Are we suddenly PC?

[Zoning Goddess]

"Fair and Balanced" - huh?

 

[Jeff]

....yeah someone explain, please? Does this have to do with the whole Jordan and Darcy bashing thing?

 

[RoadRunner]

in case you haven't seen this...

as your friendly, neighborhood legal counsel, i must urge you all to cease and desist in the use of the "fair and balanced" language in your postings, lest you suffer the fate of al franken (see below)...of course, franken responded, claiming that he had trademarked the word "funny."

by the way, what is fair? as my fiance's father used to tell her when, growing up, she would complain that something wasn't fair, he would ask, "what is fair?" and she would knowingly respond, "a place where they throw cow chips for distance..."

cheers...

Fox Sues Humorist Al Franken Over Slogan

The Associated Press
Monday, August 11, 2003; 5:15 PM

NEW YORK - Fox News Channel has sued liberal humorist Al Franken and the Penguin Group to stop them from using the phrase "fair and balanced" in the title of his upcoming book.

Filed Monday in Manhattan, the trademark infringement lawsuit seeks a court order forcing Penguin to rename the book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right." It also asks for unspecified damages.

Fox News registered "Fair & Balanced" as a trademark in 1995, the suit says.

Franken's "intent is clear - to exploit Fox News' trademark, confuse the public as to the origins of the book and, accordingly, boost sales of the book," the suit said.

Calls to Penguin and Franken's publicist were not immediately returned. The book is due out next month.

 

[Cardinal]

I have a trademark on the words "the," "and," "if," and "how." If anyone uses any of these words, I will sue.

 

[RoadRunner]

I have a trademark on the words "the," "and," "if," and "how." If anyone uses any of these words, I will sue.

touche. i, however, have trademarked the word "trademark." well, that, and "pusillanimous." okay, so maybe that wasn't such a great choice, but my friend swore that "pusillanimous" was going to be the next "the." you know, people would be using it for everything.

oh, well... so much for my dreams of fame and fortune.

 

[Duke Of Dystopia]

I claim trademark on the following words and phrases:

Beer
Bear
Hops
Water
Malt
Yeast
Fermented Malt
Barley Pop
Lager
Ale

 

[Cardinal]

Oh, I am suing you people! You can't get away with this TM infingement!

Back on topic, how can you really put a trademark on a string of words in common usage. "Fair and balance" was used as a phrase long before Fox adopted it. Trademarks are ment for things like "Chex Mix" or "Ruffles," not common phrases.

 

[Duke Of Dystopia]

Oh, I am suing you people! You can't get away with this TM infingement!

Corrected phraseology

I claim trademark on DA following words and phrases:

 

[michaelskis]

People have too much time and money on there hands.

Exact product name, such as Coca-cola or Pepsi... that I understand... but in the FAIR AND BALANCED world that we live in, we should not have to worry about what we say. Our words should be GOOD and PLENTY.

 

[RoadRunner]

I claim trademark on the following words and phrases:

dukey, as you have been kind enough to educate me in the ways of skunking beer (i mean that sincerely), i must return the favor. you cannot claim a trademark; rather, you must file the appropriate paperwork with the appropriate governmental agency. i would be happy to prepare the documentation...for a tidy fee...

Oh, I am suing you people! You can't get away with this TM infingement!

Back on topic, how can you really put a trademark on a string of words in common usage. "Fair and balance" was used as a phrase long before Fox adopted it. Trademarks are ment for things like "Chex Mix" or "Ruffles," not common phrases.

cardinal, i will grant you a license of trademark and pusillanimous if you will, in exchange, grant the rest of us a cross-license for your protected words.

to answer your question, trademarks are meant to permit consumers to identify a particular brand of good or service, so you can trademark phrases just like you can trade mark names. for instance, "the world on time" by ups (i think?) is a servicemarked phrase. (btw, servicemarks are for services; trademarks are for goods)

whether "fair and balanced" is unique enough to be given a trademark is up to the folks at the u.s. patent and trademark office.

one definition of trademark: "A trademark, or "mark," is any word, phrase, symbol, design, sound, smell, color, product configuration, group of letters or numbers, or combination of these, adopted and used by a company to identify its products or services, and distinguish them from products and services made, sold, or provided by others."

 

[RoadRunner]

People have too much time and money on there hands.

Exact product name, such as Coca-cola or Pepsi... that I understand... but in the FAIR AND BALANCED world that we live in, we should not have to worry about what we say. Our words should be GOOD and PLENTY.

oh, the phrase "good and plenty" is owned by Leaf, Inc. (assigned to them by Quaker City Chocolate & Confectionary Company). i think they're the makers of that disgusting candy. ("Charlie says, 'Love that good and plenty...'" you know that jingle from a few years back.)

you now owe them a nickel...

see what a mess i've started? if we could just get rid of these darned lawyers, life would be copasetic...

 

[otterpop]

Fox News is "fair and balanced" in the same way as Bush's "Healthy Forests Initiative" is about forest health and property protection. It is all part of a trend in government and business to obfuscate reality by calling something what it is not. In keeping with that trend, I would not call these people liars. I would say they engage is "protective rationalization."

 

[Dan]

"Fair and Balanced" - huh?

See this and this.

I don't intend it to be a leftist statement, since Cyburbia is apolotical and inclusive of different points of view. It's a protest against Fox News copyrighting a common English phrase, claiming it as their own. With both vocal conservatives and liberals on here, Cyburbia is indeed "fair and balanced" .... why shoudn't we use the phrase for a day?

Today there are hundreds of Web sites incorporating the phrase "Fair and Balanced" in some way.

 

[The Irish One]

fair, balanced and

and unafraid.

 

[Zoning Goddess]

I guess I missed the news articles because I had absolutely NO clue!

Thanks, all, for the explanations.

 

[plankton]

Fox News is "fair and balanced" in the same way as Bush's "Healthy Forests Initiative" is about forest health...

...obfuscate reality by calling something what it is not.

Otterpop, I could not agree more. Very sad state of affairs.

 

[michaelskis]

Hmmm...

Fair and Ballanced Cyburbia Forums.

Good one Dan.

 

[SkeLeton]

I have trademarked the following vowels: a, e, i, o, u. I will not refrain from filing suit upon ™ violations.

This was a message sponsored by Faux Networks

 

[Cityscape Dreamer]

remember AOL and "You've got mail"?

 

[biscuit]

LOL!
Very funny Dan. I've been out of town and haven't had time to respond.

Anyway, as I was driving to SC last Wed. I was scanning through the AM radio channels in West Virginia - you can't really pick up anything else in some areas of that state - and came across Bill O'Riley's show. I was going to keep scanning but after hearing Al Frankins name I decided to give him a listen. Amazingly he did nothing but bitch and moan like a spoiled child about Frankin and the "liberal establishment who hates FOX News and their unbiased journalism" for what seemed like forever. What a cry-baby

I think he's still PO'd about Frankin calling him out and making him look stupid on C-SPAN a couple of months back.