Blogging liberates 'Web 2.0'

Iria · May 30, 2006, 05:50 AM

Source: IHT
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Web 2.0, a term that has come to represent the latest incarnation of the Internet, a place where Web sites are more dynamic and interactive, has a certain Internet utopianism at its heart. But that image took a hit last week when a dispute broke out over who was allowed to use the term.

On Wednesday, a lawyer from CMP Media, which works with Tim O'Reilly, the head of O'Reilly Media, to sponsor an annual conference on technology and business, sent a cease-and-desist letter to it@cork, a nonprofit industry group in Ireland that is holding its own Web 2.0 conference next month.

CMP has trademark applications pending in America, the European Union and elsewhere that would bar others from using the phrase "Web 2.0" in the titles of conferences and other events.

When Tom Raftery, a member of it@cork and conference organizer, saw the letter Thursday, he posted it on his blog, tomrafteryit.net. The cease-and- desist action, he said, "is anathema to the whole philosophy of 2.0, which is about sharing."

According to Eric Faurot, a senior vice president at CMP, approval of trademark applications requires a company to take action against other uses as proof that its claims on the term are legitimate.

"Not protecting your trademark is a bad business practice," Faurot said. "It's that simple."

May 30, 2006, 05:50 AM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Blogging liberates 'Web 2.0' Source: IHT __________ Web 2.0, a term that has come to represent the latest incarnation of the Internet, a place where Web sites are more dynamic and interactive, has a certain Internet utopianism at its heart. But that image took a hit last week when a dispute broke out over who was allowed to use the term. On Wednesday, a lawyer from CMP Media, which works with Tim O'Reilly, the head of O'Reilly Media, to sponsor an annual conference on technology and business, sent a cease-and-desist letter to it@cork, a nonprofit industry group in Ireland that is holding its own Web 2.0 conference next month. CMP has trademark applications pending in America, the European Union and elsewhere that would bar others from using the phrase "Web 2.0" in the titles of conferences and other events. When Tom Raftery, a member of it@cork and conference organizer, saw the letter Thursday, he posted it on his blog, tomrafteryit.net. The cease-and- desist action, he said, "is anathema to the whole philosophy of 2.0, which is about sharing." According to Eric Faurot, a senior vice president at CMP, approval of trademark applications requires a company to take action against other uses as proof that its claims on the term are legitimate. "Not protecting your trademark is a bad business practice," Faurot said. "It's that simple."