Wednesday 14 November 2007

I WUV BNE / NY

BrisVegas is in deep poo over some self love.

New York New York is taking the Brisbane City Council to court for using "I love BNE", a rip off, they say, of "I love NY" logo.
Lawyers will send Brisbane a strongly worded letter as the row over the iconic trademark heads towards a costly legal battle, with ratepayers to pick up the bill.

They've warned Brisbane not to use the trademark, however Brisbane city plans to use a green "I love BNE" logo to promote its $670,000 Greenheart CitySmart environmental campaign.

The city says the logo is being used to inspire those in Brisbane to go green.
New York argues it is irrelevant how Brisbane uses the logo because it is a clear breach of its trademark.

Thomas Ranese from New York's State Development Corporation, said lawyers had started legal proceedings against Brisbane City Council.
"We think this is a very serious matter and we plan on issuing a letter to them to to cease and desist," he said. "It's the standard letter we would send to anyone who violates our trademark and is using our logo against our wishes or without our permission."

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Again, we find ourselves in an effort to try and mimic the Americans.

First it was "Bris Vegas!"

Then it was I heart BNE.

What's next? San-Briscisco?

Rediculous!

I wonder how long it took the americans to get the lawyers out, they really do like to sue people don't they..

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said:

This mob in Brisbane could'nt have an original thought if their lives depended on it!!
Anonymous

Anonymous said...

I have some sympathy for the protection of so-called 'intellectual property'. Authors and other creative people deserve protection. They need to eat too.

However, this clearly seems to me a case of intellectual property protection gone mad.

Can a city have sole rights, in perpetuity, to the words 'I love' combined with a heart symbol? Does this make any kind of sense in terms of the public interest over time?

If I make a T-Shirt that reads 'I love Iraq' with a red (broken) heart, would under-employed, over-remunerated New York-based lawyers come after me too?

I might just put it to the test to find out.

Anonymous said...

I agree, can't an Aussie come up with an original idea? Once upon a time we called our capital, "BRIZZIE".

Anonymous said...

There's plenty of pootential to develop our own slogan for Brisbane and save money in litigation costs.
'Brisbane, the Rockhampton of the South East' Now that has a nice ring to it.
'Brisbane - cow town done good'
'Brisbane - hey we've got a river AND an upside down Harbour Bridge'
Better still...
'Brisbane..why bother...'

Anonymous said...

I Kiss CNS

Anonymous said...

BEWDIFUL BEWDIFUL BRIZZIE!
There, you Yanks, try and steal that one!