more on TM Madness: Owner of Dewey Decimal System Sues Library-Themed Hotel!

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
> Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 11:02:18 -0400
> From: "Eric C. Grimm" <eric.grimm () CyberBrief net>
> Subject: RE: [IP] TM Madness: Owner of Dewey Decimal System Sues 
> Library-Themed
>  Hotel!
> To: dave () farber net, ip () v2 listbox com
> Cc: jrdreitler () JonesDay com
>
>
> 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 () v2 listbox com [mailto:owner-ip () v2 listbox com]On Behalf
> Of Dave Farber
> Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2003 7:32 AM
> To: ip () v2 listbox com
> Subject: [IP] TM Madness: Owner of Dewey Decimal System Sues
> Library-Themed Hotel!
>
>
>
> Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
> 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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