Move On's Fragile History as Do Gooders

Been Here, Done That: Carrie's Prior Slap Down
or How Jefferson Airplane Got Toasted By Wes, Joan, & Carrie

By Polly Stew with help from Speedy The Chef and Ned, The Guy On The Stool

It's true. No newspaper has covered this. In the LA Times, it's only gotten into the blog. Why? The only other person to give any space to this at all is Michelle Malkin. Just think. The hilarious story of the year everyone else --including the pundits have missed it. I guess this means she's the smartest.

It's been two weeks since MoveOn COO Carrie Olson strong armed shopkeepers at CafePress, citing trademark violation. These legal tussles are something Carrie Olson and her cohorts Wes Boyd and Joan Blades, who founded MoveOn, have played before. Prior to founding MoveOn, they'd been taken to court over a genuine trademark infringement themselves. As much as you'd like to think that Berkleyites are organic crunchers who bake bread, they're not.

They're millionaires, and they have their fingers in everything from Berkeley city council, the preservation committee, to starting a group for moms who think just like them. George Soros aside, these folks have plenty of money of their own, they made it when they were still young and have very little in common with the rank and trade, bible-thumping Democrats a lot of us grew up with.

They made their fortune with a company called Berkeley Systems, developing among other things, a screen saver with "flying toasters." These were winged toasters flying through the air on your computer in the late 1980's and 90's made by Berkeley Systems. Remember it? Unless you weren't born, or you were completely oblivious, there's no way you could not have seen this iconic image. Just look at them here. Look familiar? Well, maybe it ought to, if you followed music in the 70's.

In 1973, Jefferson Airplane released an album with... you guessed it, winged flying toasters. It's such a zany idea. I mean, who would think of such a thing? It's very likely it was a popular LP in the grimy Berkeley apartments along with the smell of patchouli and Herbal Essence. Ned says something else, but we can't print that here.

By 1994, Berkeley Systems was big business. Jefferson Airplane sued Olson and her cohorts for copying their iconic image. Read about it here. Berkeley System claimed it had grown organically from the brain of one of their engineers named, Jack. Yeah, right, and pigs fly, too.

However, Jefferson Airplane LOST in court. The reason? JA had failed to register their trademark in 1973. (Well, it was a rock band you know. Who thinks of trademarks when you've got groupies?). Olson and fellow toaster banditos, Boyd and Blades, got off scott-free. Wade Boyd claimed to never have seen a flying toaster before they released their product. Either they've proven that there's no such thing as the subconscious, which liberals rely on, or this probably made them the squarest nerds in Berkeley. Speedy wonders why they didn't become Republicans, if this was the case.

Still, one can't help but notice the similarity between the two designs, hard to believe that they weren't in fact overgrown toaster hijackers. It would appear that there's been some unethical behavior here, and though only they know the truth, someone was angry enough to write several entries about it in wikipedia. It's the same childish mentality that created the Petraeus ad. Nonetheless, way back when, perhaps Olson learned a quick lesson. Slap this trademark schtick on a t-shirt and mug shopkeeper who doesn't have an intellectual rights attorney and you'll get your way.

She got away with it. Perhaps wisely, Cafe Press weighed the risk of taking on this alleged toaster burglars in court... even though they disagreed heartily with them. But boy, was she wrong.

From Jon Healy's article in the LA Times, which he only wrote after conferring with several trademark attorneys:

"Trademark law doesn't confer monopoly rights over all uses of a registered phrase or symbol, however, and it wasn't created simply to protect the trademark owner's interests. Instead, it's designed to protect consumers against being misled or confused about brands. The courts have repeatedly ruled in favor of parodies and critiques; that's why www.famousbrandnamesucks.com doesn't violate famousbrandname's trademark. And most, if not all, of the items targeted by MoveOn were clearly designed to razz it, not to trick buyers into thinking they were the group's products."

Olson, Boyd and Blades are no different than any other rich business titans used to getting their way. Even if it means quashing the First Amendment to anyone who disagrees with them.

To buy more, go to PoliStew Cafe Store . All proceeds benefit the National Military Family Association, Inc.