Can McDonalds REALLY copyright the word BURGER? Come on.

24

Comments

  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    Kel Varnsen wrote:
    Of course the Olympics is a corporate whorefest. When has it not been a corporate whorefest. I mean people always complain every Olympics about how they are too corporate, but they have been that way at least as long as I can remember. Plus the olympics costs a ton of money to put, and you can't just do it with goodwill and happy thoughts, you need cash, lots of cash.

    it's called taxpayers ...
  • blackredyellow
    blackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    polaris_x wrote:
    Kel Varnsen wrote:
    Of course the Olympics is a corporate whorefest. When has it not been a corporate whorefest. I mean people always complain every Olympics about how they are too corporate, but they have been that way at least as long as I can remember. Plus the olympics costs a ton of money to put, and you can't just do it with goodwill and happy thoughts, you need cash, lots of cash.

    it's called taxpayers ...
    And imagine the burden on the taxpayers if it wasn't for the billion + corporate dollars coming in.
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  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    blackredyellow wrote:
    And imagine the burden on the taxpayers if it wasn't for the billion + corporate dollars coming in.

    uhhh ... you don't think all these corporate sponsors aren't making money on these games? ... the ONLY people that aren't getting a return on their investment is the taxpayer ... taxpayers subsidize these games so corporate giants can benefit the most ...

    in any case - do either of you still think its reasonable for mcdonalds to make the chef change bison burgers to bison sliders?
  • Kel Varnsen
    Kel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    blackredyellow wrote:
    polaris_x wrote:
    Kel Varnsen wrote:
    Of course the Olympics is a corporate whorefest. When has it not been a corporate whorefest. I mean people always complain every Olympics about how they are too corporate, but they have been that way at least as long as I can remember. Plus the olympics costs a ton of money to put, and you can't just do it with goodwill and happy thoughts, you need cash, lots of cash.

    it's called taxpayers ...
    And imagine the burden on the taxpayers if it wasn't for the billion + corporate dollars coming in.

    Exactly. I mean complaining that the Olympics has corporate sponsorship is like complaining that NASCAR has corporate sponsorship. I am not sure that either could operate without it.
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    Kel Varnsen wrote:
    Exactly. I mean complaining that the Olympics has corporate sponsorship is like complaining that NASCAR has corporate sponsorship. I am not sure that either could operate without it.

    you are missing the point also ... it's not that these games have corporate sponsorships that i am against ... but again - that is another topic ...

    do you still think it's reasonable that they should make this chef change his wording on his menu?
  • Kel Varnsen
    Kel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    polaris_x wrote:
    blackredyellow wrote:
    And imagine the burden on the taxpayers if it wasn't for the billion + corporate dollars coming in.

    uhhh ... you don't think all these corporate sponsors aren't making money on these games? ... the ONLY people that aren't getting a return on their investment is the taxpayer ... taxpayers subsidize these games so corporate giants can benefit the most ...

    I believe the logic is that the corporate sponsors do things like employ people, pay taxes and make investments in communities. Sure they make money off the games but it is not like the revenue McDonald's gets from them all goes to one guy and he keeps it in a giant Scrooge McDuck style money bin.
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    polaris_x wrote:
    do you still think it's reasonable that they should make this chef change his wording on his menu?

    ??
  • Kel Varnsen
    Kel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    polaris_x wrote:
    Kel Varnsen wrote:
    Exactly. I mean complaining that the Olympics has corporate sponsorship is like complaining that NASCAR has corporate sponsorship. I am not sure that either could operate without it.

    you are missing the point also ... it's not that these games have corporate sponsorships that i am against ... but again - that is another topic ...

    do you still think it's reasonable that they should make this chef change his wording on his menu?

    I don't think it is totally unreasonable. I mean he is serving his food at an official olympic venue. If he wants to call it a burger, he can open his own restaurant, or find one that will let him call the dish a bison burger. Odds are that the money McDonald's put up helped pay for the venue he is working in, so I think it is fair for them to ask that they get a little bit of protection for their money.

    The alternate quesiton is this. How much money do you think McDonald's put up to be a worldwide sponsor of the games? I would be it would easily be in the tens of millions. What exactly do you think they should get for that money?
  • dunkman
    dunkman Posts: 19,646
    someone told me recently that they copyrighted the "da da dun de da I'm lovin it" jingle... i await the day they steal my Punch in the Fudd™ catchphrase... then i'll McSue the McFuckers!!!
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    Kel Varnsen wrote:
    I don't think it is totally unreasonable. I mean he is serving his food at an official olympic venue. If he wants to call it a burger, he can open his own restaurant, or find one that will let him call the dish a bison burger. Odds are that the money McDonald's put up helped pay for the venue he is working in, so I think it is fair for them to ask that they get a little bit of protection for their money.

    The alternate quesiton is this. How much money do you think McDonald's put up to be a worldwide sponsor of the games? I would be it would easily be in the tens of millions. What exactly do you think they should get for that money?

    really? ... even if they helped pay for the venue (which i highly doubt) ... they didn't invent the hamburger ... how are they losing out one iota by having this chef call his dish bison burgers instead of bison sliders!?? ...

    i would guess it's more money than that ... what they get is exclusive concessionary rights at many olympic venues ... where they sell their "food" at inflated prices ... they also get marketing and brand awareness ... do you think a corporation like mcdonalds is gonna take a loss? ... but in the end - it is compeletely irrelevant if you believe that having a chef call his bison burgers is gonna impact mcdonalds profit at the games ... that is absurd to me ... although i have yet to hear a reasonable explanation - so, be it if you think they are hurt by someone calling their food burgers ...
  • nuffingman
    nuffingman Posts: 3,014
    .. and anyone eating this crap deserves the McShits.
  • Kel Varnsen
    Kel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    i would guess it's more money than that ... what they get is exclusive concessionary rights at many olympic venues ... where they sell their "food" at inflated prices ... they also get marketing and brand awareness

    You said it yourself then, they are paying for brand awareness. And they obviously feel that there brand awareness is being hurt by someone else at an olympic venue selling burgers. And if they feel that way, and with the amount of money that they are paying for that awareness, I think they have everyright to ask the Olympic orginizers to ask the chef to change the menu.
    how are they losing out one iota by having this chef call his dish bison burgers instead of bison sliders!?? ...

    By the same logic how is the chef losing out by having the name of his dish changed? He still gets to have his chef skills on display at a huge international event.
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    Kel Varnsen wrote:
    i would guess it's more money than that ... what they get is exclusive concessionary rights at many olympic venues ... where they sell their "food" at inflated prices ... they also get marketing and brand awareness

    You said it yourself then, they are paying for brand awareness. And they obviously feel that there brand awareness is being hurt by someone else at an olympic venue selling burgers. And if they feel that way, and with the amount of money that they are paying for that awareness, I think they have everyright to ask the Olympic orginizers to ask the chef to change the menu.
    how are they losing out one iota by having this chef call his dish bison burgers instead of bison sliders!?? ...

    By the same logic how is the chef losing out by having the name of his dish changed? He still gets to have his chef skills on display at a huge international event.

    if mcdonalds thinks water should be removed from all menus, or chicken, or fish ... does it make it reasonable?

    the chef doesn't lose anything hence why he so readily changed it ... again, if you THINK that mcdonalds is hurt by someone offering "burgers" on their menu - that is your perogative ... i personally think it lacks any reasoning ... but you apparently don't ...
  • Kel Varnsen
    Kel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    polaris_x wrote:
    Kel Varnsen wrote:
    i would guess it's more money than that ... what they get is exclusive concessionary rights at many olympic venues ... where they sell their "food" at inflated prices ... they also get marketing and brand awareness

    You said it yourself then, they are paying for brand awareness. And they obviously feel that there brand awareness is being hurt by someone else at an olympic venue selling burgers. And if they feel that way, and with the amount of money that they are paying for that awareness, I think they have everyright to ask the Olympic orginizers to ask the chef to change the menu.
    how are they losing out one iota by having this chef call his dish bison burgers instead of bison sliders!?? ...

    By the same logic how is the chef losing out by having the name of his dish changed? He still gets to have his chef skills on display at a huge international event.

    if mcdonalds thinks water should be removed from all menus, or chicken, or fish ... does it make it reasonable?

    the chef doesn't lose anything hence why he so readily changed it ... again, if you THINK that mcdonalds is hurt by someone offering "burgers" on their menu - that is your perogative ... i personally think it lacks any reasoning ... but you apparently don't ...


    I don't think it hurts McDonalds, but McDonalds thinks it hurts McDonalds. That is what matters and I think that if they feel that way, with the amount of money they are putting up they should be allowed to ask for a change.
  • mickeyrat
    mickeyrat Posts: 44,531
    Yet another example of a HUGE corporation dictating terms.
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  • blackredyellow
    blackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    I'm not even saying that it's right for the change of a word (which is stupid imho), and by the sounds of this article, a paranoid olympic corporate sales guy told them to change, not McDonalds.

    But, it's all about protecting the sponsor... if Pizza Hut was a huge global sponsor, I'm sure no other vendors could sell pizza.

    If you want to argue that corporate sponsors shouldn't be a part of the games, then that's a whole other issue. But since they are, like sponsorships everywhere, things get restricted to protect the companies spending money.
    My whole life
    was like a picture
    of a sunny day
    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
    ― Abraham Lincoln
  • nuffingman
    nuffingman Posts: 3,014
    Kel Varnsen wrote:

    I don't think it hurts McDonalds, but McDonalds thinks it hurts McDonalds. That is what matters and I think that if they feel that way, with the amount of money they are putting up they should be allowed to ask for a change.
    It doesn't matter whether McDonalds thinks it hurts McDonalds. If they don't own the copyright to the word they can't stop others using it. No matter how much they have paid.
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    Kel Varnsen wrote:
    I don't think it hurts McDonalds, but McDonalds thinks it hurts McDonalds. That is what matters and I think that if they feel that way, with the amount of money they are putting up they should be allowed to ask for a change.

    it is obvious mcdonalds thinks its being hurt ... but that's not the point - the discussion here is whether you think it's reasonable ... which in this thread you have indicated it is up until now ...

    but like i asked previously ... what if they wanted chicken, beef or fish off all menus ... just because mcdonalds paid money - does it make it ok?
  • Kel Varnsen
    Kel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    nuffingman wrote:
    Kel Varnsen wrote:

    I don't think it hurts McDonalds, but McDonalds thinks it hurts McDonalds. That is what matters and I think that if they feel that way, with the amount of money they are putting up they should be allowed to ask for a change.
    It doesn't matter whether McDonalds thinks it hurts McDonalds. If they don't own the copyright to the word they can't stop others using it. No matter how much they have paid.

    They don't need a copyright. The guy can still sell Bison Burgers in his own resturant. But if he wants to sell them on an Olympic Venue on someone else's property where there are other food service contracts in place, then he has to abide by the rules of the people managing that property.
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    blackredyellow wrote:
    I'm not even saying that it's right for the change of a word (which is stupid imho), and by the sounds of this article, a paranoid olympic corporate sales guy told them to change, not McDonalds.

    But, it's all about protecting the sponsor... if Pizza Hut was a huge global sponsor, I'm sure no other vendors could sell pizza.

    If you want to argue that corporate sponsors shouldn't be a part of the games, then that's a whole other issue. But since they are, like sponsorships everywhere, things get restricted to protect the companies spending money.

    the larger discussion is how much power should corporate sponsors have on an event like this ... but this topic is about the ownership of the word "burger" ...

    i can appreciate the role of corporate sponsors in any event and most definitely am not saying they shouldn't be protected from their investment ... but does sponsoring an event exclude them from reason and allow them to dictate all the rules?

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