Is Microsoft ripping off Seth McFarlane?
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On the Windows Live "freebies" page ( http://windowslive.com/Freebies ) there is something called a "Robot Chicken" IM wink. It's near the bottom right-hand corner of the page. I don't know what an "IM wink" is, but isn't "Robot Chicken" a trademark of Seth McFarlane??
This is even worse than that time somebody ripped off Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth.
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First of all, I assume you mean Seth Green? Second, your concept of how trademarks work is completely off base. A trademark isn't an umbrella protection on a word or arrangement of words. Trademarks apply to specific realms of goods or services. Further, fair use allows the use of an otherwise trademarked term if the term accurately describes the product, which is probably the case here (I can't be bothered to follow the link). All in all, you should probably stick to watching Cartoon Network and leave the heavy thinking to others.
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@bstorer said:
All in all, you should probably stick to watching Cartoon Network and leave the heavy thinking to others.
He/she goes away for a couple of weeks to work up an epic troll and this is the best we get?
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@bstorer said:
First of all, I assume you mean Seth Green?
I thought the two Seths were working together here. But if you say that Robot Chicken is by Seth Green, I'll take your word for it.
@bstorer said:
Second, your concept of how trademarks work is completely off base. A trademark isn't an umbrella... <blah, blah, quasi-legalese, blah>
I think you overestimated the seriousness of my post. I think Microsoft is probably pretty good with intellectual property law and I didn't mean to imply that they were doing anything illegal. I just thought the "Robot Chicken Wink" was funny.
@bstorer said:
Further, fair use allows the use of an otherwise trademarked term if the term accurately describes the product, which is probably the case here
Yeah, I used to think that too, but when I tried to sell the CIA my special "Bin Laden with Tools" they were unswayed by this argument. Besides that, I'm not sure "Robot Chicken Wink" can be fairly called an accurate description of anything. I'm sure that someone at Microsoft knows what it means, but to me it's just another one of those non-parsers like "bite the wax tadpole" or "add new mime wizard."
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@bstorer said:
<blah, blah, blah> (I can't be bothered to follow the link). <blah, blah, blah>
Clearly, your time is much too valuable for that. Say hello to Dr. Kissinger for me if you get a chance.
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@bridget99 said:
they were unswayed by this argument.
I tried to set up a product line of "thinking man's toolbox" in Great Britain, eloquently naming it "Bin laden with tools", but it didn't catch on.
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@bridget99 said:
You really, really suck at this trolling thing.@bstorer said:
<blah, blah, blah> (I can't be bothered to follow the link). <blah, blah, blah>
Clearly, your time is much too valuable for that. Say hello to Dr. Kissinger for me if you get a chance.
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@bstorer said:
@bridget99 said:
You really, really suck at this trolling thing.@bstorer said:
<blah, blah, blah> (I can't be bothered to follow the link). <blah, blah, blah>
Clearly, your time is much too valuable for that. Say hello to Dr. Kissinger for me if you get a chance.
And yet, I'm rooting for him/her/it to pull it off.
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@bstorer said:
@bridget99 said:
You really, really suck at this trolling thing.@bstorer said:
<blah, blah, blah> (I can't be bothered to follow the link). <blah, blah, blah>
Clearly, your time is much too valuable for that. Say hello to Dr. Kissinger for me if you get a chance.
Really? It's not quite trolling per se, but I do seem to have some kind of Svengali-like ability to turn some of you into overflowing cauldrons of rage at will. We've been over this before, and this thread is just one more example. In summary, I thought it was amusing that Microsoft was giving away something called a "Robot Chicken," and thought maybe someone else might appreciate that. But instead of "hey, that's funny" or even "hey, I get it, but it's not particularly funny," I promptly got served up a roiling tirade about intellectual property law, followed by the less-than-polite suggestion that I "leave the deep thought to others." The overall feel I get is akin to dealing with someone with Tourette's Syndrome or perhaps PTSD.
I'd like to know, out of curiosity and also as a student of mind control, what I ever said here to prompt such ire. I remember that once we argued about liability for Hurricane Katrina. But you know, last week a federal judge found the (U.S.) army liable for the levee failures after Katrina, which more or less confirms what I was trying to say at that time, and I didn't come in here with guns blazing saying "see, I told you so." I moved on, and tried to bring you all a little joy by way of Microsoft's inadvertantly Seth Green-related plug-in, but apparently the wounds have not healed.
Besides the Katrina thing, I don't know what the problem could legitimately be. I remember trashing Scott Guthrie... since then, I've informally polled a few other developers about that guy and the consensus seems to be that, yes, the guy's going through a really awkward MBA-wannabe phase. I think the mind control pattern was already in place before I even mentioned Scott anyway. I also have a very low opinion of OOP, but that's technical... it's not worth hating anyone over.
Maybe someone can help me better understand this phenomenon.
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@bridget99 said:
In summary, I thought it was amusing that Microsoft was giving away something called a "Robot Chicken," and thought maybe someone else might appreciate that.
Probably missed, because in your OP, you didn't indicate that you actually found it funny .
@bridget99 said:But instead of "hey, that's funny" or even "hey, I get it, but it's not particularly funny," I promptly got served up a roiling tirade about intellectual property law,
Probably because in your OP, you indicated some personal cluelessness about trademark law.
Perhaps if your first post was more like what you wanted to get across, instead of assuming others will read between the lines, you might get some less antagonistic replies. Instead you prefer to rail against those who aren't mind readers with the assumptions that you think most of your audience should have grasped from the non-existent nuances of your original post (but none of whom, could reasonably be expected to see,) and wonder why they pick up on the stuff you do actually say.
I agree, there's a problem here - I'm not sure it's not the one you seem to think it is however.
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@bridget99 said:
The overall feel I get is akin to dealing with someone with Tourette's Syndrome or perhaps PTSD.
Definitely not PTSD; that's when you scream "Allah Ackbar" and gun down a bunch of soldiers.
@bridget99 said:
I remember that once we argued about liability for Hurricane Katrina. But you know, last week a federal judge found the (U.S.) army liable for the levee failures after Katrina, which more or less confirms what I was trying to say at that time...
You lie. Nobody ever said a moronic judge wouldn't find the ACE liable. What we said was that it's not our fault you people are so stupid you need Uncle Sam to wipe your ass for you and then bawl when your entire shitty town falls apart, expecting us to bail you out once again.
@bridget99 said:
I also have a very low opinion of OOP, but that's technical... it's not worth hating anyone over.
Given that statement, I'm guessing any non-retarded person who has to had to work on your code probably hates you to death.
The reason everyone thinks you are trolling is because we are being nice. Either you are trying to be funny and failing, or you really are so shit-for-brains that you think IE 6 is the best browser ever. Seeing as we are polite, thoughful people, we're giving you the benefit of the doubt.
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@morbiuswilters said:
@bridget99 said:
The overall feel I get is akin to dealing with someone with Tourette's Syndrome or perhaps PTSD.
Definitely not PTSD; that's when you scream "Allah Ackbar" and gun down a bunch of soldiers.
I think he/she confused PTSD with PMT. Which is kinda ironic...
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@Nyquist said:
I think he/she confused PTSD with PMT. Which is kinda ironic...
Post-Menstrual Trauma?
Dayum.
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@bridget99 said:
@bstorer said:
@bridget99 said:
You really, really suck at this trolling thing.@bstorer said:
<blah, blah, blah> (I can't be bothered to follow the link). <blah, blah, blah>
Clearly, your time is much too valuable for that. Say hello to Dr. Kissinger for me if you get a chance.
Really? It's not quite trolling per se,
You can do it baby! Just stop trying so hard.
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@PJH said:
@bridget99 said:
In summary, I thought it was amusing that Microsoft was giving away something called a "Robot Chicken," and thought maybe someone else might appreciate that.
Probably missed, because in your OP, you didn't indicate that you actually found it funny....
Perhaps if your first post was more like what you wanted to get across, instead of assuming others will read between the lines, you might get some less antagonistic replies. Instead you prefer to rail against those who aren't mind readers with the assumptions that you think most of your audience should have grasped from the non-existent nuances of your original post (but none of whom, could reasonably be expected to see,) and wonder why they pick up on the stuff you do actually say.
I just looked at my original post and it's clearly not serious. The last sentence paraphrased Peter Griffin, which is not something I would do in a post designed to make any kind of serious point. I just don't think it's appropriate to respond to that kind of post with a bunch of angry, know-it-all jargon about intellectual property law. It's pretty fucking weird, as a matter of fact.
You are the weakest link. Goodbye.
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@bridget99 said:
The last sentence paraphrased Peter Griffin, which is not something I would do in a post designed to make any kind of serious point.
You assume everyone is as useless and brain-dead as you, spending all of their time watching that crappy show and being able to recognize obscure, paraphrased quotes?
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@bridget99 said:
You are the weakest link. Goodbye.
And you wonder why your posts are met with animosity, when you reply to a perfectly reasonable post with this sort of reasoned argument?
