Cohen 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (36) comment rss

  • On the post: Louis Vuitton Sues Hyundai Over A Louis Vuitton Basketball

    Cohen ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2010 @ 09:51am

    How about asking a trademark lawyer for a comment

    Mike,

    Instead of just mouthing off and stating that the lawsuit is ridiculous, how about finding a trademark lawyer and asking her/him what the actual law is about.

    That way your blog would be more educational that masturbatory.

  • On the post: Louis Vuitton Sues Hyundai Over A Louis Vuitton Basketball

    Cohen ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2010 @ 09:48am

    Does it infringe?

    If I was in charge of LV trademarks I'd file exactly the same lawsuit that LV did.

    I hope they win.

  • On the post: Louis Vuitton Sues Hyundai Over A Louis Vuitton Basketball

    Cohen ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2010 @ 09:42am

    Re: Re: Hate Me Today

    Anoynmous Coward:

    You've got your points wrong.

    The Hyundai commercial did attempt to brand the basketball so that it resembled the LV trademarked design.

    The gold-colored shapes are on a brown, leather-type surface. This is the same as the well-known image of LV bags.

    They did use the stylized LV. It is directly above the base of the thumb next to the seam of the basketball.

    The gold-colored bullseye-looking shapes and crosses are almost identical to the circles and crosses used in the trademarked LV bags.

    And despite what you may think is asinine, the court is actually the final judge.

    But suppose a commercial for a LV handbag was to show a toy car with a Hyundai logo on it driving into an LV bag.

    Let's say the commercial made the statement that everyone wants to live in an LV world.

    I guarantee you that Hyundai would have sued to keep LV from using the Hyundai logo without permission.

    And one of the points would have been that people might be confused that Hyundai was making toy cars.

    I'm getting tired of TechDirt's attempts to confuse its readers (and obviously Anonymous Coward, you are very confused) as to the rights companies have to keep others from using and abusing their logos and trademarks.

  • On the post: School District Says It Only Turned Spy Cameras On 42 Times; FBI Now Investigating

    Cohen ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2010 @ 05:00pm

    was wondering who wouldn't understand the quote

    And you were the first winner

  • On the post: School District Says It Only Turned Spy Cameras On 42 Times; FBI Now Investigating

    Cohen ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2010 @ 04:25pm

    We brought the telescreens into our own homes

    For some reason the telescreen in the living-room was in an unusual position. Instead of being placed, as was normal, in the end wall, where it could command the whole room, it was in the longer wall, opposite the window. To one side of it there was a shallow alcove in which Winston was now sitting, and which, when the flats were built, had probably been intended to hold bookshelves. By sitting in the alcove, and keeping well back, Winston was able to remain outside the range of the telescreen, so far as sight went. He could be heard, of course, but so long as he stayed in his present position he could not be seen. It was partly the unusual geography of the room that had suggested to him the thing that he was now about to do.

  • On the post: Beyonce's Bikini Infringing On Copyrights?

    Cohen ( profile ), 15 Feb, 2010 @ 01:41pm

    The bikini Beyoncé wears looks very much like something someone put together after they saw the German one.

    But it also looks like someone specifically put together to be similar to the German one but with enough changes as to make it different enough to pass a test in court.

    This is very similar to what we used to do in advertising when we wrote a song that sounded very much like a popular song but was just different enough so that we didn't get killed in court.

    However, our lawyers always warned us never to contact the original song's publisher for the rights to the pop song. They told us the courts might construe it was if we did contact the publisher and they quoted a high price to use the song, we created a knockoff to get away without paying the fees.

    So Beyoncé's video staff might have contacted the German designer. Then, when they said no or wanted too much money, the video staff decided to go for a knockoff.

    That's the kind of situation that starts to look bad for the video staff.

    But Beyoncé has little to do with it.

  • On the post: Should The Feds Need A Warrant To Find Out Where Your Mobile Phone Is?

    Cohen ( profile ), 14 Feb, 2010 @ 01:36pm

    Re: Depends on the Situation

    Missing person's report from friends? Family?

    If I was to go hiking the Appalachian trail, and I go missing for a weekend, a week, or longer, what gives my friends the right to sic the government on me to find me?

    The only people who have the right to hunt me down electronically are those people who can prove the likelihood that some sort of crime or injury or problem may have happened.

    It should take a long time, and evidence of a crime, before the government can infringe on my rights.

    Consider if I've got a husband who has been beating the crap out of me, I don't want my local police department telling him where I am.

    Using a cell phone does not mean I give up my right to be alone.

  • On the post: Developer Seems To Think Trademark On 'Army Builder' Means No One Can Use It In Conversation

    Cohen ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2010 @ 10:57am

    Complete tool?

    Dear Anonymous Coward,

    I was disturbed to read you call me a "complete tool". (Although I suppose it is better to be a complete tool than an incomplete one.)

    I sincerely did not try to create a crap analogy. And I totally didn't mean to imply that techdirt would "give a shit" about anything I would do or anyone else would do to with the techdirt name.

    What I was trying to do was show how bullies go around intimidating people for doing nothing more than using the English language.

    I am thrilled to read several posts telling me that techdirt has no designs to apply trademark protection to their brand.

    Good for them.

    But to call me a tool based on your misunderstanding of what I wrote shows that you aren't smart enough to see what I was saying.

    Or, you are such an fan-bot of all things techdirt that you go around yelling tool without thinking.

    I hope it is the former as knowledge can be gained. If the latter, it will be harder to lose your bias.

  • On the post: Developer Seems To Think Trademark On 'Army Builder' Means No One Can Use It In Conversation

    Cohen ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2010 @ 09:09am

    Can I talk about "tech dirt"?

    I agree that Lone Wolf is overstating their TM protection.

    But here's where things get dicey.

    If I have a blog and label some of my posts as "Cohen's Tech Dirt" what would your lawyers say?

    If I start posting on other's sites and say "Here's my take on the tech dirt" what about that?

    If I write a book and call it "Thirty years of publishing tech dirt" would you be upset?

    Most likely you would send me a letter telling me that I was close to violating your trademark on techdirt.

    Several things could happen.

    I might be intimidated by your lawyers and stop using the term.

    Or

    My lawyers would tell me to ignore you.

    Or

    But if my lawyers tell me that I would win, but would wind up spending more money than I care to spend.

    In that case I would probably stop using the term. Even though I have the right to use it.

    Sometimes the threat of legal avenues is stronger than the actual law.

  • On the post: Movie Star Claims Heathrow Airport Staff Printed Out, Circulated, His Naked Body Images

    Cohen ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2010 @ 03:43pm

    tipped off in advance?

    Not hard to imagine.

    The service rep at the checkin counter could recognize his face and name and then call anyone at the airport.

    If he is a big-shot, he could have been accompanied by a service rep who would have alerted security that a VIP was going through.

    It's opening a huge can of worms with these images getting sold to tabloids.

  • On the post: Engadget Latest To Try Comment Cooling Off Period; I Can't Figure Out Why

    Cohen ( profile ), 03 Feb, 2010 @ 05:29am

    I didn't understand the need to shut down a thread except that Engadget said they did it because the need to moderate the thread had become too difficult.

    And given the nature of the attacks in the forum, the need for moderators was great.

  • On the post: Prisons And Hair Dressers Latest To Push Back On Ridiculous Collection Society Demands

    Cohen ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2010 @ 11:47am

    It dates back to a long-lost time

    It's a little easier to understand the reason behind the collection societies demands (I may understand, but I don't agree with them) when you realize that many, many, MANY years ago, live music was found everywhere.

    Fine hotels would have live musicians playing in their lobby restaurants, tea parlors, and ballrooms.

    Even the lowly local bar had a live piano player pumping out a lively tune to keep the atmosphere happy and gay (in the older sense of the word).

    Then, when recorded music and music systems were installed in these places, musicians were out of jobs. The musicians felt they lost their jobs to recorded music which many places felt could be played for free.

    That's when the record industry as well as the musicians unions and other guilds came up with the idea that playing a record in a public place was the same as a public performance. So, while the musicians would no longer collect their salary for playing "live" they would still be compensated by getting a public performance fee.

    It might not have been as much as a live, paying gig, but considering that the musician actually didn't have to do any work, the performance fee seemed like a great idea.

    Two years ago my father died. At the small family gathering we had in the funeral parlour I played one of his favorite songs as people left the room.

    Strictly speaking it was indeed a public performance and I had evaded hiring a live musician. I should have also sent some sort of royalty payment to ASCAP or BMI.

    I didn't.

    I think going into prisons is way overboard. But if restaurants and bars have to pay royalties for their jukeboxes and piped-in music, I can see the rationale for the prisons.

    And as far as hairdressers go, where do you think we got the phrase "Barbershop Quartet?"

    It's not an outrageous expectation of being paid. But it does sound strange to our 21st Century world.

  • On the post: Bakery Claims Trademark On Smiley Face Cookies; Sues Competing Cookie Firm

    Cohen ( profile ), 07 Jan, 2010 @ 03:33pm

    Their web site contains no TM notices anywhere

    I'm no lawyer, but for years lawyers have made me insert TM symbols as well as (c) and (r) symbols all over my ads, packaging, and TV spots to protect trademarks as well as other corporate identities.

    Eat'n Park doesn't have ANYTHING like that anywhere on their web site.

    Their smiling cookie may be iconic, but they sure haven't done anything to protect the image.

  • On the post: Elementary My Dear Watson….It's Called The Public Domain… Or Is It?

    Cohen ( profile ), 27 Dec, 2009 @ 06:24pm

    The comment regarding "House"

    The comment that "Even TV shows have gotten into the act with House M.D. which is a thinly veiled Holmes knock off..." should not be left unchallenged.

    Sherlock Holmes is an educated man, but not a doctor. Gregory House is most certainly a doctor.

    Holmes has a good friend, Dr. Watson, who is a doctor and the "author" of the Holmes stories. Watson is Holmes's constant companion during the mysteries.

    House has a good friend, Dr. Wilson, who is a doctor, but is hardly the source of the House stories and is only sometimes part of solving the mysteries.

    Holmes's mysteries are murders and robberies in London and England. House's mysteries are the illnesses of his patients.

    Holmes's often works with law enforcement such as Scotland Yard. House has no equivalent work with any law enforcement.

    There are a few shared traits such as the ability to see details hidden from others. But almost every detective from Poirot to Nero Wolf to Miss Marple can do the same.

    Saying House is a thinly disguised Holmes is a disservice to the excellent work done by the House creative team.

  • On the post: Village People Threaten Chef Jamie Oliver For Dressing Up Like Cowboy, Indian, Cop, Construction Worker, Etc…

    Cohen ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2009 @ 12:59pm

    Hey! Hey! Hey!

    Jaime Oliver and Channel 4 know full well they are using someone else's trademark.

    And I wonder how quickly they would sue someone else for coming out with a bunch of recipes from "The Naked Chef"? Faster than the train from London to Liverpool!

    I agree that lawyers screw up things.

    But the Village People have had to work hard to maintain their trademark.

    And they deserve to protect it.

  • On the post: That Random Coin Toss? Not So Random Afterall…

    Cohen ( profile ), 13 Dec, 2009 @ 05:50am

    True randomness is hard to find

    Rather than rely on a coin toss (which has always been easy to manipulate), it is better to use a random number generator. However, recently I discovered that the random numbers generated by computers and smart phone applications aren't as random as you would want. They use mathematical formulas which are generated in a predictable way. However, Random.org is a great resource as they generate random numbers, flip virtual coins, roll virtual die, and shuffle virtual cards using atmospheric noise. They believe this is a better way to create random events.