Last week we chatted about a Pagan business owner looking to put a trademark on the winter solstice holiday of Yule, The owner of Sage Goddess, filed a federal Trademark request to make YULE her trademark. She was sending cease and desist letters to other vendors who use the word Yule in their product names.
Several bloggers picked up the story and even The Wild Hunt got in on the act. As a result the owner of Sage Goddess abandoned her attempt to make Yule her trademark, much to the surprise of many in the industry. I even noticed a new Facebook ad running yesterday to get likes to her FB page. Makes one wonder if this was some sort of marketing campaign.
In any case I confirmed and the request has indeed been abandoned.
I would not have found out about this without the work of Charisssa and the Pagan Business Network. If you have not heard of her, please check out her group on Facebook. Under threat of libel she persisted and continue to voice her opposition to this case. I also want to give a shout out to Loren Morris of Primitive Witchery without her skill in investigation to bring out this story and her dedication to fight for what should be open to everything, I would have missed this story. She brought the message to me personally and then to our Witches & Warlocks group on Facebook. Great job to both Charissa and Loren for their support in getting this out in the open.
While I'm pleased that the trademark application was abandoned, I'm concerned about what this means for our community going forward. As a person who has been on the receiving end of frivolous legal action at the hands of someone who is clearly wrong, I am concerned about what it means to our community. In a world that hands over our eye of newt for a court room what does this mean for the magical community. While I believe that we should indeed use mundane actions on mundane work, I'm also worried about the litigious nature of our community.
When did a simple disagreement online result in hiring an attorney? When does one feel they have the right to own a holiday? I'm not surprised by this action, as it is pretty much the world around us. I think that maybe I held our community to a higher standard.
When you're working with people who claim to hold energy high and you see this kind of behavior, it is disheartening. I know that in my personal case I was surprised to see so many people continuing to support someone against me who was so obviously wrong. It made me yearn for a community who would actually ostracize someone who was attacking others, instead of saying... "It's just how they are. You'll get use to it."
Today I'm happy that this application was abandoned, but I'm skeptical. I think we should keep a close watch out. I don't think this is the end of this story and I'm sure my witchy friends can feel it too.
Blessings
Sosanna
Several bloggers picked up the story and even The Wild Hunt got in on the act. As a result the owner of Sage Goddess abandoned her attempt to make Yule her trademark, much to the surprise of many in the industry. I even noticed a new Facebook ad running yesterday to get likes to her FB page. Makes one wonder if this was some sort of marketing campaign.
In any case I confirmed and the request has indeed been abandoned.
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| Photo Credit - Website Screen Capture |
I would not have found out about this without the work of Charisssa and the Pagan Business Network. If you have not heard of her, please check out her group on Facebook. Under threat of libel she persisted and continue to voice her opposition to this case. I also want to give a shout out to Loren Morris of Primitive Witchery without her skill in investigation to bring out this story and her dedication to fight for what should be open to everything, I would have missed this story. She brought the message to me personally and then to our Witches & Warlocks group on Facebook. Great job to both Charissa and Loren for their support in getting this out in the open.
While I'm pleased that the trademark application was abandoned, I'm concerned about what this means for our community going forward. As a person who has been on the receiving end of frivolous legal action at the hands of someone who is clearly wrong, I am concerned about what it means to our community. In a world that hands over our eye of newt for a court room what does this mean for the magical community. While I believe that we should indeed use mundane actions on mundane work, I'm also worried about the litigious nature of our community.
When did a simple disagreement online result in hiring an attorney? When does one feel they have the right to own a holiday? I'm not surprised by this action, as it is pretty much the world around us. I think that maybe I held our community to a higher standard.
When you're working with people who claim to hold energy high and you see this kind of behavior, it is disheartening. I know that in my personal case I was surprised to see so many people continuing to support someone against me who was so obviously wrong. It made me yearn for a community who would actually ostracize someone who was attacking others, instead of saying... "It's just how they are. You'll get use to it."
Today I'm happy that this application was abandoned, but I'm skeptical. I think we should keep a close watch out. I don't think this is the end of this story and I'm sure my witchy friends can feel it too.
Blessings
Sosanna
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