[CH] Re: Evil corporate types
jim@wildpepper.com
Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:39:01 -0400
RE: But for me, what's always been bothersome is that the tabasco chile
is owner, as it were, of the name "tabasco",
Well- this isn't uncommon though in food, and there are a myriad of
other examples, some closer to the 'mark' (!) and others not. Hmmm....
nearly all of them I can think of come from the wine world. I suppose I
ought to get my head out of the bottle a bit more :-)
"Champagne" can only be applied to that sparkling wine made in that
region of France, no matter where I grow the champagne grapes.
Make a wine with the Sangiovese grape and you have an outstanding full
bodied red wine. Make it in a certain region of Italy and it will be
called "Chianti".
"Bordeaux" might be a closer example. You can grow those grapes
anywhere, but if you do, don't try calling it by that name :-)
Although I can't think of them at the moment, I belive there are also
examples in the cheese world as well as other segments of the food
industry. The drive to take a regional product out into the world,
market it, and protect it based on some sense of it's supposed
uniqueness, is not limited to Tabasco and they are hardly the first.
I'm not defending them as to the particulars of any given case, only
pointing out that they are simply playing by the established rules of
the game. I know firsthand that they've had to withdraw a marketing
campaign because it was pointed out to them that they were stepping on
someone else's mark. As this was/is a guy who hasn't sold as much sauce
in a lifetime as Tabasco has in a day, the Trademark law served him
well. It works both ways. It's a bit hypocritical to celebrate the law
working for the little guy, but NOT when it works for the 'big guy'.
That's why Justice wears a blindfold ;-)
Again- the law REQUIRES us as business owners to protect the mark to the
fullest extent of our abilities or we lose it. Some just have more
resources and abilities than others ;-)
-Jim
http://www.StepUpforCharity.org