Sunday, September 21, 2003

And you thought that the Onion's story about Tanzania losing its name in a trademark dispute was ludicrous: Owner of Dewey Decimal System Sues New York's Library Hotel, not a joke. Apparently the owners are concerned that the hotel, which overlooks the New York Public Library, will cause a false association with the Dewey Decimal System because its rooms are named after Dewey categories, such as 800.001 for erotic literature. Which raises the question: I had no idea that the Dewey Decimal System was owned by anyone at all, and I suspect I'm not alone. If people think the system is in the public domain and thus does not indicate a source, how can there be confusion?

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