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Author's Chapter Notes:
on Comic-Con trademark bullying
Sixteen (TM)s for all the 'Cons that pre-existed,
Seventy-Three (TM)s for the 'Cons that for decades coexisted,
Uncounted, the 'Cons arm-twisted, who Ceased & Desisted,
One lawsuit for the 'Con that dared to resist it,
In Salt Lake where facts are denied to the juries that decide.
One (TM) to rule them all, one lawsuit to mine them,
One (TM) to break them all, and in leonine contract bind them
In San Diego where rentseeking lawyers reside.
Sixteen (TM)s for all the 'Cons that pre-existed,
Seventy-Three (TM)s for the 'Cons that for decades coexisted,
Uncounted, the 'Cons arm-twisted, who Ceased & Desisted,
One lawsuit for the 'Con that dared to resist it,
In Salt Lake where facts are denied to the juries that decide.
One (TM) to rule them all, one lawsuit to mine them,
One (TM) to break them all, and in leonine contract bind them
In San Diego where rentseeking lawyers reside.
Sixteen (TM)s for all the 'Cons that pre-existed,
Seventy-Three (TM)s for the 'Cons that for decades coexisted,
Uncounted, the 'Cons arm-twisted, who Ceased & Desisted,
One lawsuit for the 'Con that dared to resist it,
In Salt Lake where facts are denied to the juries that decide.
One (TM) to rule them all, one lawsuit to mine them,
One (TM) to break them all, and in leonine contract bind them
In San Diego where rentseeking lawyers reside.
Chapter End Notes:
So, to ring in their first half-century, San Diego Comic-Con decided to make a name for themselves as trademark bullies, suing Salt Lake City Comic-Con (now "FanX" due to a judge literally ruling that a comic convention can't call itself a comic convention) for daring to call themselves one. A jury that was literally instructed to ignore both trademark law (both "descriptive term" and "genericide"), as well as the demonstrable fact that Comic-Cons have been calling themselves Comic-Cons for decades, even before San Diego even had one, all to impose a trademark that the US Patent Office should by all rights never have granted in the first place. (If you search "trademark" or "comic con" on Techdirt, Mike Masnick and Timothy Geigner do a thorough job covering both SDCC's underhanded tactics, as well as Judge Battaglia's unconstitutional behavior and outright bias against SLCC.)

If you had a fun time there, I hope this wasn't too much of a cold shower, but if you care about Fandom, you owe it to yourself to know who you're dealing with. What do they mean to fandom? And, just as important, what does fandom (namely you) mean to them? (Besides your wallet.) Personally, pending a public apology to the dozens of Comic-Cons that have peacefully coexisted for many years, and some form of restitution, they've earned themselves a lifetime boycott from me. And, if I should ever find myself in Utah, I'd probably give this "Fan X" a visit but I will take every opportunity to call it by its true name.