[gui-talk] Thoughts on Freedom Scientific V Serotek
Joel Deutsch
jdeutsch at dslextreme.com
Wed May 23 16:32:10 CDT 2007
Nick, that's fascinating. Thanks for the bit of sociology, especially the
part about gradations of blindness and how that works as a class system. If
you know about the old thing in New Orleans upper class black society where
if your skin was lighter than a conventional tan-colored paper bag, you were
socially acceptable within that elite social group. provided you of course
also were affluent and community-minded. this is pre civil rights. I don't
mean anything to do with community activism.
A caste system within blind schools and such. Wow. That's kinda sad. But
thanks for the story.
----- Original Message -----
From: "W. Nick Dotson" <nickdotson at bellsouth.net>
To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 1:37 PM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Thoughts on Freedom Scientific V Serotek
In fact, the etimology as I learned it as an undergraduate in Visual
disabilities Education was a reflection of the fact that most congenitally
blind folks don't
have enough control of the musculature around their eyes to enable them to
"wink", consequently partially sighted and fully sighted individuals were
"winks", and because when a blind person tried to wink, both eyes blinked,
they were "blinks". I figure someone has to have a pretty shakey
self-concept
to get upset about something like that. I certainly remember having been
thrown into the back of a truck by partially sighted guys when I arrived in
Daytona
Beach, for College prep, and beaten up for having had the audacity to date a
then partially sighted girl... (grin)
Nick
On Wed, 23 May 2007 15:08:18 -0400, Don Moore wrote:
If I was white and went in the hood doing that it might be a problem. I'm
not, growing up we all referred to each other as blinks, but no one told us
we were
supposed to be offended by it. all the semantics still lead to someone who
can look out their eyes and see what they would if they looked out their
arm.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon C. Pierson" <jpierson at gigo.com>
To: "'NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List'" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 3:03 PM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Thoughts on Freedom Scientific V Serotek
Hi Don,
Ok, experiment for me please. Go into the hood and start dropping the
N-word
and see how many brothers agree with you.
Does 60 years of anything validate its bad usage and attendant behavior?
Declairing another's opinion as whining doesn't at all address the issue
which was - is the word "blink" offensive as understood in this context and
by those called blinks?
If it was found to be offensive by most of those in the group in question
i.e. blind peple would you drop your usage of the term or would you stand
on
your right to be offensive (assumption being and I'll take the bet) that
most people won't agree with your calling them blinks?
Votes for or against the usage of "blink" for blind person anyone?
Jon C. Pierson
-----Original Message-----
From: gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Don Moore
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 11:38 AM
To: NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Thoughts on Freedom Scientific V Serotek
Why? PC is for the whiners among us. After 60 years words can be a
problem, only if we let it or if we allow others to convince us they're a
problem.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon C. Pierson" <jpierson at gigo.com>
To: "'NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List'" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 11:46 PM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Thoughts on Freedom Scientific V Serotek
Using the word "blinks" is as out-dated as using the n-bomb to refer to
blacks, get a slightly P.C. life.
Jon C. Pierson
-----Original Message-----
From: gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Don Moore
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 3:03 PM
To: NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Thoughts on Freedom Scientific V Serotek
Sounds like a pile of crap to me, unless people think that blinks are too
stupid to know the difference. Personally I own both products and knew it
when I bought them. Is FS also going to go after Sean Hannity for using
"Let Freedom Ring" as his theme? Seems like rather a stretch to claim
trademark violation and more like harassment of the small guy by the big
guy
on the block. Was this brainstorm concocted by the bunch that bought FS
that doesn't think much of freedom anyway? Just wondering.
Makes you wonder how some ambulance chasers can sleep at night!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jonathan Mosen" <jmosen at mosen.org>
To: "'NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List'" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 5:50 PM
Subject: [gui-talk] Thoughts on Freedom Scientific V Serotek
Last week, Freedom Scientific, Inc. filed suit against Serotek Corporation
for trademark infringement with respect to the FreedomBox range of
products.
Since then, the matter has been discussed at length on some
blindness-related blogs and e-mail lists. I'd like by way of this message
to
clarify what I view as some of the objectives of the suit. I am a Vice
President at Freedom Scientific, and am extremely proud to work there.
However writing this message is my own initiative as a former technology
journalist. My aim in doing this is that people at least get a chance to
consider facts over rhetoric.
Firstly, let me talk a little about trademark law. A trademark's purpose is
to exclusively identify a source and origin of products. Importantly, a
trademark only applies to a certain range of goods or services. One of the
questions I have seen on e-mail lists is, "how can Freedom Scientific claim
to own the word Freedom." By taking this action, Freedom Scientific is not
seeking to do this. Rather, Freedom Scientific is simply enforcing the
Freedom Scientific trademark, which it owns for certain goods. Freedom
Scientific has invested to establish its trademarks and is only seeking to
enforce these valuable rights. Freedom Scientific has the legal right, and
the obligation to its customers and shareholders, to protect the use of its
trademark in the context of assistive technology. The concept of using
common words in trademarks is common - for example the use of the word
Apple
to describe a computer company. As is well known through recent news
stories, Apple is quite entitled to own this name in the context of
computer
hardware and software products. It does not, of course, mean that Apple has
any rights to the name when you eat a piece of fruit. Trademarks can
co-exist where there is no similarity between the businesses. For example,
Delta Airlines and Delta Faucets are trademarks, but there is no issue
there
because the businesses' purposes are totally different and there is no room
for confusion. Freedom Scientific is confident that its trademark rights
will be upheld. The broadening of scope of the FreedomBox products to
include products like FreedomBox System Access (FBSA) offering access to
mainstream applications only exacerbates the infringement.
Trademarks are not some abstract thing. They are a company's reputation.
They are legal property, and you can't simply take someone's property
without their consent.
Secondly, I'd like to turn to the question, "why now." All sorts of bizarre
speculation have been put forward as to the timing of this suit. Freedom
Scientific made Serotek well aware of its position on this matter, but
unfortunately Serotek was unwilling to negotiate a settlement to this
matter. No one likes having to go to court, but if you genuinely believe
your property rights are being trampled upon, in the end there is no choice
but to do so if you are unable to get a resolution any other way.
Thirdly, it has been said that Freedom Scientific is giving the blind
community no credit by taking this action, and that everyone knows the
difference between the two product lines. Rest assured, this is most
certainly not the case. I can tell you that Freedom Scientific has been
contacted by Serotek customers seeking technical support, or even wanting
to
buy a Serotek product. Thus, there is a likelihood of confusion.
Fourthly, a petition has been established by the hosts of ACB Radio's Main
Menu, calling itself the Save Serotek petition. The grossly misleading name
of this petition implies that somehow Freedom Scientific's objective is to
put Serotek out of business. As a result of the sensationalist name, many
commenters to the Petition have made comments to this effect. All Freedom
Scientific is seeking to do is protect its property and to seek appropriate
compensation for the unlawful use of it.
The objective here is not to put Serotek out of business. 2007 has already
seen great innovation from Freedom Scientific and there's plenty more to
come. Honest competition inspires excellence and is good news for the
customer. But I stress the word "honest." Yes, many people in assistive
technology are motivated by a strong sense of purpose and commitment to
making a difference. But these companies are still commercial entities, who
have every right to use the legal system to protect their property if they
think they need to, just as you have a right to use the legal system if
someone breaks into your house and takes something belonging to you
In closing, I hope that those genuinely interested in the facts of this
matter will take the time to read up on trademark case law, but most
importantly, will let the judicial process take its course. It occurs to me
that if Freedom Scientific has got it as wrong as a few people claim, then
what do they have to fear? A jury will dismiss the case. I doubt that will
happen though. If the law has been broken as I believe it has, then Freedom
Scientific is quite entitled to redress.
My hope is that sanity prevails and that Serotek has both the courage and
the decency to brand its products in a fashion that wasn't already being
used in this industry. I think they would gain a lot of respect from the
blind community for acting honourably. Fair competition is not too much to
ask for, and it most certainly is worth fighting for.
Those interested in the subject of trademarks may like to take a look at
the
Wikipedia entry on the subject, found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark.
Jonathan Mosen
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