Copyright: The Rights and Wrongs
Have you noticed that there are copyrights on everything we see? From lights to cars everything is copyrighted. But are the companies going to far?
Recently I read an article that detailed an account of a copyright infringement for Starbucks. There was a lady in the Midwest, I believe that named her store Starbucks. When Starbucks got wind of this lady’s store, the big corporation immediately sued the lady to change the name. After a long trial, Starbucks wins and the lady has to change the name of her store. Is this really necessary? The answer is yes and no.
Yes, because Starbucks needs to greatly protect its name and reputation. In addition, if Starbucks allows this one lady to slide, this sets a precedent. This would be very, very bad for the company, as Starbucks would fall to the same doom that cursed Kleenex, among others. This is a classic example of why Starbucks needs to protect its name. Kleenex, which was actually a company, allowed people to use the name, and soon it became synonymous with the product. This greatly reduced the profit as all companies began to put “Kleenex” on their boxes, because it represented a quality or standard. This eventually ran the company into the ground as it had lost its competitive edge and distinctiveness from its competitors. This is the scenario that Starbucks is trying to avoid.
This same scenario has played out quite often in history, so Starbucks should be afraid. Do you know that in Europe they call elevators, ”lifts”? This is again an example of bad copyrighting, when the product becomes synonymous with the name, and therefore loses their reputation of quality and service. Escalators as well have fallen to this calamity. The company that first had the name of Escalator was bought out when the copyright failed.
Despite all this doesn’t this seem a little paranoid? I mean, I understand where Starbucks is coming from, but really what is the harm in a little old lady in the Midwest with a store named Starbucks. It is not like there is any competition out there, the nearest Starbucks is in the capital at least 50 miles away. It is not taking any business, but still Starbucks closes them down. That just seems a little cold, at least to me…
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