Essay: I Heart G.F.
The City Beat noticed that JGS has been mocking the hokey "I Heart G.F." T-shirts City Hall is selling.Knock it off, man! That was my idea!
Seriously, I used to go over to City Hall every Friday to pick up the City Council packets, which are now online. One Friday, the mayor was there and I said something to the effect that those polo shirts they have are kinda lame. Why don't they make something like those "I Heart N.Y." T-shirts, because that would be kinda hip (I think I meant in a kitschy kind of way)?
So they did.
I've seen a few people wear it around town, so there are differing opinions out there. In fact, I'm gonna go buy one just out of spite.
Anyway, the criticism that it's obscure -- "G.F." is short for what? Great Falls? Girl friend? -- is fair but that has always been kind of the charm of Grand Forks. I'm from Seattle where nobody knows where Grand Forks is. They barely know where North Dakota is. To me, that makes the place pretty exotic.
I love the way some people pronounce "creek" to rhyme with "brick." The way they say "for fun" when they mean "how fun." I love hot sandwiches, the ones with mashed potatoes piled on top of an open-faced sandwich and smothered with gravy. I love seeing nuns playing accordions at the Farmer's Market. I love seeing combines roll down the freeway. There used to be an East Grand Forks City Council member who is a farmer during the day. I loved it when he and his mud-caked boots stomped into City Hall straight from the fields. I love buying kuchen at Lever's. I love knoephla soup. I love Ole and Lena jokes. I even love that "Fargo" accent.
Who the heck cares if the outside world can't figure out what "G.F." stands for? They're just not in the know.
posted by Tu-Uyen at 9:37 PM
20 Comments:
Wow. You mentioned some good points about the area. Lately I've been feeling clostrophobic, like I need to be in a big city. But maybe it's not so bad?
I think the "I Heart G.F." slogan is cute.
You had me at hello. =)
They are cute. But, can you imagine tourists buying"I heart NY" souvenirs if their friends back home didn't know what NY was?
It just needs Grand Forks, ND in small type underneath.
They are cute. But, can you imagine tourists buying"I heart NY" souvenirs if their friends back home didn't know what NY was?
It just needs Grand Forks, ND in small type underneath.
Did anyone get permission/pay licensing fees from the New York State Empire State Development, the owners of the trademark?
NYS has been cracking down on the illegal use for a while now. If you think I'm kidding, see:
http://tinyurl.com/fnujm
I would hate to think that our local government is breaking laws, just for the sake of being cutesy and making a few bucks.
OK, maybe not "breaking laws," (I'm no lawyer), but you know what I mean.
I'm surprised that NY is able to do this. First, this would seem to qualify as parody. Second, I can't see how someone could trademark the "I heart" thing when everybody now uses it.
It has most likely been trademarked from the day Milton Glaser created it (he did it for free!). People usually copy and use it because they are ignorant, or just don't care.
While I seem to remember the 2 Live Crew case made parody exempt from copyright law, I don't think this is similar. There is no "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research" taking place with these t shirts.
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html
It dawned on me that this is probably a trademark issue, rather than a copyright issue. But, I imagine the trademark law to be substantially similar.
Bah. Remember Dagwood's? That was a copyright lawsuit waiting to happen and never did. We're so obscure no one will ever go after us.
Every town has a "Dagwood's." It's not a problem until it gets noticed. Consider this noticed.
Are you saying that The Herald will not investigate the possibility that the city has broken federal laws?
What kind of question is that? Get a sense of perspective will you? Not to sound snotty but I think I've got more important things to do -- like doing research on taxes -- than nit-picking the city.
Copyrights and trademarks are up to the owners to enforce. It's not the same as actually breaking a law.
Anyway, the lawyers can say what they want but common sense suggests that this "I heart" thing is too widespread to any longer be the exclusive property of NYC. A long time ago, escalator used to be a trademark but the word became so widely used it that it was recognized as a generic term.
Well, if this is truly a case of trademark infringement, and NYC moves with the alacrity that Disney has, better buy those GF shirts, because they'll become collectors items.
That is a ridiculous argument, as most forms of minor theft are up to the owners to report. However, that does not mean that it is not a crime. If they did not get permission, it is theft, plain and simple.
Your hubris is amazing. Surely, The Herald has other crack people on staff that could take some time away from creating such mind-blowing headlines as yesterday's "Casto Sick," or today's "Castro's OK" to make a 5 minute call to City Hall.
I spent 5 minutes on the USPTO website, and found the trademark for that logo. It is not available for use, as it is not a “common term,” as you suggest. According to the US PTO, “Rights in a federally-registered trademark can last indefinitely if the owner continues to use the mark on or in connection with the goods and/or services in the registration and files all necessary documentation in the USPTO at the appropriate times. In general, the owner of a registration must periodically file…” Even though Otis escalator failed to maintain and police the usage of the name “escalator,” this is obviously not the case with New York and it’s logo.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if our taxes had to go up to cover the expenses or fines associated with a crime. Then will you call City Hall?
New York needs all the revenue it can get in its fight against poverty, AIDS, homelessness, etc. Is it worth denying NY what is rightfully theirs in order for Grand Forks to be “cute”?
Claiming that it is unlikely that you will be caught is an appalling argument to justify doing something. If reporters decline to investigate criminals who are otherwise unlikely to be caught, such an approach would be a shameful abdication of journalism’s muckraking responsibilities. Yes, we are not going to have any Watergate scandals broken in Grand Forks, but I really hope our politicians here are honest, because your response indicates that we can not rely on the newspaper to keep them in check.
If I got a dime for every lecture I get on journalism...
I may be a bit naive in the blogosphere. Was that tongue in cheek, Coffee Guy?
Coffee Guy you crack me up. But in all seriousness, remember how Campbell's Soup Co. went after the Campbell Bros in Grafton over their use of the name "Grandma Campbell's" on their potato chips? Always some lawyer lurking in the weeds.
I don't know what's funnier. This argument or Two-Win trying to take credit for the idea.
Ask the mayor. I swear I'm not making it up.
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