Three old white guys own the trademarks. They all hate each other’s guts.
For nine years these symbols of power, these keys to wealth and celebrity have been dormant in a magic box equally controlled by each of the three. A while back the “man in the hat” (Larry) for reasons that could be guessed by the other two, decided that he alone should control the magic talismans that were the symbols and the property of the People and had been held in an uneasy trust for so long. He made a bold move to smash the magic box and solely possess the grails with-in. This man enticed his lieutenants into supporting his bold move for sole power with flattery, threats and manipulation. These skills he learned very well from an ancient Italian Prince. If the “man in the hat” succeeded, the other man, the thin “Ranger” (M2) knew he would be cast out onto the edge of the desert, alone and unrewarded for his life’s allegiance to and paradoxically, his sly manipulation of the Kingdom and it’s people. The third old white guy, a naked, mud covered lunatic who had run off to another land was dragged back to the Kingdom. He is wielding a lightning bolt. (note: for legal purposes this is a METAPHOR!! not a literal threat –DUH! Anyone who was in the Black Rock with me a million years ago will get the joke.)
If the Kingdom is true, it will easily survive and thrive despite anything any of these silly men do.
Is Burning Man a Brand or a Movement? Time to decide, kiddies.
I was dragged into this situation by Michael Mikel’s demand for arbitration a while back. That was M2’s legal response to Larry’s refusal to pay the nominal licensing fee to continue to maintain these valuable brands in an entity that had successfully kept them from being exploited for nine years. I had no choice in the matter since I was legally bound to the other two. I decided to fight to keep anyone from having an exclusive right to capitalize on these brands and the IDEA of Burning Man at some future date. Some people might think that both these guys have the best of intentions. I for one have absolutely no reason to believe that.
Larry’s initial maneuverings and M2’s subsequent demand for Arbitration were specific attempts by each to wrest sole control of the trademarks from the other partners. Just read the documents.
Sure if it’s all Public Domain, I.G Farbin or Anaconda Copper could use BM imagery/concepts to sell their stuff – they wouldn’t, but they could. If it’s a real social movement with “legs” and a destiny greater than being simply an awesome tailgate party then those who really are part of it and support it will never mistake the event, and their involvement in it, with “Burning Man condoms” or “Burning Man antacid tablets.” Anyway any “burners” –{yikes!!} or any just plain old regular people that simply enjoy the event will not be forbidden from “being” Burning Man.
Tamera sent me this last night:
Well, considering I (an unemployed SF artist) had eBay auctions (my only source of income) taken down because I said some vintage clothes would be “great costumes for Burning Man” and was then read the riot act and threatened by eBay because Burning Man was a trademarked name, the likelihood of these capitalist assholes relinquishing that is about, um, none.
But yeah! Good luck. I recently left SF after seeing the city change in ways I really could not stand. What Burning Man is now symbolizes a lot of that for me.
None of this would be happening if Larry and M2 weren’t so intent on total control over the trademarks. If Larry, M2 and BRC LLC are concerned about Coke or MTV using the brands, then diluting their money value by placing them into the Public Domain will decrease the likelihood of corporate behemoths wanting or needing the BM image. Smaller appropriations of these concepts (Burning Chicks with Guns) can be laughed off by people who believe in the event and who support what they think it brings to the world.
Burning Man “as a concept” has been out there so long anyway that it is part of the culture. Much like the song “Happy Birthday” which is owned by some corporation that continues to license it, BM is both a cliché to many and a belief system to others.
As I’ve stated before, the only reason to keep ownership of these brands is to capitalize on them, now or at some future date. Larry and M2 are profiting and intending to continue profiting from the trademarks. This fact refutes the argument that some have made about protecting these marks from the commercial use of others by retaining control of them. By vying for sole control of the marks, Larry & Michael are preparing to do just that (capitalize on them.) I don’t trust them.
My involvement in the underground art and pranks scene in San Francisco goes back thirty years, pre-dates Burning Man and has been financed out of my (typically) very thin pockets. Everything I had went into the event and this fact is one of the two or three primary reasons that the event exists. Anyone not involved in the early beginnings of the desert festival certainly can have an opinion about my claims. If they base their opinion on the facts and they are fair, they’ll realize and agree with my argument for Public Domain. The only alternative is to acknowledge and maintain the three partners’ rights to share ownership and control of the marks and share in a fair market value for their use. If that happens, my guess is we three will remain pretty deadlocked. Anyone who was THERE knows damn well what I’m saying is true whether they would admit it now or not. If there is any confusion about my interest in only money – had I really only wanted money- a backroom deal would have been done complete with cigars and backslapping and you would not be reading this now.
Nuff said for now.