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- thejenn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+29Apparently big pork is worried that breastfeeding moms don't know the difference between milk and meat?
- LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23Nudity is not a ***** issue unless you make it one. I hate people who find it offensive to do normal, natural things. You don't want to look? Don't look.
- mindstyle1, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18beef tastes better anyways
- ThugEsquire, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10@1024alex: There is a significant difference between feeding babies and making babies.
Sure, you can do both at the same time, but feeding babies is not a lewd or sexual act. - dannysullivan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10> If there is even a chance of confusion it is in there best interest to defend...Don't blame pork they have to defend their right or they risk losing it
I know Jennifer well and did a write-up of my own on her situation:
http://searchengineland.com/070201-154333.php
Part of that was to talk about the confusion issue. They wrote to her:
"The Other White Meat has become instantly recognizable and famous in connection with the promotion of the pork industry. In addition to the use of these marks on pork products themselves, these marks are also used to promote high quality pork products."
Connection with the PORK industry. That's where the trademark gives them protection. That's where they need to act.
Now if Jennifer was selling pork products, they'd have a case. She's talking about breastfeeding. Sorry, they don't have to act in this case. They really don't seem to have a case at all.
Be sure to read the actual letter they sent her:
http://www.thelactivist.com/lactivist.pdf
It's hard to come away from that and not think they're clueless here. - TomRitchford, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11What I sent them:
To: JCollins@faegre.com, info@faegre.com, porkboard@porkboard.org, JHartz@pork.org, jjohnson@pork.org, MWegner@pork.org, troof@pork.org
Subject: perhaps you are unaware that parody is constitutionally protected?
Has it also crossed your mind that attacking nursing mothers is perhaps not the best way to promote your product?
http://thelactivist.blogspot.com/2007/02/overzealous-big-pork-stomps-on.html
That would be merely contemptible. The fact that you appear to believe that the people in question are "attempt[ing] to promote the use of breastmilk beyond merely for infant consumption" moves from contemptible to the level of mental illness. (By the way, you might want to spell check your threats in future -- there is no such word as "breastmilk").
Don't think I won't remember this when I go shopping or to a restaurant -- or that the hundreds of thousands of other people who have seen your disgraceful display of hostility and greed today won't think "pork == attack on nursing mothers". - praisethelard, on 06/06/2008, -2/+10The title is so confusing...
- theboyqueen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Seriously; the National Pork Board is worried about its "good reputation" being tarnished by pro-breastfeeding slogans? Raising pigs in crowded filth and then industrially slaughtering them for human consumption -- good. Feeding babies as nature intended -- bad. Umm, whatever dudes.
- wobitnobby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6seriously, getting a feeding infant latched on correctly requires that the mom be able to see what she's doing at least at the beginning. If the baby is suckling on the nipple at the wrong angle, or gathering too much "underboob" in the mouth, there won't be good milk flow and it is painful for the mom.
Forcing the mother to fumble the whole process under a poncho is practically a health hazard.
And no, pumping and feeding bottles isn't an easy answer, the pumps aren't as efficient as a baby and many infants will reject an artificial nipple when offered by mom because they know they real thing is nearby.
it's not that I think moms should necessarily be putting their breast in everyone's face, but I have been on planes near women that were nursing and no one else noticed, and at dinner-parties with women that were nursing and continuing to be social and were just so smooth that it wasn't a big deal. They get the kid latched on and then gently rearrange their clothes to shield the infant. As long as they don't feel anxious or in fear of persecution the whole process is really very subtle.
Breastfeeding has been shown to be very beneficial to both babies and moms in so many different ways, it's just painful to see some repressed weirdo yell at someone for feeding their child in public. - TomRitchford, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Parody is Constitutionally protected.
- adougherty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I'd turn it around. I don't want people to watch me taking a dump, so I go into a stall, instead of going on the curb yelling at people to stop looking. I don't want people to watch me having sex, so I do it in the privacy of my home.
Really, I wouldn't care if someone decided to have sex on the subway, and as long as they clean it up, I wouldn't care if someone took a dump on the sidewalk (dogs do it all the time). Just as I don't care if a woman breast feeds, but if she doesn't want people to see, she has the option to cover it up. - tsunamitomi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5actually it's kind of yellow...
- Splitmv, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@Pottersquash
But from the article, it seemed that she was more upset about the tone and way they came at it with a C&D and standard hostile language. She said that she would have taken the shirt down anyways, even if the email had gone:
Hi, this is the Pork Board. We are concerned that your shirt reading "The other white milk" is in violation of our copyright. Please remove the shirt from your store and website or we will take legal action.
Not disagreeing with you, but the tone of a C&D will get anyone defensive. - Saiing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4From the cease and desist letter: "In addition, your use of this slogan also tarnishes the good reputation of the National Pork Board's mark".
Hahaha... They act like a bunch of arrogant, greedy ***** and then accuse SOMEONE ELSE of tarnishing their reputation! Great job idiots... - Pottersquash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@tomritchford
Parody is protected in Copyright, not trademark. Parody which causes confusion is NEVER protected in either. - WarPirate, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Then you dont know how to cook it!!
- Thalia42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3WHERE do you people get your legal statements? There is absolutely no need to "litigate every trademark infringement." They must police their mark, but they can consider uses acceptable. All they have to do is indicate that they are aware of the use, and consider it to be unlikely to cause confusion, consider it to be licensed, or consider it an exempt parody. There is no litigation requirement. That would be ridiculous.
- JohnChapin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3That's a pretty bad slogan for breastfeeding. Not as bad as if some kind of pork advocacy group turned around and ripped off the milk slogan...
Got Meat? - SwellGuy007, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Hehehe ... she said pork.
- OneFishTwoFish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Pork, the one you love!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/366407656/ - Ystig, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Persistent spammer. Block immediately.
- AlanLivingston, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2God I hate dumb people.
Go buy a dictionary and look up the definition of parody. - scottschiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Pigopolists."
(Thanks to http://theregister.co.uk/ for this lovely term.) - comittech, on 11/03/2007, -0/+2The real issue here is decency. Every child has a right to be fed, but maybee breastfeeding in public is not the answer. Breast pumps http://www.breastpumps.com have been available for over 40 years! Do we really need to be debating this? Go get a breast pump for crying out loud!
- Thalia42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You're wrong. To see how a company can respond correctly to such a thing, see Second Life's response to the First Life parody piece: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=18105&ch=infotech. All they have to do is make clear that the use is either licensed, or a parody that is considered acceptable. They do not have to shut you down, and they certainly do not have to be rude about it.
- hard666drive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Pork is a red meat, which turns grey when it's cooked. If you don't cook pork well enough, it'll kill you.
She should start selling t-shirts that say "boycott pork" - anand78, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There should be a website which lists these retarded law firms.
- WarPirate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Notify some local news outlets
Local Television station contact
Telephone KCCI (515) 247-8888 - news@kcci.com
Local Newspaper DesMoines Register Contacts
CWashburn@dmreg.com Vice President, Editor (515) 284-8502
RBrubaker@dmreg.com Managing Editor (515) 284-8590
REvans@dmreg.com Assistant Managing Editor (515) 284-8118 - jjesusfreak01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I say she should try to TM "The other white milk". If she was successful, they would shut up.
- syncomm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Extra funny since pork is not a white meat at all
- TheBowerbird, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Make sure you send the people involved some pleasant e-mails.
- etih, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Maybe she should threaten the pork group with a false advertising lawsuit, considering pork is considered a type of red meat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_meat
- superbird, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1idiot
- dvdmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Unfortunately it seems there's still a lot of hypersensitivity around breastfeeding among some. It not only used to be considered lude to breastfeed in public, but it was even considered low-class to breast-feed at all. We're talking a good 75-100 years ago. Breastfeeding has been making a come back due in large part to lots of studies which show how good it is for babies and mom's. The whole issue around breastfeeding in public is, I think, ridiculous. If you consider it "dirty" to see a woman feeding her child in the way nature intended, YOU might actually have the issue here. Comparisons with sex or defecation seem ridiculous. Yes, all of these are "natural acts." But that's where the comparison ends. Are we so repressed still as a society that seeing a woman feed her child in public is somehow offensive to us? I just don't get it!
- 1024alex, on 10/12/2007, -7/+8@Logic: "I hate people who find it offensive to do normal, natural things."
Intercorse is a normal, natural thing but i is still inaproperiate to have sex on the subway...
in regards to the article, i hate Lawyers. - oiarbovnb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I just emailed this to "porkboard@porkboard.org"
Dear Porkboard,
I recently read about the cease and desist letter that you sent to the Lactivist Breastfeeding Blog. I understand your concerns regarding your trademarked phrase "The Other White Meat", but I also think you could have handled this situation better. You sent a C&D letter to a woman trying to allow her children to eat during the day in public without having to go to unsanitary conditions to do so (a lot public restrooms are downright filthy). Her t-shirt wasn't going to ruin your reputation, steal any of your money, etc. In fact, the only thing that t-shirt MIGHT have done, was to make people do a double-take when the read the t-shirt which could definitely make people sub-consciously think of a pork product, since they are so familiar with the phrase: "pork, the other white meat." I think you should consider sending the Lactivist an email or a letter saying you're sorry for the angry letter that you sent to her.
I will be protesting pork products as a result of this chain of events. I do eat bacon, sausage, sausages, and pepperoni, but not pork chops or pork loin or anything like that. I probably consume personally about 5 pounds of pork products per month. I will be protesting those pork products until you send an apology letter to the Lactivist, or for one year, whichever is shorter.
Regards, - Kalena, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This has nothing to do with the "breast-feeding in public" debate. This is about legal bullying. The Pork Board may have had a (very slight) case in terms of trademark/slogan infringement. But the point is that their approach to Jennifer was heavy-handed, bullying, tactless, ignorant and offensive. They showed their ignorance by not even bothering to research the history of the t-shirts, the organisation that benefits from the t-shirt sales and the tongue-in-cheek satire that Jenn was using to come up with her t-shirt slogans. They completely missed the entire point of The Lactivist then proceeded to threaten Jennnifer with legal action and greatly offended her (and all breast-feeding women) by assuming her shirts were promoting some kinky breast-milk fetish. Ignorance should be a crime.
- saska, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm guessing from the diggs down that some people can't tell the difference between Jennifer Daniel Collins (the lawyer) and the Jennifer who runs the site.
- ozziedog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't get what is so bad about a mother breastfeeding a child in public. Breastfeeding is what all young mammals do. If it bothers you to see this in public, then you are an abominate of nature.
- aurevoir, on 01/25/2008, -0/+1Why don't YOU use a breast pump and see how wonderful it isn't? If you can't see a tiny bit of a nursing breast without losing your *****, maybe YOU should stay at home since YOU are the one with the problem.
- mcanerin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And to think they just spend $60 Million buying this trademark, only to make themselves look stupid. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. http://mcanerin.blogspot.com/2007/02/pork-porn-and-shirtless-moms.html
Ian - fatboynic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A place to send a little note - http://www.pork.org/ContactUs/default.aspx
- norris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't think you understand. They aren't saying, "the other meat that is white is pork." They are saying, "the meat of pork is the other white."
- HereticChick, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1For your information, breat pumps aren't as easy as you think they are. Pumping doesn't stimultate milk production as well as a nursing baby. This causes many women to have decreased milk production. Get over your breast problem. ***** aren't for men anyway...***** are for kids ;)
- whiledo, on 03/25/2009, -0/+1Maybe they were confused about it because they read an article summary by storyspinner...
- Nelka, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"In addition, your use of this slogan also tarnishes the good reputation of the National Pork Board's mark".
For a product that is often associated with the penis, I find it amusing that they're concerned about their good reputation being tarnished.
I understand the need to protect their slogan. Especially from those who might profit from it. But their method was in poor taste and their attack on breast feeding only made them look foolish. - rwt001, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The National Pork Board is a group of 15 pork producers or importers, nominated by Pork Act Delegates at the National Pork Forum and appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture - Mike Johanns. Drop Mike a line and let him know how you feel on the feedback form at http://www.usda.gov/.
- ttread, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The National Pork Board is obsessed with portraying pork as equivalent to chicken in nutritional value and fat content, ever since pork sales fell 25 years ago due to health concerns. Thus they rabidly protect their catchphrase "The Other White Meat", even though the USDA classifies pork as a red meat. The cease and desist letter is ridiculous but it fits in with their mindset.
If Lactivist had a shirt saying "got breast?" it would be funny, but she'd probably have the milk industry association threatening her. - ChrisWebPub, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Not that it matters, but due to modern raising techniques pork, depending on the cut, can be leaner than chicken. Of course to get something leaner than both, buy some buffalo. It is actually against federal law to raise non-organic buffalo and they're leaner than skinless chicken breasts...
....now back to the breastfeeding debate. I bet that the pork board doesn't even know they sent this letter. It was probably just done by some lawyer looking to generate more billable hours. - tessasproule, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I thought this line from the Pork Board's letter was most illuminating:
"...your use of this slogan also tarnishes the good reputation of the National Pork Board's mark in light of your apparent attempt to promote the use of breastmilk beyond merely for infant consumption."
I'm glad they've uncovered Jennifer's real motive here. Clearly she's conducting a clandestine campaign to have babies and adults (egads!) ditch their pork milk (?) and pick up a tall, lukewarm glass of breastmilk.
Thanks for clearing that up, Pork Board. -
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