When Trademark Protection Gets Ridiculous

An anonymous reader writes: "Sellotape New Zealand Limited have recently sent out a number of letters to New Zealanders who have used the word 'Sellotape' on their websites. Sellotape is a brand of adhesive tape. It appears they are attempting to crack down on the use of their trademark in a colloquial/generic sense out of fear that their Trademark value is being diluted and that they may even lose the rights to the mark under proposed new New Zealand legislation. Many of those who have received these letters and/or heard about it regard this as monumentally stupid. One such group of individuals has gone as far as setting up a web-site dedicated to parodying the situation and informing the New Zealand public what they can do to fight back against these 'Big Business Bullies.'"

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and how does copyright violation over silence soun

[caesar79]

http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=30744 9Big

Big noises at odds over the sound of silence
By David Lister Media and Culture Editor
21 June 2002

'The Sound of Silence' may have prompted engaging harmonies from Simon and Garfunkel ? but a more literal appreciation of the absence of noise has prompted one of the more curious copyright disputes of modern times.

Mike Batt, the man behind the Wombles and Vanessa Mae, has put a silent 60-second track on the album of his latest classical chart-topping protégés, the Planets. This has enraged representatives of the avant-garde, experimentalist composer John Cage, who died in 1992. The silence on his group's album clearly sounds uncannily like 4'33", the silence composed by Cage in his prime.

Batt said last night: "I've received a letter on behalf of John Cage's music publishers. I was in hysterics when I read their letter.

"As my mother said when I told her, 'which part of the silence are they claiming you nicked?'. They say they are claiming copyright on a piece of mine called 'One Minute's Silence' on the Planets' album, which I credit Batt/Cage just for a laugh. But my silence is original silence, not a quotation from his silence."