His Fire Department, Redux
Back when this blog began, I was really inspired by Erik Hjelle. You might remember such classic lines of his as "No! It's not the city's fire station. It's my fire station. The City technically owns it, but it's my fire station and my fire truck."
Maybe you thought he was kidding. A reasonable person might suppose he was just trying to weasel out of punishment for campaign misdeeds.
But last week Erik decided to take this sense of pride and ownership in "his" Fire Department to a new level. Check out the Secretary of State's website, where you can see that he (or someone else who lives in his house) filed on September 18th to reserve the name "Maplewood Fire." He also claimed "Maplewood Fire" as a trademark owned by Erik Hjelle & Associates, his insurance business.
So what I'm wondering is, . . . will Erik now demand that the city pay him royalties to license the use of the "Maplewood Fire" trademark on their fire trucks, badges, and buildings? Will he sue to force them to add "Department" to all of those things, to avoid confusion? And, if he fails to do any or all of the above, will he run the risk of trademark dilution by not defending this newly claimed intellectual property?
Or is it all just an effort to weasel out of punishment for a new campaign season's misdeeds?
Maybe you thought he was kidding. A reasonable person might suppose he was just trying to weasel out of punishment for campaign misdeeds.
But last week Erik decided to take this sense of pride and ownership in "his" Fire Department to a new level. Check out the Secretary of State's website, where you can see that he (or someone else who lives in his house) filed on September 18th to reserve the name "Maplewood Fire." He also claimed "Maplewood Fire" as a trademark owned by Erik Hjelle & Associates, his insurance business.
So what I'm wondering is, . . . will Erik now demand that the city pay him royalties to license the use of the "Maplewood Fire" trademark on their fire trucks, badges, and buildings? Will he sue to force them to add "Department" to all of those things, to avoid confusion? And, if he fails to do any or all of the above, will he run the risk of trademark dilution by not defending this newly claimed intellectual property?
Or is it all just an effort to weasel out of punishment for a new campaign season's misdeeds?
posted by Frostbrand @ 11:06 PM
5 Comments:
At 8:14 PM,
drawnLeftward said…
(Matt 7:)13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
At 10:15 AM,
LookingNorth said…
Erik, do you really think we are that stupid that we might miss this little stunt?
Better yet, do you think the judges are that stupid?
At 10:15 AM,
LookingNorth said…
By the way...
So much for ethics, erik.
At 6:54 PM,
theblankline said…
Someone needs to call the Secretary of State and 'splain it to her. The folks who ok those name reservations just make sure no one else has reserved it. They don't care or notice that it might be public domain. As you said, it won't fly with the courts either.
At 12:53 PM,
Anonymous said…
You know, its almost comical what is going on here. Now I see the postcards being sent out targeting Rossbach (another violation for the OAH to deal with - no campaign diclosure). I wonder if the usual suspects are behind this too?
Longrie, Hjelle, and Cave - I think your 15 minutes are rapidly expiring.
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