Daily Archives: October 20, 2003

George Bounces Caterpillar

This entry was posted in Culture Law Libertarianism Trademark Law on by

Last week Modulator commented on Caterpillar’s attempt to block Disney from releasing George of the Jungle 2. Today a federal judge ruled against Caterpillar:

The judge said there is no sign Disney sought to “somehow poach or free ride” on Caterpillar’s trademarks to drive up sales of the movie, one of the standards for trademark infringement.
McDade also disputed Caterpillar’s argument that use of its name and logo will make viewers think the company is somehow supporting the movie. He called use of well-known trademarks a “common phenomenon” in films and television.
…..
Along with infringement, Caterpillar alleged that its trademark is diluted by the movie, which describes the equipment as “deleterious dozers” and “maniacal machinery” during a climactic final battle.
McDade countered that “it is clear to even the most credulous viewer” that the bulldozers are operated by humans and are merely inanimate implements of the villains’ “environmentally unfriendly schemes.”

It would have been much less expensive for Caterpillar to have just asked Modulator.

Canadian Big Brother

This entry was posted in Privacy on by

My response to this plan by a bunch of Vancouver, BC., nightclubs would be to vote with my money and go elsewhere:

Bar patrons in Vancouver will soon have to swipe their drivers’ licences and have their photographs taken every time they enter a club or bar that is a Barwatch member.

A lot of these places probably have security cameras already so a good part of the privacy issue may be moot.
And, I’m not arguing that these establishments should not be able to do this. As private businesses they can set the terms under which they will operate.
I am not interested in having my personal information residing in the hands of a bunch of bar owners that I have no reason to trust, whose internal security is suspect and who might share this information with 3rd parties without my approval.
Oh yea, remember to use cash instead of debit/credit cards as often as possible. No point filling anyone’s database with information about yourself or in giving the banking industry a cut of your transaction.
Via Arguing with signposts…