The Online Computer Library Center filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Ohio against New York’s Library Hotel for trademark infringement, because the hotel’s room numbers are based on the Dewey Decimal system, for which OCLC owns the trademark.
The complaint (courtesy of beSpacific):
This is an action for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1051 et seq.; 15 U.S.C. §1114(a); unfair competition, passing off, false advertising and false designation of origin under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1125(c), arising from Defendant’s unauthorized use of OCLC’s world-famous trademarks DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION, DEWEY and DDC, as well as elements of the Dewey Decimal Classification System in its hotel concept, marketing and promotion.
NY Times: Where Did Dewey File Those Law Books?
“The Dewey Decimal System is a product, a trademark, a brand name,” said Joseph R. Dreitler, a lawyer for the Online Computer Library Center, a nonprofit library cooperative that filed the suit last week in Federal District Court in Ohio. “The idea here isn’t to put the Library Hotel out of business. The idea is to protect Dewey and the Dewey Decimal System trademark.”
AP: Library catalog system owner sues book-based New York hotel
Perhaps the hotel should switch over to the Library of Congress Clasiffication system.
