|
|
|
The FactsIn November 1999, Transasia Corporation, a Paris-based company, filed a lawsuit against Leonardo Association claiming trademark infringement and loss of business. Transasia had recently trademarked the words "Leonardo", "Leonardo Finance", "Leonardo Partners", "Leonardo Experts" and "Leonardo Angels". Transasia claims, in its lawsuit, that it has entailed significant losses because the Internet search engines, when given the keyword "Leonardo", do not result in providing only its own pages but also those of Leonardo Association, and it is claiming one million dollars for business damages. In filing this suit, Transasia asked and obtained a search warrant for the house of the Leonardo Association's founder, Frank Malina, where his 80-year-old widow lives. The police seized some documents and tried to gain access to the Leonardo web pages via the computer they found in the house. As the founder's son and current director of the Leonardo Association, Roger Malina, ironically observed, unfortunately they did not take all the documents containing the word "Leonardo" with them, thus saving him the trouble and space for sheltering Frank Malina's valuable archives. What is the Leonardo Association?The Leonardo Association and the Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (known as Leonardo/ISAST) is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Paris and San Francisco, USA, respectively. Together they form a network aiming to present and promote the work of artists who are engaged in the area where Art and Technology converge. This network began its activities in the 60s, and amongst its founding members were important personalities such as Frank Oppenheimer, C.P. Snow, R. Buckminster Fuller, John Cage, Frank Popper, and many others. Today it is one of the most important --if not the most important-- reference resources in the field of technological art, with a network of web sites and a set of printed scientific journals such as the Leonardo Journal, the Leonardo Electronic Almanac, and the Leonardo Music Journal. It has also published many books. It is characteristic that these books and journals are published by MIT Press. In addition, it is conducting a series of important artistic and scientific programs, whilst also enacting a series of awards for important achievements in the field. One of these awards has been given to the Greek artist Takis. Virtual territory infringementART TOPOS, as many others, considers the Transasia action as an effort of crude infringement upon virtual territory and identity, and certainly through perfidious means: knowing that a non-profit cultural organization does not have the necessary financial and human resources to cope with protracted law court adventures, Transasia hopes that it will be able to infringe upon their rights at no considerable cost. Simultaneously, this opens the door to the disappearance from Internet of all those voices that resist its absolute commercialization, its conversion into an immense department store, where cultural products have no place. What they need are consumers, not people who think and create, building a very different global village from the fully commercialized one which they envision. Naturally, in making their plans they have not taken into account the reactions of all those who believe that Internet - as well as being a place for global commercial activities - can and must be a multicultural space where knowledge, creativity and creative speculation flourish. And certainly they do not appear to have learnt from the mishaps of others who have attempted similar undertakings and who met with financial ruin --as happened in the case of the multinational toy company eToys which tried to eliminate the award-winning artistic group eToy: during the one month of "contention", eToys shares dropped from 67 to 19 dollars and they had to withdraw their lawsuit before being completely ruined... It concerns us all...As much as it may seem that this case concerns others, in reality it concerns all of us who want Internet to remain a place of free expression, communication, creativity and culture. If it turns solely into a consumers' and investments' "paradise", all of us will have to lose. Let us not forget that the future lies also in our hands, not only in the hands of the global market conglomerates, hence the responsibility for this future lies upon our own shoulders as well. If the plans of Transasia - and of all those who conspire against the existence of organizations such as Leonardo - are successful, then all of us will lose something extremely valuable: our own right to cultural identity within the immense yet so captivating cyberspace. Thus ART TOPOS, incurably and perhaps justifiably optimistic, calls upon you to help Leonardo overcome its difficulties. We ask you to visit its web pages and the web pages regarding its case - to inform yourselves in depth, and to support Leonardo by sending them messages, enrolling as subscribers, or through any other legal means. Save Leonardo! ART TOPOS |
Latest developments 16 May 2000 A major event is taking place i n Brussels, Belgium on May 19, 2000 under the title CULTURALRESISTANCE. It is organized by VP.be and among the participants are Leonardo, eToy, RTMark, detritus.net and many other cultural organizations. 1 April 2000 You maybe missed this, but there are actually two Leonardo Associations! Leonardo Finance has a site named Association Leonardo. They even have a "Prix Leonardo" awards program! Have also a look at the names of the awards' jury committee and at the 1999 awards nominees names. Anyone to submit an application for these awards? Maybe eToy.com? Help to save Leonardo
Bookmarks Web pages of Leonardo
Information on the law suit
Reactions from the Internet community
Similar cases
Important texts |
|
© ART TOPOS, 1996, 2000 |
This is a Leonardo Meadow Web Ring site |
The graphic banner on this page |