Hotel sued for using Dewey Decimal System

[zakur]

Hotel’s use of library theme opens legal chapter (http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2003/09/20/20030920-A1-05.html) (free registration required)

Now a New York hotel that uses it as a marketing tool could be finding out the hard way.

OCLC Online Computer Library Center, which acquired the Dewey system in 1988, is suing the owner of a New York hotel, charging trademark infringement.

Since opening in August 2000, the Library Hotel — which overlooks the New York Public Library — has used Dewey as a theme for its 60 guest rooms. OCLC wants to put a stop to that.

On its Web site, the hotel makes much of its connection to the Dewey system: "The Library Hotel in New York City is the first hotel ever to offer its guest (sic) over 6,000 volumes organized throughout the hotel by the DDC (Dewey Decimal Classification).

Each of the 10 . . . floors honors one of the 10 categories of the DDC and each of the 60 rooms is uniquely adorned with a collection of books and art exploring a distinctive topic within the category."

The seventh floor, for example, is the arts floor. It has six guest rooms based on architecture, painting, performing arts, photography, music and fashion design — all subcategories in the Dewey system. Each room has a collection of books on those topics.

The rooms are numbered using decimals, as Dewey numbers books. The performing-arts room, for example, is number 700.003.

In documents filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, OCLC is asking that the hotel’s owner, Henry Kallan, pay three times the hotel’s profits since opening or three times OCLC’s damages, whichever is greater.

[Malachi151]

What the hell? I hope that case get's thrown out of court.

[Luceiia]

I'd classify this lawsuit under DDC number 817.

http://www.tnrdlib.bc.ca/dewey.html#800


Luceiia

[Shinytop]

Actually if a copyright holder does not protect his copyright it can be declared in the public domain. They do not even have to win in order for this case to estblish they are protecting their copyright. I would suspect they will be happy with a small out of court settlement.

[Iconoclast]

Originally posted by Shinytop
Actually if a copyright holder does not protect his copyright it can be declared in the public domain.
I'm not sure this is correct. While it's certainly true that a TRADEMARK owner is required to vigorously protect his trademark by pursuing any entity that attempts to use it to prevent it becoming a "generic" term, I was unaware that the same rule applied to copyrights.

[Selvedge]

It's not clear to me what OCLC's case is based on. Anyone can use the Dewey system, as far as I know. If you want to use it, say, to catalog your home erotica collection (and doesn't everyone?) there's no reason why you can't. So I don't see how OCLC can complain that this hotel is arranging books using Dewey call numbers.

Is their complaint that the hotel says in its publicity that it's using the Dewey system? If they're claiming that the hotel is somehow robbing OCLC of profits, the claim seems far-fetched.

Libraries don't pay OCLC for the right to use the Dewey name to describe their cataloging -- AFAIK, a library can say they use the Dewey system without ever buying an OCLC product or service. OCLC makes its money from things like downloadable records, databases, interlibrary loan system, training, etc.

As a liberry person myself, I'd like to see OCLC drop this one. If the hotel wants to give libraries -- and the Dewey system -- a little free positive publicity, let them. I don't see how it can really hurt OCLC, and if OCLC has a snit about it, it looks bad for OCLC and, by association, libraries.

Zakur, did the article say anything further about OCLC's reasoning in bringing the suit? (I didn't read the article -- there was a charge for registration for non-print-subscribers.)

[zakur]

Originally posted by Selvedge
Zakur, did the article say anything further about OCLC's reasoning in bringing the suit? (I didn't read the article -- there was a charge for registration for non-print-subscribers.) Sorry about that. Here are a couple of free articles (though not as long): Newsday (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--deweydecimaldefen0920sep20,0,3455241.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire) and Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3172401,00.html). From the original article:"I would term it straight-out trademark infringement," said Joseph R. Dreitler, a trademark lawyer with the Columbus office of Jones Day, which represents OCLC. "A person who came to their Web site and looked at the way (the hotel) is promoted and marketed would think they were passing themselves off as connected with the owner of the Dewey Decimal Classification system." That, of course, is complete BS. If they try to use that argument in court, I hope the judge laughs in their faces.

Just a note of clarification to the non-library folks — the two free articles state something to the effect of OCLC charges libraries $500/year to use the DDC. This is incorrect. As Selvedge has already stated, anybody can use Dewey to catalog their collections. OCLC charges libraries to access catalog records, and to receive updates on changes/additions to the Dewey system, not for actually using it. I used to work in a corporate library where we had a small reference collection. It was cataloged and arranged by Dewey, and we didn't pay a cent to do it that way.

What would be really funny is if the Library Hotel switched from Dewey Decimal System to Library of Congress classification system. :D

[zakur]

OCLC and The Library Hotel settle trademark complaint (http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/20031124.htm)

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 24 November 2003—OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. and The Library Hotel (New York, New York) have reached a settlement agreement regarding the use of the Dewey Decimal Classification® system trademarks by The Library Hotel.

On Sept. 10, 2003, OCLC filed a trademark infringement complaint against The Library Hotel in federal court in Columbus, Ohio. Under the settlement terms, The Library Hotel will receive permission from OCLC to use the Dewey Decimal Classification® trademarks in its hotel and in its marketing materials, with an acknowledgment that OCLC is the owner of the Dewey® trademarks. The Library Hotel will make a financial donation to a non-profit organization that promotes reading by children.

[...]

The Library Hotel also is pleased with this settlement. “We do not believe that our use of the Dewey® trademarks in our beautiful boutique hotel near the New York Public Library infringes OCLC's Dewey® trademarks,” said the hotel’s owner, Henry Kallan. “But acknowledging OCLC's Dewey® trademarks and making a charitable contribution to promote reading by children, rather than spending money litigating, seems to be a reasonable way to resolve this matter.”

[Michael Redman]

It looks like their problem was really caused by using someone else's trademark in their advertisement without permission. The owner does have to protect this trademark from unauthorized use to keep it out of the public domain, and it looks like they have reached a reasonable settlement.

Nothing to be enraged about here, folks. Move along.

[CFLarsen]

What a wonderful idea! Imagine walking into a hotel, finding books all over the place (apart from the bleedin' Gideon's bible!).

This case has to be thrown out of court. Since when is the promotion of knowledge copyrighted?

The Library Hotel. (http://www.libraryhotel.com/)

(cough) (http://www.libraryhotel.com/special/erotica.html)

"Champagne on arrival"
...breakfast is served, I see!

"Strawberries, and a bowl of Low-Fat Cool Whip"
....ah, the times they are a-changing!

"Two plush Library Hotel bath robes (yes, yours to take home)"
Now, that's nice!! I don't have to be a criminal no more!

"The Art of Arousal, by Dr. Ruth Westheimer"
...presumably without a face cover.

"All rooms are soundproof and beautifully appointed..."
...that'll come in handy!

"...with 2 line Direct In-Dial speaker phones, modem hookup, conferencing and voice-mail."
....ah, the times they really are a-changing!

Note to self: Take note of this hotel!

[UnrepentantSinner]

Why didn't they just go ISBN or LOCS?