NPR's "wait-wait don't tell me" on OCLC suit

[Sam Trosow <strosow@uwo.ca>]

Kent Mulliner wrote:

> It's a little late to avoid being laughing stock outside the profession as
> the suit attracted the attention of NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" last
> Saturday.  OCLC became the target in the segment "Listener Bluff" as one
> of three stories (2 false) of "unbelievable claims to ownership"
> http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/thisweek.html
>
> Of course, that program like much of the reporting confounded a trademark
> suit with a copyright suit.
>
> kent mulliner

Kent is absolutely correct. After listening to the clip (which I thought
was otherwise well done and quite appropriate apart from the not so small
detail of conflating CR and TM) I sent the following note to NPR:

--------

to: waitwait@npr.org

You really were off base with your claim that OCLC is claiming copyright
in the Dewey system.  They do own a copyright in the 4 volume set that
sets out the system and which they upgrade, but the lawsuit in question
has absolutely nothing to do with copyright infringement.  It is about
alleged trademark infringement (and related claims).  Had you looked at
the lawsuit, or read any of the articles about the controversy, you would
have gotten your facts straight.

I personnally happen to think the claim is not well founded and does
indeed deserve to be the butt of jokes. The question in the lawsuit is not
about unauthorized copying of OCLC's copyrigted works, but about alleged
consumer confusion with respect to the use of the trademark. It was quite
appropriate you chose it as an outrageous claim of ownership, but it was
too bad you got the details wrong.

Samuel Trosow University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law Faculty of
Information & Media Studies