Legal lunacy hurts pride

First, it was Molson Canadian's asinine legal battle to obtain all trademark rights over the use of the word, "Canadian". They still hold that right in regards to the beer industry, but it remains to be seen whether I will some day pay my income taxes directly at the liquor store.

Then it was Donal Trump, looking to trademark the phrase, "You're fired!" Granted, he is good at it...

Canada's gay and lesbian community has now joined the attack on common sense and the English language. Led by Pride Toronto, the proponents' efforts to trademark the term, "Pride", is leaving some members of Vancouver's gay community, local businesses, and even the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) a little underwhelmed (Read the full Canadian Press story about this by Jeremy Hainsworth here).

As local BCCLA representative Micheal Vonn put it, "It is a term in common public parlance. To say we will be the gatekeepers of a term, it is niggling from a civil libertarian standpoint."

Of course, royalties will not have to be paid in the event someone uses one of these phrases in a private conversation or a line of written text (eg. "As a Canadian, I take pride in the fact that you're fired. Now, clean out your desk.") And trademarking names and slogans as a general point of law is of course a good thing.

But taking words and phrases that are already in everyday use and trying to make money from it is just plain cynical.

So, to all that wish to engage in such buffoonery, I tell you in the plainest terms, get bent. (The expression, "Get bent" has legal trademark pending approval for this author).

tags: Gay Pride, Lesbian Pride, pride in a job well done, name trademark, you're fired