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If it walks like a scout, talks like a scout ... trademark enforcement says call it something else

By Richard Binder

In 2002, after his daughter was asked to stop attending Cub Scout meetings with her twin brother, Gregory Wrenn founded his own organization for her and named it Youthscouts.  Intended to be a viable alternative to the Boy Scouts of America, a private organization found to be entitled to rights of expressive association, Youthscouts was to be open to all sexual orientations and religious beliefs in both members and staff.  The BSA began trademark enforcement proceedings against Wrenn and he sued them in 2003, arguing that the terms "scout" and "scouting" are generic and shouldn't be subject to trademark laws.  U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of San Francisco, however, ruled that the Scouts' 1916 charter indeed gave them exclusive rights to those words. The decision may be appealed, but if Wrenn loses he says he may have to disband Youthscouts because "you can't run a scouting program and not call it scouting." 

Considering the slim pickings on offer at Merriam-Webster's thesaurus site, Wrenn has a point. Youthwights, anyone?

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on November 11, 2008 (boomark / email).