Can I get a “WTF?”
So, this guy has a trademark on the word ‘stealth’, and he appears to be determined to defend it with a tenacity usually reserved for pitbulls and postal deliverers’ legs.
As one authority in the article rightly points out, a lot of this hinges upon people misunderstanding trademark law, which is enforced to prevent consumer confusion (i.e., two soft drinks called Pepsi). Which is all fine and good; if I’m going to sell something—say, books about religion and conspiracy—under the name “DanCo” (a brilliant idea, now that I think about it…), I don’t necessarily want my brand co-opted by some asshat pop fiction writer. For example.
Anyway, just to do some backtracing, I checked my trusty bathroom reading edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, which pointed out that the first appearance of the world ‘stealth’ was in Detective Comics number 27 1250AD (at which point, interestingly, the word was actually a synonym for ‘theft’), where it appeared in the best-selling book of all time. I’m not sure where this ranks on the inanity scale, but I think it’s up there with McDonald’s trademarking the word ‘smile.’ That’s right, puny humans, you may not encourage your acquaintances to display their pleasure by curving their mouths in an upward expression of enjoyment without first clearing the imperative with the lawyers of the Golden Arches.
We’re going to Hell in a Happy Meal®.
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