Arrogant Tossers
By BootsnAll | PermalinkThis ticks me off. I love business, and I love intellectual work and all that, but sometimes I think there are some arrogant corporate yobs who need a ripe smacking.
I just saw this article, where an Austrian court ruled that “Walkman” wasn’t Sony’s word, and oh, Sony is mad like a kid who just got told “no dessert”. I’m so sick of these spoiled-brat companies, and I’m just glad that I actually work for one that isn’t. Do we BootBoyz (is that trademarked, Sean?) “protect our trademark” and all that for BootsnAll? We don’t want to be misrepresented or abused or something, but a little sense helps. I don’t fault Sony for protecting their work. But here’s what gets on my nerves…
Some electro wholesaler in Austria had the audacity to label competitors’ CD players as “Walkmans”. I can understand Sony being annoyed; it’s a word they came up with, but really, most people I know who mention having a cd player, say they “have a walkman”. Doesn’t matter who makes it; the word has entered common use in language as a CD player. Boo-hoo Sony, sorry, but that’s how it is, and there are at least a few million walking breathing dictionaries who are probably telling you where to Stick It(TM).
Here’s the part from the article that makes me really really annoyed:
“Sony, the world’s largest consumer electronics maker, vowed to continue pursuing legal means to protect its rights.
‘This is our own property and not a common noun to be used by anybody,’ a spokeswoman said.” [emphasis added, btw]
Excuse me? Not to be used by anybody? walkman walkman walkman…
I’m glad BootsnAll is more interested in helping people and trying to build a good business and community, than by niggling over who owns a word. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go listen to my walkman and write some copy and content for the site. But if ever the lads and I seem like we start getting a little big for our “intellectual property” britches, could you be sure to smack us back down to earth?
Comments
Actually, we don’t disagree, not by much, that’s for sure. I’m with you - individuals, companies, etc., should be able to benefit from and protect their ideas and products. They have done (or have paid to have done, as you pointed out) the work, they should have rewards. And Sony - it has benefited greatly from its Walkmans, they’re a hugely successful line. What rankles me - and perhaps I wasn’t fully clear - is the arrogance behind a statement such as “‘This is our own property and not a common noun to be used by anybody’”.
Did they come up with it? Yup. Have they benefited? Yup. And they will continue to do so. But word usage, and the incorporation of a word, no matter the source, into language is not something that can be stopped, and once it has happened, how that company acts and reacts may have to be what is altered. As far as the Austrian court is concerned, “Walkman” is a term now so much in general usage that Sony may simply have to relax its grip, not lose it entirely. It will be interesting to see what happens.
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So, where does one draw the line at “intelectual property rights”. Just because a word has become “common use” does not automatically negate any rights that a company or companies have to that name. In the US there is generally a 99 year clause in trademark and public domain issues. I think that the people that either create these ideas or pay to have them created, (as is the case with most corporations) should have the right to reap the financial benefits from that creativity. I know that if I came with this killer product, gave it a name that became synonymous with that product and all products of its type, I would want to reap some sort of financial reward from my creativity as well. I know that I sound like a dyed in the wool capitalist, but if I come up with it, I want to be paid for it. Simple as that.