December 5, 2004
"sony want you to hate them"
"Sony wants you to hate them":
Reason One. A nice letter from Sony's lawyers:
"Sony recently learned that you are selling a case for carrying an iPod personal stereo that is made from a WALKMAN tape player. The product is being offered at your website at www.retropod.com.Reason Two. Sony is also going after Jason Kottke for dumbass reasons to do with posting stuff on his website about a TV game show... without Sony's permission. Kottke is one of the best known bloggers on the planet. I'm guessing Sony's lawyers didn't know that when they mailed him their letter.Your use of casings for such a purpose is a clear infringement of the SONY and WALKMAN marks because it is deceptive. Consumers likely will be misled and deceived into believing that Sony is somehow connected with the iPod personal stereo when in fact it is not. Moreover, they will be misled into thinking that Sony is backward in its design of products and is going away from miniaturization, as the size of the tape player housing is quite large by today's standards."
Jeff Jarvis pipes in. Suggests a Bloggers' Defense Fund.
An Open Letter to Howard Stringer, CEO Sony Corporation America, by The Head Lemur.
Unchecked, this could be Sony's Kryptonite Factor, writ large.
Sony Executive One: "Man, we're totally screwed! What are we going to do?"Sony Executive Two: "I know! Let's turn Sony into a Lovemark!!"
Thanks to Doc Searls for the links.
Posted by hugh macleod at December 5, 2004 12:23 PM | TrackBackRegarding the Kottke thing, as noted over at my blog (sorry for the semi-hijacking) Sony *did* have a leg to stand on originally regarding the audio clip, as it violated Fair Use.
I agree that they went overboard about the transcript thing, as other sites (such as the Washington Post) weren't given the same treatment.
But unless everyone is thinking that *everything* is "fair use" (and remember, lots of people are applying the US Constitution to a global medium when they make these arguments), let's not lose sight of the fact that both sides were in the wrong: Kottke for posting the audio clip, and Sony for going apeshit.
is Kottke being sued? I can't find a source for that information.
Posted by: sirshannon at December 5, 2004 8:32 PMScrew the defense fund idea; all bloggers should publicize a "Boycott Sony Day" this month. They are fighting a new war (blog content) with old weapons (lawyers).
They will win a few battles; we will win the war...
Posted by: Sven at December 6, 2004 12:10 AM(Note: I was specifically referring to "freedom of speech" when I made mention of the US Constitution being applied globally. However by extention, this is being done in terms of copyright law. Just in case my separate but equal thoughts were causing any hang-ups.)
Sirshannon: Right now, there is only the spectre of legal action, though none has been taken (to my knowledge) at this time.