Occupy Wall Street applies for trademark

[Azraella]

http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/31/news/economy/occupy_wall_street_trademark/index.htm

This is pissing me off. For OWS to hold a trademark it must be a legal person. Or, if OWS is not a legal person, the trademark is actually owned joint and several among the "officers" of OWS, i.e. privately owned rather than belonging to the movement itself.*

Either way, the existence of a trademark will likely require an eventual legal determination of the leaders and officers of the supposedly leaderless movement to determine who can legitimately control disposition of the trademark, and possibly even membership requirements.


* Before someone starts in, I realize that unincorporated associations and IP law are far more complex than that and this may not be accurate. I'm just laying out the catch-22 appearance of the situation, not making a legal argument.

[khad]

Is it any surprise?

It's been clear for some time that OWS is controlled by the Finance and PR groups who will stop at nothing to slander and silence the left, as the latter would attempt to inject real politics into their high-profile street theater.

http://www.revleft.com/vb/attempted-coup-occupywallst-t163299/index.html

[Nox]

How fucking ironic, they're turning OWS into a fucking business venture...

I'm not sure whether it's funny or pathetic, or both...

[Azraella]

If they *didn't* get IP protections, then someone else can turn around, claim the name and the protections, and then demand and legally enforce that the OWS people stop using the name.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

I don't think something like that would happen in Occupy Atlanta or Occupy Oakland.

Movements often take off beyond the intentions of their founders.The OWS movement may have been stated by liberals but it is beginning to provide a vehicle for class anger.

[The Douche]

... only in the US...

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Over here in Maine's capital we have our own (occupy) brand of granola! :D:laugh:

[Lenina Rosenweg]

There used to be saying, "as Maine goes, so goes the nation". Ben and Jerry's supports the movement and might start an Occupy ice cream flavor.

In Portland, Maine there are between 25-30 tents in the encampment and a large but semi-underground socialist presence.One of the founders of the encampment is a "lifelong member of the Communist Party" (not that that's saying much).

The family of the architect Buckminster Fuller is a big supporter of the Occupy movement and is donating a geodesic dome to Occupy Maine as well as groceries and supplies.(I know, borgy liberals)

[agnixie]

It's basically a counter move because two other groups are trying to copyright it, if it's true. Thing is I haven't seen it from anywhere else but the media - it was certainly not discussed at spokes, at GA or anywhere else that I know of that would even have the power to make this decision.

[Susurrus]

They've already tried to make it a political party, this will fail just as hard.