urban homestead and urban homesteading

Here is a perfect example of someone of the same mentality as the evil for profit company attempting to trademark the word Jediism. Look what happens when someone like that actually gets the trademark. Please copy and paste this phrase (that I've printed in bold and is the subject of this post) in your responses as it will help this good cause of urban homestead and urban homesteading. While your at it check out this movement. It's a very Jedi thing to do.

Riding the Fences of the “Urban Homestead”: Trademark Complaints and Misinformation Lead to Improper Takedowns
Commentary by Corynne McSherry

Currently it's on the front page of http://eff.org or copy and paste:

[code:1]https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/02/riding-fences-urban-homestead-trademark-complaints[/code:1]

\" ... the term \"urban homesteading\" is commonly understood to refer to a popular movement and related set of practices. Our clients -- and anyone else -- are free to use it in that descriptive sense, and that is exactly what they did.\"

Br. John...

The link takes us to the Frontier website, but it says that the stuff is not there....

Jestor wrote:

Br. John...

The link takes us to the Frontier website, but it says that the stuff is not there....

Thank you! I corrected that in the original post. Notice what the forum program did when you try and post the word link? Since that word was in the URL it was corrupted and it did not work. You will have to copy and paste but the URL is correct now.

urban homestead and urban homesteading

For good measure here is a link to the book and let's see anyone try an force us to take it down.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1934170011/reasonmagazineA/

Like the term rollerblading is now, in-line skating....

It is nice when the good guys win....

I remember when the World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE, (I watched as a kid... Not really into it now...), was the World Wrestling Federation and they tried to copyright the letters WWF....

Unfourtunatly for The WWE, the World Wildlife Fund had been using it long before wrestling was even on TV....

The World Wildlife Fund won the right to use and then copyright the letters, WWF...

I laughed quite a bit that day.....

I know there are some who think this matter is ridiculous, if a term like this is trademarked, Jediism, Jedi Realist, whatever... And it is misused, or intentionally used for a non-community based reason, then there would be a lot of sad people wishing that they would have listened...

I understand the need for trademarking, it is essential for businesses that they are recognised and respected and that people do not misuse the same name, not to mention accidentally having two companies with the same name having very confused customer bases when it comes to asking about their services.

I do however think that it can very easily be misused. As Br. John pointed out in the link he posted, they are misused. urban homestead and urban homesteading is a very sad example.

On more familiar issues, trademarking the word Jediism is something that could result in the same effect. I highlight the word could, because I do not believe that (the other group) has any ill intentions. My issue is more to do with the fact that your trademarking the name of a religion.

I am sure that if they were to trademark it that it would be used properly and not result in events that happened with the urban homestead and urban homesteading issue.

I am aware that there could be something in the future that might mean the trademark is suddenly openly and aggressively enforced, and I hope that never occurs but that again is another reason why I am against this.

I just think that people should spend more time on the morality of the trademark rather than perhaps using it as an opportunity to attack the other group.

Akkarin, I've asked the hard questions about Daniel Morgan Jones and his puppet Baral Fobre (or is it the other way around?) but never the members of their group which they call a separate entity named \"Members Association\". I see sincere people who are unaware of many things and only have good intentions. I had and have plenty to say about George W. Bush too and a great many others who doing evil; that is wolf's in sheep's clothing.

Let's assume that Jones is a saint and has only the best intentions with trying to trademark the name of a religion. The entity that applied for the trademark and would own it is the for profit Church of Jediism Limited and Jones owns its one share of stock. He's not likely to live forever and he probably won't even be involved with Jediism a few years from now. He can sell that share of stock to anyone at any time and then they'd control the trademark. Then what? He could (and I do not wish any harm to come to him) die. It happens. Illness, a motorcar accident or even suicide. Then somebody inherits that trademark and they may not give a flip about Jediism but may very well care about money.

NO! (Foul language ahead.) Bicarbonate of Soda No! The attempt by anyone to trademark the word Jediism is evil. It can only lead to evil and cannot lead to good. The road to Hell IS paved with good intentions.

When we, and all the others who are united against this, win and the application is denied it will help keep Jediism in the public domain forever. The only reason they were foolish enough to try it is that they do not understand even the most basic framework of the law at all. That \"I clicked the wrong button and formed a for profit company by mistake\" excuse is worn out now. They've had nine months, 9 months to correct it. Either they are too ignorant to do it or they do not want to do it.

I have to admit Br. John the point you made is one that I had not considered.

As I had already said I am against the idea, but yes that is actually a much more potent and worrying thought to be considered. I do agree with keeping it in the public domain and certainly a defeat here will secure that forever.

But whether or not my concerns are warranted or not I just think that the other group is becoming a separate and unwelcome organisation.

Is there any sort of 'olive branch' discussion being made between us and them? I have spoken to Baral Fobre on Skype quite a few times and I cannot verify what he has said, but he informed me that some of the members over there are seeing us as ungrateful and arrogant. As I said I cannot verify it, but during our discussions I did not think that what he said was a lie so I am confident that he was telling the truth. I can also understand why they might feel and think about us in that way. Miscommunication and an inability or lack of chance to explain what you have said can destroy any relationship.

I know members here have dealings with the other group and I'm certain that they have more of an idea than myself about what is being discussed and said about one-another.

I would just like to know what is happening between our groups. Not between us and Jones or Fobre or our own council, but between the members of the groups. Have people had a chance to talk to each other about everything that has happened and mend any bad feelings left over from recent events?

I don't know how serious this issue could be, but as a community I think it is one that should be considered, and discussed if it has not already been done so.

So some members of them think we're ungrateful and arrogant. What could we possibly be grateful for with regards to them? I'm sure we do seem arrogant to Baral Forbe since he literally worships the ground that Jones walks upon. So people that have minds of their own and are not deluded with either a hero worship complex or those who are not in love with Jones would see others as arrogant.

Fobre told me many things that rang true until I and others caught him in flat out lies or contradictions where both statements could not be true.

I've yet to hear from one single member of that group other than Jones and Fobre. I get inquiries from the public all the time. I hear from other organizations. On a scale from 0 to 100 I give Fobre and Jones a credibility factor of negative 13.

Yes there could be peace but a few things would need to happen first.

They would have to:
Get rid of the For Profit company and form a proper non profit membership company limited by guarantee not shares.
Withdraw the trademark application.

That would go a long way towards showing good faith. As it stands, with a For Profit company trying to trademark the word Jediism they can be nothing but enemies of Jediism and it's our duty to defeat them. The them is Jones and Fobre, not the group associated with them who have no control over the matter. I have nothing against any one those folks and I wish them the best and I do not want to see them harmed or unknowingly be part of a scam and a sham.

Now if along with those two conditions Jones actually apologized for making such a spectacle of himself and Jediism by association that would work wonders. If he then actually trained and became a real Jedi that would work miracles.

That's a tall order so your mission is only to get a straight unambiguous answer out of Fobre. Why in the blue fu ... fudge has nine months gone by without them correcting the 'mistake' of forming a For Profit company? Are they proceeding with the trademark or not? Him saying he does not know is sour owl poop. He knows everything and is running the show over there. These days they only bring Jones out in the open if someone has a camera or microphone and the media is involved. Fobre writes any of the stuff that's the least bit good and lets Jones put his name on it. That boy is actually pretty smart but misguided.

Peace? It's their move.

But if they want a battle of wits they've come to the right place.

CoJ/ Uk church of the jedi/ international church of jediism/ etc has always been driven by hype and that only. It never was religious. They never gave a damn about jediism, in fact, when they started THEY didn't even claim to be doing Jediism. Jones just saw an opportunity in the 2001 census, and as a matter of fact hangs around the people who wrote (*kof* i mean output) that pile of garbage at the BBC (2001 or 2 ).

CoJ shares the same amount of similarities with Jediism as Islam shares with Shinto: anything that tends towards minus infinity.

The amount of people who were with us for years (not shouting on rooftops they were jedi) eventually left because of CoJ. They made it impossible for serious jedi to \"come out\". I couldn't before because of the \"wtf\" reaction people would have, now i most definitely can't because of the \"complete whacko\" label that accompanies jediism thanks to CoJ. Well yes, i could. Then not get any more contracts, not make money, the wife would probably piss off as a result, etc. you know the story. And all that just for the words \"i am a Jedi\". Heck, today a paedophile gets better treatment on the grounds it could be a mental illness or something.

And you're probably thinking something along the lines of \"All this because of a couple of robe-wearing lightsabre-playing kids?\". No, not just because of that. A movie Jedi rips his opponents' guts open with a lightsabre. An armchair-in-front-of-the-computer Jedi thinks \"oh yes they are misguided\" \"we could join them and change them from the inside\" \"we could teach them the way\". Yeah right. didn't happen, is not happening, and will never happen. Wouldn't have happened either if someone actually tried instead of just hoping to benefit from the CoJ media presence.
A: the media has NEVER been our friend. Not even the polite local radio station or newspaper a few of us stumbled upon.
B: friend or no friend, why give a damn about media presence.

Not doing the simple, very simple things that could have been done at the time is what caused their rise to power and our downfall.
#1 Doesn't matter if they have malicious intent or good intent, CoJ should be treated like any other disease. People don't wonder how flu feels about vaccine and antibiotics.
#2 Stop with the \"yes but maybe\". It's plainly a non-jedi trait. I won't quote why.
#3 Stop treating them like they have anything to do with Jediism. They don't. In fact, since they are a company that uses OUR name (the community came up with it, was before totjo and all, but Lucas or CoJ didn't) it should be made clear they have nothing to do with us.

Now why is it that still today it is difficult to accomplish these very simple tasks?