Try the Library of Congress System Next Time

The New York Times (Michael Luo) is reporting that OCLC is suing a New York library-themed hotel because the hotel is arranged (and stocked with books!) according to the Dewey Decimal System.

Or perhaps I should say, The Dewey Decimal System[TM]. Yes, that's right. OCLC, that nonprofit library cooperative that makes interlibrary loan so easy and makes it possible to locate a book or article just about anywhere, claims a trademark on the Dewey Decimal System.

Dewey apparently copyrighted his system, too, though he invented it in 1874, so the copyright should be long expired (at that point in time, if I recall my changes in copyright law correctly, he wouldn't have been able to get more than 14 to 28 years of copyright protection). A trademark, however, can be repeatedly renewed.

No time for analysis right now, except to say that I'm a little skeptical of this case. In any event, the treble profits damages demand strikes me as a little obnoxious, even though I know plenty well that it's customary to ask for maximum damages allowed by law. Still, this seems to me to be one of those situations where the lawsuit to enforce the trademark could tarnish that very trademark.

As for the hotel owners, well, maybe they should use the LC system next time.

The NYT article is available here -- free registration required, as usual.