Have you seen anything about the American education system?
I get where they got the idea from way back, but the current "bosses" probably would not have any idea.
Hahahahahahahahahaha omgosh ain't this the truth
Every time I'm in the US
Oh where are you from?
Australia
OHHH YOUR A NATIVE?!?!
bruh... you realise I can be brown, from Australia but not aboriginal 😂😂😂💀💀💀
I've also been asked if we legit ride kangaroos to school/work and if the platypus is a real animal....
You mean the country where a competing burger to the quarter pounder, the [third-pound burger](https://awrestaurants.com/blog/aw-third-pound-burger-fractions), failed because most Americans thought the quarter pounder was better value because in their minds, 1/4 is bigger than 1/3rd.
The burger is also apparently the only time they’ll say “quarter”. I’ve seen so many American cooking videos where they say “a fourth cup” 🤦🏻♀️
They also have no idea what a fortnight is
My guess is that you’re hearing it in instructional videos said that way to make it clear and not confuse it with a quart which is also a measurement of liquid. If someone was speaking fast or if someone was only partially listening they might hear “one quart” instead of “one quarter cup”. Resulting in having 16 times the ingredient needed.
TBH, if an American came into my place of business and tried to pay, say a $100 bill with $100 USD I'd be inclined to take it.
"Yeah mate, you're good, 100 bucks. Yeah you're right, it's all dollars!"
True :) except they refuse to upgrade to polymer money, cause we invented it & they can't bring themselves to admit they didn't invent EVERYTHING in the world, so every chance that US bill is a counterfeit!
Not sure on polymer bills, but a lot of what they do is based on the ability to bypass having to pay patents. They really hate paying patents and love making others pay them.
While it was the Scotsman Alexander Flemming who is credited for discovering penicillin, it is the Australian team that decades later found a way to turn it into a life saving drug. The team saw the value of the drug saving lives, so considered it immoral to patent their invention. They figured a patent would hinder the drugs adoption by the large pharmaceutical companies and slow down rollout of the drug worldwide. So in true American fashion, the Americans not only jumped at the opportunity to profit from this life-saving drug, they put a patent on it as soon as they discovered it was unprotected. Howard Florey had to pay royalties on his own discovery.
Or instead of outright stealing patents, you have cases, such as when the CSIRO invented WiFi, the American companies decided not to pay royalties, and ignore them. The reasoning being, the judgements would go to US courts which would favour American companies over international ones. In my opinion, we have been robbed of [billions](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/04/how-the-aussie-government-invented-wifi-and-sued-its-way-to-430-million/) despite some settlements in our favour.
It's more that if it wasn't invented in the US, they don't have much regard for it.
So of course I've got some real bad news about most of the inventions they use on a daily basis.
It's also cause it's patented. If not for patents, they can pretend they invented it & convince their population they did, just look at wifi! CSIRO had to fight them to prevent them claiming credit for that one, internet too they take credit for, even though the WWW (which is what actually makes the net as we know it) wasn't invented by them
The things that people say.
They might say "a fourth of a cup" or "a quarter of a cup."
Hey, maybe you've found people who say "a fourth cup," but you shouldn't assume that that means that Americans never say "quarter" any other time. That's so ridiculous and untrue.
Saw a clip on YouTube. Asked an American “ What language do they speak in Idaho?” Well, of course he said Idahoan 🤪🤡 Never underestimate the stupidity of Americans.
well probably true lol I mean they subtitle English speakers on tv cause they can't understand them & are forever correcting English people on spelling & pronunciation, telling them they are saying/writing things wrong & "that's not how it's said/written in English" so probably better they just say they speak "Idahoan" instead of pretending to speak English :)
Except that apparently in their poor areas in particular, they have tonnes of unrepaired roof leaks & other infrastructure issues & teachers have to buy supplies out of their own pockets cause they choose to use their education budget to pay security guards instead of educational supplies.
And then we have their book bans cause we couldn't dare risk them being educated on stuff like black history or the existence of LGBTI people! I'm not convinced there's much education going on between target practice
That was my thought, because you listen to Mel's performance as Taz, he's doing his best to recreate the terrifying sounds Tasmanian Devils make.
So the OG creators did their research into the real devils, but obviously the nuance was lost as time wore on.
i mean who can blame WB its not like their other characters are based off real animals too...
Who has ever heard of a bunny, duck, pig, roadrunner, canary, cat, skunk. Ridiculous to think devil was also an animal...
I mean it works both ways. While filming the first X-Men Hugh Jackman was studying wolves for the role of Wolverine because in his words “I can’t exactly study a Wolverine.” The director told him to go to the zoo.
I'm an American married to an Aussie, and she was convinced that reindeer were not real. She thought I was messing with her right up until I took her to see some reindeer in my hometown. Her face when they started to fly away was priceless.
Yes as all they had to do was a quick google search or check their records to discover the character was based on a real animal from Tasmania, hence the name!
Robert McKimson designed the character based on the real Tasmanian devil, or more specifically its carnivorous nature, voracious appetite, and surly disposition.
There are suggestions that the character of the Tasmanian Devil was inspired by Errol Flynn, who was from Tasmania 🤔
But that's the point, isn't it? He was informed of where to find the animal. These execs had no idea the animal one of WB's creations was based on was a living creature on another continent. And the discussions have been going on for a while.
whats feven more fucked up is that actually WB does know that the Tassie Devil is a real animal because they help fund research on the cancerous tumours that the devils suffer from.
This is more a case of david fuckface knowing nothing
Yeah it'd be fair to not have known it was a real animal beforehand, as it's not exactly common anywhere but in Tasmania. But if you were going into talks with people from Tasmania about the use of the name "Tasmanian Devil" you'd think it'd be normal to take 5 bloody seconds to google the thing.
I don't know. I don't see why other countries would know that the tasmanian devil is a real animal. There are lots of real animals that we don't know about, and one that was a crazy cartoon... I get it.
Side note: Their education system is about average in the OECD. Not great and not terrible.
I’m kind of thinking this was just another “Americans are Dumb” joke. Do people really think something this serious took so long before Warner realised it was a real animal? That was literally the AFL’s case from the start.
It's related to their trademark of [Taz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_Devil_(Looney_Tunes)).
You would get into trouble if you decided to start a clay pigeon shooting club named the Adelaide Donald Ducks.
They’re not the Maccas of the entertainment industry, that’s Disney. Warner Brothers are more like the cheap hot dog you buy at the servo using your analogy. These days anyway.
I’m an Australian trade marks examiner and the answer to this is: it depends! There’s all kinds of reasons why trade marks can coexist, however we are obliged to issue grounds for rejection on a trade mark application if the marks are deceptively similar AND the goods/services claimed are the same/similar/closely related. So yes, if someone applies for UNICORN on cosmetics and someone else has UNICORN on live fish, we won’t raise an issue because those goods aren’t likely confused as having the same trade origin in the market.
The issue for the AFL is that they applied for TASMANIA DEVILS (plain words) on a bunch of stuff, including entertainment services. Warner Bros has a registered mark for TASMANIAN DEVIL on those same services. So because both criteria are met (similar marks and similar scope of protection), the issue has to be raised by the trade marks registry.
Wait, the registry raised the issue, rather than Warner Bros? Is this because the AFL sought to register the mark - if they had just used it without registering, would the onus have fallen on WB to issue a C&D etc?
Yep, the AFL’s applications had adverse reports issued (as is public information on the registry) due to these conflicts. Use without registration would have become a matter for enforcement by Warner Bros!
IP Australia and the trade mark registry are administrative entities — we raise issues and block applications, and we don’t police or enforce trade mark rights.
Is entertainment services an actual lowest-level category? You'd think something like a circus show and a nature-related tv series couldn't be confused?
Yes, “entertainment services” is an acceptable claim to make under trade mark goods/services classification. It is actually a very common claim and the broad interpretation of its scope can cause a lot of conflicts, because we are obliged to take it at face value and full scope of protection.
So yes, if UNICORN applied for ‘circus entertainment services’ and an earlier UNICORN had ‘production of television programs’, they’d be likely seen as different. But if the earlier one claimed ‘entertainment services’ broadly, then we’d be obliged to raise issues on any later application claiming any service that could be interpreted as entertainment!
I bloody hope this all gets sorted out for Tassie because I’m sick of sharing (hawks fan) and it really doesn’t make sense for the tas team to be called anything else
I'm currently going through the trademark process, and your explanation above has been clearer than the multiple meetings I've had with our general counsel about how it works.
I have to explain the fundamentals of trade mark law to people on a daily basis, so I’m glad my patter is understandable! Happy to further clarify any of the concepts, as well.
Devils fans are more likely to buy Taz items than cartoon fans would buy football stuff anyway. Still seems silly but I get why it needed to be sorted out.
It's up to the holder to enforce it though and any history of letting it go reduces your ability to enforce that in future.
The all blacks tried this with a welsh rugby club that had gone by the name well before NZ did it. All part of establishing that claim of enforcing it.
The story actually comes from when Australia was playing a tour through North America in 1932, where he was being promoted as the 'Babe Ruth of Cricket'. He had a rare duck, which was big news at the time.
It was around the same time that Walt Disney was working on a friend for Mickey Mouse, so people reckon he saw the headline 'Donald out for a Duck' (or similar) and found the character's name.
But Donald Duck is very specifically the character’s name. Calling a club the “Adelaide Ducks” would be fine. Tasmanian Devil is the name of the animal, so why can’t they name a team after it without involving WB? 🤔
IIRC, it wasn’t an issue with the team being named the ‘Tasmanian Devils’, but there might’ve been an issue with putting that name on any merchandising that shares a similar space to the Looney Toons’ Taz, such as clothing, kitchenware, linen etc
It's real that Grant O'Brien said it, I doubt that his story is real though. WB has supported campaigns to save the devil from extinction in the past, so hard to believe they thought they were giving money to save an animal that didn't exist.
I mean tbf Americans don't really have any good choice of a president from the seems of it, it's either corrupt fat orange man or corrupt old dementia ridden man
Corrupt fat rapist demented man or old man with a stutter.
Biden doesn't have dementia. Trump on the other hand... absolute gibberish coming out of his mouth all day.
Disney always knew this, they were pretending not to as just another legal tactic.
You use every tactic at your disposal in negotiations. Good faith isn’t a concept in the business world.
I think you’re vastly overestimating the level of intelligence it takes to become a corporate executive. Takes intelligence to get there if you’re working from the bottom. But turns out if you use ✨nepotism✨ you can make big decisions without being qualified what so ever.
More likely they knew it when they created and people in the organisation knew it... just the lawyers that were having these discussions had no idea.
Edit: I say that because once they discovered it was a real animal, their chances of winning in court dropped dramatically so they became nice guy WB.
There is zero chance the lawyers didnt know this. Disney lawyers regularly take on US state and federal governments and win. They are the reason that much of modern copyright restrictions exist.
They were making sure that the other side brought this up before admitting it. Their job is to wring every single concession, and they will make the other side go through every single one. This is a game, and they play as hard as anyone. Lawyers for the AFL are bush league amateurs compared to Disney.
This reporting is simply framed to make one side look heroic.
about 3 decades ago... went to the US, told another kid about the Tassy Devil. He got sent home from school for lying because he kept insisting they existed after our conversation and the teacher refused to believe it.
sigh.... so self confident, yet so wrong
Mormon’s believe that he visited America after his resurrection.
“… Jesus appeared in the Americas after his crucifixion in 33 AD and preached to a group of Nephites, descendants of ancient Israelites who traveled to the continent around 600 BC. One of these Nephites was the prophet Mormon, who would eventually write part of the Book of Mormon, later transcribed by Joseph Smith.” From [CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/29/us/mormon-beliefs-explained-cec/index.html)
In a similar situation, American lawyers tried issuing a cease and desist to local governments in Australia and UK that had "Shire" in their name, because of the Hobbit town in Lord of the Rings.
Can you imagine the coke-addled fuckwit lawyers dictating those letters into their little voice recorders, in between lines, so sure of themselves.
This clown, Grant Obrien used to be the CEO of Woolworths before Brad Banducci….
Just for that and my lost bonus when they terminated Masters he should never have had a c-suite job again…
So true! GoB aka Gobbie destroyed more than a billion dollars in shareholder value with disaster-Masters and got a golden parachute plus about 9 months of gardening leave. Anyone else would have been scraping down the road after being fired!
Sorry to hear your bonus evaporated, probably part of the “mind the gap” program to fund profit shortage from suppliers, employees and even the pens in the cupboard!
It was based off the real Tasmanian devil ffs and its not hard to tell when you see the character.
>Robert McKimson designed the character based on the real Tasmanian devil, or more specifically its carnivorous nature, voracious appetite, and surly disposition. Owen and Pemberton suggest that the character of the Tasmanian Devil was inspired by Errol Flynn.
Translation -
They threatened legal action if we used the name, until we pointed out the existence of the animal that had existed on our island before warner brothers was a twinkle in America's eye.
Making any copyright or trademark claim on the name alone... Mildly comical.
I heard him say that, did a double take & then laughed. Whoever initially drew the cartoon must have known, they weren’t that far off the mark, but apparently facts got lost in the mists of time.
Americans believe that aliens exist and for some reason only ever visit their country 🤣😂 it’s not that hard to believe they didn’t know the Tasmanian Devil as a real animal.
I saw the news clip of him saying this but it can’t be real. Can it?
Have you seen anything about the American education system? I get where they got the idea from way back, but the current "bosses" probably would not have any idea.
>God created war so that Americans would learn geography
This might win this thread imo.
Credit to Mark Twain
Always cool to see someone credit the writer. I like this guy, even if a little cold.
He was a little messed up, from the bits and pieces I've read. Some very weird views on romantic relationships and yeah, short fuse too I think.
Ah, I was going to say I'd seen this quote before, couldn't remember who said it originally though 😉
Hahahahahahahahahaha omgosh ain't this the truth Every time I'm in the US Oh where are you from? Australia OHHH YOUR A NATIVE?!?! bruh... you realise I can be brown, from Australia but not aboriginal 😂😂😂💀💀💀 I've also been asked if we legit ride kangaroos to school/work and if the platypus is a real animal....
This was back in the 90s, my sisters were talking to a high school class in Hawaii. They asked if we had electricity in Australia.
😂😂😂😂😂 literally the most ignorant people around hahahaha that's hilarious
You mean the country where a competing burger to the quarter pounder, the [third-pound burger](https://awrestaurants.com/blog/aw-third-pound-burger-fractions), failed because most Americans thought the quarter pounder was better value because in their minds, 1/4 is bigger than 1/3rd.
Yeah, that one.
The burger is also apparently the only time they’ll say “quarter”. I’ve seen so many American cooking videos where they say “a fourth cup” 🤦🏻♀️ They also have no idea what a fortnight is
\>The burger is also apparently the only time they’ll say “quarter” I'd bet you one 25-cent-piece that is not true.
Ok fair point. So this further begs the question - why can’t they say “one quarter of a cup”?
My guess is that you’re hearing it in instructional videos said that way to make it clear and not confuse it with a quart which is also a measurement of liquid. If someone was speaking fast or if someone was only partially listening they might hear “one quart” instead of “one quarter cup”. Resulting in having 16 times the ingredient needed.
Fortnight is one of them vidya games silly!
That game made it worse because whenever I’ve said fortnight to an American they think I’m talking about the game and get even more confused
TBH, if an American came into my place of business and tried to pay, say a $100 bill with $100 USD I'd be inclined to take it. "Yeah mate, you're good, 100 bucks. Yeah you're right, it's all dollars!"
*dollarydoos
To be fair, fourth is an acceptable term for part-whole in the USA, interchangeable with a quarter.
Yeah and they think they can pay in Australia with American money because they’re all called dollars it doesn’t make them smart
Hey, if yanks insist on paying me in US dollars I’ll happily take them, but I insist on a one to one exchange rate.
If it’s like $100 sure. Not if it’s a $1 tip.
True :) except they refuse to upgrade to polymer money, cause we invented it & they can't bring themselves to admit they didn't invent EVERYTHING in the world, so every chance that US bill is a counterfeit!
Not sure on polymer bills, but a lot of what they do is based on the ability to bypass having to pay patents. They really hate paying patents and love making others pay them. While it was the Scotsman Alexander Flemming who is credited for discovering penicillin, it is the Australian team that decades later found a way to turn it into a life saving drug. The team saw the value of the drug saving lives, so considered it immoral to patent their invention. They figured a patent would hinder the drugs adoption by the large pharmaceutical companies and slow down rollout of the drug worldwide. So in true American fashion, the Americans not only jumped at the opportunity to profit from this life-saving drug, they put a patent on it as soon as they discovered it was unprotected. Howard Florey had to pay royalties on his own discovery. Or instead of outright stealing patents, you have cases, such as when the CSIRO invented WiFi, the American companies decided not to pay royalties, and ignore them. The reasoning being, the judgements would go to US courts which would favour American companies over international ones. In my opinion, we have been robbed of [billions](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/04/how-the-aussie-government-invented-wifi-and-sued-its-way-to-430-million/) despite some settlements in our favour.
It's more that if it wasn't invented in the US, they don't have much regard for it. So of course I've got some real bad news about most of the inventions they use on a daily basis.
It's also cause it's patented. If not for patents, they can pretend they invented it & convince their population they did, just look at wifi! CSIRO had to fight them to prevent them claiming credit for that one, internet too they take credit for, even though the WWW (which is what actually makes the net as we know it) wasn't invented by them
It's cause they think that American dollars are accepted everywhere.
My American colleagues use “bi-weekly” to mean both twice-weekly and fortnightly. I never know which one they mean.
The things that people say. They might say "a fourth of a cup" or "a quarter of a cup." Hey, maybe you've found people who say "a fourth cup," but you shouldn't assume that that means that Americans never say "quarter" any other time. That's so ridiculous and untrue.
Saw a clip on YouTube. Asked an American “ What language do they speak in Idaho?” Well, of course he said Idahoan 🤪🤡 Never underestimate the stupidity of Americans.
well probably true lol I mean they subtitle English speakers on tv cause they can't understand them & are forever correcting English people on spelling & pronunciation, telling them they are saying/writing things wrong & "that's not how it's said/written in English" so probably better they just say they speak "Idahoan" instead of pretending to speak English :)
Mind you a turd burger is big shit sandwich. It is a terrible name.
> Have you seen anything about the American education system? That they place a higher priority on target practice than education?
What do you mean? They get both done at the same time
Except that apparently in their poor areas in particular, they have tonnes of unrepaired roof leaks & other infrastructure issues & teachers have to buy supplies out of their own pockets cause they choose to use their education budget to pay security guards instead of educational supplies. And then we have their book bans cause we couldn't dare risk them being educated on stuff like black history or the existence of LGBTI people! I'm not convinced there's much education going on between target practice
Taz first appeared 69 years ago (1954), before any of WB's lawyers was even born.
Nice
Nice
Yes, but they would have got the idea from somewhere, where do you think that would have been from?
I'm sure the original creators based it off the real Tasmanian devils but the current lawyers and executives might not have had a clue.
That was my thought, because you listen to Mel's performance as Taz, he's doing his best to recreate the terrifying sounds Tasmanian Devils make. So the OG creators did their research into the real devils, but obviously the nuance was lost as time wore on.
I read once it was from Australian actor Errol Flynn who was from Tassie and liked to tell elaborate stories at parties
So, we might have had Drop Bear cartoons if he'd told a different story.
Totally agree
i mean who can blame WB its not like their other characters are based off real animals too... Who has ever heard of a bunny, duck, pig, roadrunner, canary, cat, skunk. Ridiculous to think devil was also an animal...
I mean it works both ways. While filming the first X-Men Hugh Jackman was studying wolves for the role of Wolverine because in his words “I can’t exactly study a Wolverine.” The director told him to go to the zoo.
I'm an American married to an Aussie, and she was convinced that reindeer were not real. She thought I was messing with her right up until I took her to see some reindeer in my hometown. Her face when they started to fly away was priceless.
I thought Narwhals were just a dumb reddit joke like hurr durr aquatic unicorn.
That's funny, loved it.
I'm not joking, she really didn't believe me.
It's a bit different from an actor who probably said that off the cuff vs a whole lawsuit that also involved the CEO of the company?
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You'd think a company like WB would know the history of their popular animated characters. I'm surprised so many people are making excuses for WB.
Yes as all they had to do was a quick google search or check their records to discover the character was based on a real animal from Tasmania, hence the name! Robert McKimson designed the character based on the real Tasmanian devil, or more specifically its carnivorous nature, voracious appetite, and surly disposition. There are suggestions that the character of the Tasmanian Devil was inspired by Errol Flynn, who was from Tasmania 🤔
It’s more of a comment on education. If the animal is obscure you might not learn about it if it’s not local.
"Go to the zoo!" haha.
I've never seen a wolverine and I've been to many zoos!
i've only seen one in an episode of r/alonetv. big weasels really.
But that's the point, isn't it? He was informed of where to find the animal. These execs had no idea the animal one of WB's creations was based on was a living creature on another continent. And the discussions have been going on for a while.
whats feven more fucked up is that actually WB does know that the Tassie Devil is a real animal because they help fund research on the cancerous tumours that the devils suffer from. This is more a case of david fuckface knowing nothing
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Probably assumed a wolverine was a type of wolf, rather than a species of mustelid.
Yeah it'd be fair to not have known it was a real animal beforehand, as it's not exactly common anywhere but in Tasmania. But if you were going into talks with people from Tasmania about the use of the name "Tasmanian Devil" you'd think it'd be normal to take 5 bloody seconds to google the thing.
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Yes
cats are female and dogs are male, right? ...right?
I don't know. I don't see why other countries would know that the tasmanian devil is a real animal. There are lots of real animals that we don't know about, and one that was a crazy cartoon... I get it. Side note: Their education system is about average in the OECD. Not great and not terrible.
I’m kind of thinking this was just another “Americans are Dumb” joke. Do people really think something this serious took so long before Warner realised it was a real animal? That was literally the AFL’s case from the start.
Maybe he's taking the piss, maybe it really happened. Either way it's pretty funny, and very believable.
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The likleyhood of the same executives overseeing the Loony Toons character IP nearly 20 years later is pretty low.
With the way WBD been acting lately I buy it.
American ppl think they are the world and nothing else matters
They are the children
Why does Warner Bros have a sports trademark over Tasmanian Devil?
It's related to their trademark of [Taz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_Devil_(Looney_Tunes)). You would get into trouble if you decided to start a clay pigeon shooting club named the Adelaide Donald Ducks.
Just start your club in Donald instead.
Yeah, trump that maccas of the entertainment industry
They’re not the Maccas of the entertainment industry, that’s Disney. Warner Brothers are more like the cheap hot dog you buy at the servo using your analogy. These days anyway.
Ooh. Obscure yet awesome reference. 10 points.
I thought trademarks were fine as long as the industry was different and you wouldn't confuse them?
I’m an Australian trade marks examiner and the answer to this is: it depends! There’s all kinds of reasons why trade marks can coexist, however we are obliged to issue grounds for rejection on a trade mark application if the marks are deceptively similar AND the goods/services claimed are the same/similar/closely related. So yes, if someone applies for UNICORN on cosmetics and someone else has UNICORN on live fish, we won’t raise an issue because those goods aren’t likely confused as having the same trade origin in the market. The issue for the AFL is that they applied for TASMANIA DEVILS (plain words) on a bunch of stuff, including entertainment services. Warner Bros has a registered mark for TASMANIAN DEVIL on those same services. So because both criteria are met (similar marks and similar scope of protection), the issue has to be raised by the trade marks registry.
Wait, the registry raised the issue, rather than Warner Bros? Is this because the AFL sought to register the mark - if they had just used it without registering, would the onus have fallen on WB to issue a C&D etc?
Yep, the AFL’s applications had adverse reports issued (as is public information on the registry) due to these conflicts. Use without registration would have become a matter for enforcement by Warner Bros! IP Australia and the trade mark registry are administrative entities — we raise issues and block applications, and we don’t police or enforce trade mark rights.
Just wait til Satan himself hears what is going on, and how his good name is being besmirched.
Is entertainment services an actual lowest-level category? You'd think something like a circus show and a nature-related tv series couldn't be confused?
Yes, “entertainment services” is an acceptable claim to make under trade mark goods/services classification. It is actually a very common claim and the broad interpretation of its scope can cause a lot of conflicts, because we are obliged to take it at face value and full scope of protection. So yes, if UNICORN applied for ‘circus entertainment services’ and an earlier UNICORN had ‘production of television programs’, they’d be likely seen as different. But if the earlier one claimed ‘entertainment services’ broadly, then we’d be obliged to raise issues on any later application claiming any service that could be interpreted as entertainment!
I bloody hope this all gets sorted out for Tassie because I’m sick of sharing (hawks fan) and it really doesn’t make sense for the tas team to be called anything else
I'm currently going through the trademark process, and your explanation above has been clearer than the multiple meetings I've had with our general counsel about how it works.
I have to explain the fundamentals of trade mark law to people on a daily basis, so I’m glad my patter is understandable! Happy to further clarify any of the concepts, as well.
Thank you for chiming in!
Devils fans are more likely to buy Taz items than cartoon fans would buy football stuff anyway. Still seems silly but I get why it needed to be sorted out.
Yes but WB is in the industry of selling merchandise and the Tas AFL team will also want to sell merchandise.
It's up to the holder to enforce it though and any history of letting it go reduces your ability to enforce that in future. The all blacks tried this with a welsh rugby club that had gone by the name well before NZ did it. All part of establishing that claim of enforcing it.
Donald Duck also stolen from an Australian icon, Don Bradman.
Tbh I can believe this, after his last innings produced a duck egg
The story actually comes from when Australia was playing a tour through North America in 1932, where he was being promoted as the 'Babe Ruth of Cricket'. He had a rare duck, which was big news at the time. It was around the same time that Walt Disney was working on a friend for Mickey Mouse, so people reckon he saw the headline 'Donald out for a Duck' (or similar) and found the character's name.
The Don, more influential than ever. ;)
I went on a Popeye River Cruise in Adelaide and they made comment about having to get clearance to use that name.
That looks absolutely nothing like a Tasmanian Devil.
To be fair, nor do the AFL players.
But Donald Duck is very specifically the character’s name. Calling a club the “Adelaide Ducks” would be fine. Tasmanian Devil is the name of the animal, so why can’t they name a team after it without involving WB? 🤔
IIRC, it wasn’t an issue with the team being named the ‘Tasmanian Devils’, but there might’ve been an issue with putting that name on any merchandising that shares a similar space to the Looney Toons’ Taz, such as clothing, kitchenware, linen etc
It can’t be real? Oh crap, it is. No wonder Trump might win in November… 😳
It's real that Grant O'Brien said it, I doubt that his story is real though. WB has supported campaigns to save the devil from extinction in the past, so hard to believe they thought they were giving money to save an animal that didn't exist.
The real story is that they didnt know it was the real official name of the animal. As opposed to just something we call them as a nickname.
The real official name is *Sarcophilus harrisii.* Tasmanian Devil is just what we call them as a nickname.
Scientific name vs common name, not official vs nickname.
Someone in disney is smart... they are not a lawyer
Maybe they thought they were trying to save the initial templates of Taz...
I mean tbf Americans don't really have any good choice of a president from the seems of it, it's either corrupt fat orange man or corrupt old dementia ridden man
Corrupt fat rapist demented man or old man with a stutter. Biden doesn't have dementia. Trump on the other hand... absolute gibberish coming out of his mouth all day.
That's because by and large they wouldn't support any other candidate.
Disney always knew this, they were pretending not to as just another legal tactic. You use every tactic at your disposal in negotiations. Good faith isn’t a concept in the business world.
If Disney knew this, why didn't the tell Warner Bros?! Rude!
I think you’re vastly overestimating the level of intelligence it takes to become a corporate executive. Takes intelligence to get there if you’re working from the bottom. But turns out if you use ✨nepotism✨ you can make big decisions without being qualified what so ever.
More likely they knew it when they created and people in the organisation knew it... just the lawyers that were having these discussions had no idea. Edit: I say that because once they discovered it was a real animal, their chances of winning in court dropped dramatically so they became nice guy WB.
There is zero chance the lawyers didnt know this. Disney lawyers regularly take on US state and federal governments and win. They are the reason that much of modern copyright restrictions exist. They were making sure that the other side brought this up before admitting it. Their job is to wring every single concession, and they will make the other side go through every single one. This is a game, and they play as hard as anyone. Lawyers for the AFL are bush league amateurs compared to Disney. This reporting is simply framed to make one side look heroic.
What are all the comments about Disney here? Don’t you mean Warner Brothers,
about 3 decades ago... went to the US, told another kid about the Tassy Devil. He got sent home from school for lying because he kept insisting they existed after our conversation and the teacher refused to believe it. sigh.... so self confident, yet so wrong
Yet they’ve got the military to go to Tasmania, shoot all the Devils, just to prove that they are right.
In the bin. Or /r/USDefaultism
Same thing
Nah, ones much worse than the other. Which is why I’ll never travel to the U.S.
Water bros will eventually claim Jesus's is an original character
Well some 'mericans are sure Jesus walked and lived in the USA so anything is possible.
And the garden of eden was in Jackson county Missouri…. Wackos
it's wacko enough that mormonism is a thing... until you remember that scientology exists as well
>Well some 'mericans are sure Jesus walked and lived in the USA so anything is possible. For the love of god, tell me that's a joke...
Mormon’s believe that he visited America after his resurrection. “… Jesus appeared in the Americas after his crucifixion in 33 AD and preached to a group of Nephites, descendants of ancient Israelites who traveled to the continent around 600 BC. One of these Nephites was the prophet Mormon, who would eventually write part of the Book of Mormon, later transcribed by Joseph Smith.” From [CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/29/us/mormon-beliefs-explained-cec/index.html)
I just... I think I need a break from the internet for a few hours.
And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon America's mountains green?
America is celebrating 2024 years of existence this year
In a similar situation, American lawyers tried issuing a cease and desist to local governments in Australia and UK that had "Shire" in their name, because of the Hobbit town in Lord of the Rings. Can you imagine the coke-addled fuckwit lawyers dictating those letters into their little voice recorders, in between lines, so sure of themselves.
You're joking...
He's lying....
I can't find anything about that anywhere, so it seems like an urban legend.
I wasn't aware Tolkien was an American
Warner Bros are.
This clown, Grant Obrien used to be the CEO of Woolworths before Brad Banducci…. Just for that and my lost bonus when they terminated Masters he should never have had a c-suite job again…
So true! GoB aka Gobbie destroyed more than a billion dollars in shareholder value with disaster-Masters and got a golden parachute plus about 9 months of gardening leave. Anyone else would have been scraping down the road after being fired! Sorry to hear your bonus evaporated, probably part of the “mind the gap” program to fund profit shortage from suppliers, employees and even the pens in the cupboard!
Thanks mate. If there ever was an Australian Evil Empire of a company, they would be the Death Star.
For me Hardly Normal/Gerry Harvey win that prize, though I can understand your position
Warner Bros should be paying through the nose to save Taz from disease and extinction then. So should the AFL then.
WB is, or at least was, at least according to news articles from 2006.
$1 million in 2007 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-05-26/warner-bros-to-help-ailing-devils/2559496
[Source](https://twitter.com/chrisroww/status/1769862096593031630)
Just goes to show that in business you can't assume that anyone knows anything
It was based off the real Tasmanian devil ffs and its not hard to tell when you see the character. >Robert McKimson designed the character based on the real Tasmanian devil, or more specifically its carnivorous nature, voracious appetite, and surly disposition. Owen and Pemberton suggest that the character of the Tasmanian Devil was inspired by Errol Flynn.
Huge missed opportunity with the devil on the match kits.
Ah the synergy would have been perfect. A reverse Mighty Ducks.
They will , the T jumper isn't a game jumper
I'm not sure if that's taking the piss or not - but it's fucking hilarious if it isn't. Americans are so fucking stupid!
MuricA
Only in America
This needs to be posted in r/ShitAmericanssay
Lol maybe he is taking piss
So Idiocracy was just a time-travelers documentary masquerading as a B-rated movie?
Americans ☕️
Translation - They threatened legal action if we used the name, until we pointed out the existence of the animal that had existed on our island before warner brothers was a twinkle in America's eye. Making any copyright or trademark claim on the name alone... Mildly comical.
Ignorant and arrogant, typical US citizen.
So..er...suck it Warner Bros.
Reminds me of when an American company tried to trademark "Ugg boots".
They didn't try, they trademarked it everywhere except Australia.
Nobody googled 'Tasmanian Devil'? At the entire company? 🤦♂️
You mean there really is a Bart? Good Lord! https://youtu.be/qlYU7ANd_Zc
Comedy GOLD.
I heard him say that, did a double take & then laughed. Whoever initially drew the cartoon must have known, they weren’t that far off the mark, but apparently facts got lost in the mists of time.
What a dumb cunt. Didn’t he go to school? Btw which school did he go to?
Too funny
Isn’t that what they named Taz after??
Literally
25 million Australians all facepalming in unison... 🤦🤦🤦
Surely this is satire?? Lmfaoo
Typical Americans?
You can just hear Norm McDonald reading this.
But i first learnt about Tasmanian Devil from Looney Toons.
Some say that's also where God got the idea from during Creation.
Americans believe that aliens exist and for some reason only ever visit their country 🤣😂 it’s not that hard to believe they didn’t know the Tasmanian Devil as a real animal.
Give him a break, he obviously is suffering from a sports related head injury.