An interesting article from Corporatewatch, that shows the absurd levels the corporate world will go to to restrict freedom in an attempt to stop any form of competition, criticism, and take control, of anything from which they believe they can make money. How do you own an adjective which describes so many things, are the words we use to be controlled by the corporate world? If ever there was a need for proof that we have entered the era of corporate fascism, then this is it.
In an almost
surreal corporatisation of politics, and language, a corporate media group
has brought us one step closer to the outright ownership of everything by
trademarking the phrase
'radical media'. @Radical Media LLC has litigated against Peace News, New Internationalist, Red Pepper and other radical media groups using the phrase in the title of a joint conference to be held in London in October 2011. Six months into organising the conference, the organising group received a threatening legal letter from the media corporation objecting to the 'unlicensed' use of the term. The organisers decided they could not fight the challenge because, even if they won in court, they would have had to pay around 75% of the court costs, amounting to tens of thousands of pounds. The conference will now be called the Rebellious Media Conference
(see www.radicalmediaconference.org).'radical media'. @Radical Media LLC has litigated against Peace News, New Internationalist, Red Pepper and other radical media groups using the phrase in the title of a joint conference to be held in London in October 2011. Six months into organising the conference, the organising group received a threatening legal letter from the media corporation objecting to the 'unlicensed' use of the term. The organisers decided they could not fight the challenge because, even if they won in court, they would have had to pay around 75% of the court costs, amounting to tens of thousands of pounds. The conference will now be called the Rebellious Media Conference
In eerie echoes of Monsanto's seed patenting strategy and the corporate ownership of rain water in South America, @Radical Media has essentially taken it upon itself to earmark a resource, here language, which people already use, then punish them for 'stealing it'. In a statement, the conference organisers said "it is absurd that people involved in genuinely radical media projects are being prevented from using the adjective that best describes their activities". This paves the way for a bizarre dystopian future in which companies buy the political language that is used in resistance against them, then have dissenters dragged through court for nicking 'their' phrase.
