Oh dear. Really? Ebay Burning Man t-shirts?!

Minxy · Post by **Minxy** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:00 pm

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=burnin ... 56e0&vil=1

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:30 pm

You never saw a Burning Man T-shirt before.
Or you didn't think someone would charge money for one.
Help me out.

JStep · Post by **JStep** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:36 pm

Um, thought you got sued for that?

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:47 pm

Ugly Dougly wrote:You never saw a Burning Man T-shirt before.
Or you didn't think someone would charge money for one.
Help me out.

Or I'm wrong and you're peddling your wares.

FaeTora · Post by **FaeTora** » Wed May 25, 2011 5:47 pm

When i was on ebay a few months back I put burning man into the search engine expecting there would be clothes or something that would pop up. To my complete discussed only three posts came up and all of them were for Burning Man ticket!!

Hell has no furry like me!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed May 25, 2011 5:50 pm

Didn't the burning man store used to have shirts?

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Wed May 25, 2011 5:55 pm

Yes, they did.
WE have two of them.

Unless shit has changed you can use the image/name as long as a certain % goes to the BRAF or some shit like that.

I doubt that these shirts are following that course, regardless.

TomServo · Post by **TomServo** » Wed May 25, 2011 6:55 pm

JStep wrote:Um, thought you got sued for that?

Only if you don't have the permission of BMORG. They sell all kinds of BM stuff at the Empire store.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:19 pm

You're not supposed to be able to put "burning man" into the title, unless it is a ticket--otherwise the lawyers are on your ass so fast you don't have the time to wipe it. They seem to have a workaround, which is to say: ARTY, BURNING, CREATIVE, FLASHY MAN. They don't even have the creativity to go: ARTY MAN FLASHY, BURNING, CREATIVE.

But I have to assume it works.

Minxy · Post by **Minxy** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:37 pm

Dougly, I was shocked they were charging money for them. You're funny.

I believe you're not allowed to sell anything with the symbol of the man on it or using the name Burning Man. That's the gist I got when I read that bit on the website the other day unless I misread it.

JStep · Post by **JStep** » Wed May 25, 2011 8:30 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:You're not supposed to be able to put "burning man" into the title, unless it is a ticket--otherwise the lawyers are on your ass so fast you don't have the time to wipe it. They seem to have a workaround, which is to say: ARTY, BURNING, CREATIVE, FLASHY MAN. They don't even have the creativity to go: ARTY MAN FLASHY, BURNING, CREATIVE.

But I have to assume it works.

No they have BURNING MAN right in the auction title. I thought commercial use of the name or symbols was verboten?

TomServo · Post by **TomServo** » Wed May 25, 2011 8:43 pm

Im not a lawyer, and I don pretend to understand, but I do know..it's in the eye of the prosecutor. My accidental discharge was charged with an intentional, gross negligent discharge...a misdemeanor with a fine in California....But, once the prosecuter learned it was an assault rifle, they pressed felony charges. once established it was legal in California, they pursued jail time...instead of the fine. And, I was the one who reported the fucking accident.

Fuck the legal system!

Minxy · Post by **Minxy** » Wed May 25, 2011 8:52 pm

http://www.burningman.com/press/trademarks.html

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:15 pm

how in the hell do they manage to Trademark the word "Decompression" when it has been used as a word for like over 100 years beforehand?

FaeTora · Post by **FaeTora** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:17 pm

How can Paris hilton get a trophy for coining the phrase "that's hot." because that phrase has never been used before.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:23 pm

Trademarking is serious business.
I have already looked into trademarking the word "Poofer" and all I can do is trademark it as a combination...like "Poofer stickers", or "Poofer wand".
The word "decompression" is a verb that has already been in the language for quite a while.

Makes me wonder if anyone making a decompression tank now has to get the OK from the LLC to do so?

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:34 pm

Already copyrighted?

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Wed May 25, 2011 11:04 pm

HUGE difference between copyrights and trademarks.

Post by **Sham** » Thu May 26, 2011 12:14 am

This link is bringing me me to several items, but I 'm pretty sure that this person is selling a single shirt with the Burning Man logo on it. I don't think that there is a problem using the name Burning Man to sell it.
It's the same thing if you owned a Chevrolet Impala. You can use the name of the car and even a picture of the logo to sell it.
The fine line here is if the person if making bunches of these shirts and selling them for profit vs. just selling one that they happen to have.

This organization allows for us to make any item we choose with a logo on it, but we are not allowed to sell them. You could easily sneak one on eBay to sell, but if you say you have 50 of them, you will end up getting that lawyer's letter.

BBadger · Post by **BBadger** » Thu May 26, 2011 12:42 am

oneeyeddick wrote:how in the hell do they manage to Trademark the word "Decompression" when it has been used as a word for like over 100 years beforehand?

In the same manner that "Windows" has been used for hundreds/thousands of years, but can be trademarked because the word is used within a certain industry as a form of brand identity. The core criteria of a trademark is that its use should draw association with a product or business, and therefore its protection is warranted lest its meaning become generalized.

I must admit, it is kind of hard to imagine that "decompression", when used in the context of festivals, would immediately make me think of BM. Then again I've never seen the word "decompression" (in a festival/event sense) used outside the context of BM.

Post by **AntiM** » Thu May 26, 2011 6:19 am

You can report commerce on eBay here:

[email protected]

I don't know how busy the point person is, but with the proliferation of Burning Man in clothing sales title, I'd guess they're doing other stuff. I do know they have told sellers to cease and desist in the past.

Minxy · Post by **Minxy** » Thu May 26, 2011 7:04 am

No, Shambala, the person selling them on Ebay had them made up. They clearly state that in the description. They say they made them up and won't be making any more.

I've seen tons of people fudge the rules by saying "Burning light party rave man" but I've never seen anyone come right out and sell Burning Man stuff that blatantly. Thought it was interesting.

C.f.M. · Post by **C.f.M.** » Thu May 26, 2011 8:15 am

I really wanted to get a bunch of the Burning Man souvenir t-shirts for sale at gas stations en route to BRC. Cracked me up.

I've seen several auctions for BM loot. Medallions, Ranger gear, matchbooks...