‘Prairie Ho Companion’ Thing Is About Trademark Protection?

Matt Deatherage says Garrison Keillor isn’t humorless, he’s just protecting his trademark:

The First Amendment does not give you the right to take anyone else’s intellectual property, remove two letters, and profit from it — especially when the owner of the intellectual property is already selling similar goods in a similar fashion, any more than Apple Computer would sit idly while someone sold “Crapple eyePod” players or accessories. People who work for 30 years to build a name and follow the law to protect it are not “humorless” because some asshole with a 30-second idea can’t make money off it without permission.

★ Wednesday, 14 September 2005