This item from LJ Academic Newswire of 9-223-03 explains why OCLC felt forced to file suit to protect its trademark. Essentially, if they did nothing it could lead to greater difficulties down the road. Sometimes what sounds silly isn't really so silly at all. I'm sure that OCLC would rather spend its money in some other way, particularly when its member librarians are in a flutter about what seems a waste of cash and they find themselves forced to defend their legal action to those of us unfamiliar with trademark law.
OCLC: HOTEL FORCED IT TO SUE TO PROTECT TRADEMARK
If you think it's absurd for the Online Computer Library
Center (OCLC) to sue the Library Hotel over its use of the
Dewey Decimal System, lawyers for OCLC agree. Absurd, but
unfortunately necessary. For three years, Joseph Dreitler,
an attorney with the firm of Jones Day, representing OCLC,
said OCLC attempted to get the Library Hotel to simply sign
some form of agreement acknowledging that the hotel's use
of the Dewey Decimal System was granted by permission of
OCLC. For the first two years they heard nothing, said
Dreitler. Last year, however, The Library Hotel's owner,
Henry Kallan finally responded. "He basically told OCLC to
get lost," Dreitler told the LJ Academic Newswire. "All
OCLC needed was a piece of paper they could put in their
file," he added. Dreitler says the OCLC has no objection to
the hotel's use of the Dewey Decimal system, and was never
seeking payment. But in trademark law, he said, trademarks
must be vigorously defended or otherwise lost: "If a
company that owns the rights to a trademark allows that
trademark to be used in such a way that it is no longer
associated with their product, it is abandoned. This is not
something OCLC wanted to do, but they had to do it to
protect their trademark rights from such large-scale use.
They were pushed against a wall."
Dreitler stressed that it was never the intention of OCLC
to seek a slice of the hotel's profits nor prevent the
hotel from using its clever theme. Now that lawyers are
involved, he said it was not his place to comment on what
settlement his client seeks. But he reiterates that OCLC is
open to settling, and remains at a loss to explain why the
hotel never dealt with OCLC before the lawsuit was
filed. "This could've and should've been resolved without
getting me involved," he said. The Library Hotel has denied
any wrongdoing and could not confirm whether Kallan refused
to cooperate with OCLC requests. In a statement, hotel
General Manager Craig Spitzer said that Kallan was
traveling in Europe but would be happy to address reporters
upon his return.
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