those answers: that's the sort of thing I was looking for, as it says exactly what I wanted to say - only I wasn't articulate enough to do it :)
Thistleboy1980 wrote:
As MFM says, this is frighteningly true. But I share his fears and concerns about how we combat it.
simple.
we need to convince Paul McCartney to sue Red Bull. On the grounds that they infringed HIS copyright with their slogan "Red Bull gives you wings"
that'll shut the fuckers up for good