I’m going to start with two facts.

Fact #1 – The first big-ass comic book convention that attracted lots of people from beyond its immediate environs was the 1964 New York Comicon. It, in turn, led to thousands of comic book conventions, many called “comicons,” “comic-cons,” and similar-sounding derivatives.

Fact #2 – There is a difference between law and ethics. Our laws usually try to be precise. Ethics tend to vary a bit from person to person and, certainly, from time to time. One person easily could steal from another – particularly in the area of intellectual property – and be cool with our laws.

All of this comes to mind because there was a verdict last Thursday in the case of the San Diego Comic Con versus the Salt Lake Comic Con. San Diego said they trademarked the term, and this is so. They didn’t create it, they weren’t even among the first to employ it, but they did trademark it. And so, last winter, San Diego won a $20,000 judgment against Salt Lake for trademark infringement.

I’m thinking of trademarking “U.S. District Court…” but I digress.  Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo #009: The Four Million Dollar Fan” →