Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 11:02:18 -0400
From: "Eric C. Grimm" <eric.grimm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [IP] TM Madness: Owner of Dewey Decimal System Sues
Library-Themed
Hotel!
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx, ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: jrdreitler@xxxxxxxxxxxx
It is worth noting that the lawyer representing the Dewey Decimal TM
plaintiff, (AP says it is Joe Dreitler, of Jones, Day's Columbus office) had
a novel opinion (which was published to the INTA "TMTOPICS" list, so it is
fair game here), about the recent Fox v. Franklin controversy:
http://www.biglist.com/lists/lists.inta.org/tmtopics/archives/0308/msg00042.
html
http://www.biglist.com/lists/lists.inta.org/tmtopics/archives/0308/msg00074.
html
To quote: "Sometimes inside (and outside lawyers) have to have the guts to
say to
business clients, 'no, there is not a case there and we aren't going to
sign our names to a frivolous complaint and embarrass this company - and
ourselves.'"
Guts aside, I know Joe and think he's really a nice fellow, and quite smart,
so I don't want this to be taken as too harsh a criticism of him personally.
I'll leave it up to Mr. Dreitler (by courtesy copy) to decide whether he
wants to share any of our off-list follow-up correspondence (concerning Fox
v. Franklin) with "Interesting People."
Incidentally, Joe is also the guy who represented the somewhat
overly-aggressive TM point of view in the "Beat Michigan" case, in which a
Columbus, Ohio father and son were selling "unlicensed" clothing to Ohio
State fans, urging the defeat of my favorite college football team. Even as
a fan of Michigan (whose defeat the so-called "unlicensed" vendor urged), I
think NCAA Licensing and Dreitler went a little far.
And when I read AP's report about this latest controversy, my first thought
was, "There they go again!" But maybe the TM plaintiff's lawyers can
explain why this really isn't another Fox v. Franklin or "Beat Michigan"
case -- that understandably leaves the public (and most lawyers) scratching
their heads and wondering whether TM law has gone too far . . .
Feel free to share with the IP list.
Eric C. Grimm
Attorney at Law
320 South Main Street
Second Floor
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf
Of Dave Farber
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2003 7:32 AM
To: ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [IP] TM Madness: Owner of Dewey Decimal System Sues
Library-Themed Hotel!
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2003 19:39:30 -0700 (PDT)
From:
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-dewey-decimal-defenders,
0,2420724.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
By Associated Press
September 20, 2003, 10:01 PM EDT
DUBLIN, Ohio -- The nonprofit library cooperative that owns the Dewey
Decimal system has filed suit against a library-themed luxury hotel in
Manhattan for trademark infringement.
The Library Hotel, which overlooks the New York Public Library, is divided
according to the classification system, with each floor dedicated to one of
Dewey's 10 categories.
Room 700.003 includes books on the performing arts, for example, while room
800.001 has a collection of erotic literature.
In the lawsuit filed last week, lawyers for the Online Computer Library
Center said the organization acquired the rights to the system in 1988 when
it bought Forest Press, which published Dewey Decimal updates. The center
charges libraries that use the system at least $500 per year.
Melvil Dewey created his system -- used in 95 percent of all public and
K-12 school libraries -- in 1873, but it is continually updated, with
numbers assigned to more than 100,000 new works each year.
"A person who came to (the hotel's) Web site ... would think they were
passing themselves off as connected with the owner of the Dewey Decimal
Classification system," said Joseph Dreitler, a lawyer representing the
center.
Hotel general manager Craig Spitzer and OCLC spokeswoman Wendy McGinnis did
not return phone messages Saturday seeking comment.
The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus seeks triple the
hotel's profits since its opening or triple the organization's damages,
whichever is greater, from the hotel's owner.
Dreitler said Saturday he and his client do not yet know the size of the
hotel's profits. The center, based in Dublin, is willing to settle with the
hotel's owners, he said.
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