Unbelievable!

[Buster]

There is now an online petition at change.org that reads as follows:
===============================================

This is a petition to the Derveas Institute to cancel the Trademarks on "Urban Homestead" and "Urban Homesteading" in good faith from the urban homestead community. Noting that Urban Homesteading was addressed in the 1976 Article on the Integral House and an article in 1980 by Mother Earth News, the group has laid false claims on the rights to the term and their actions are noted as hostile to the spirit of the community.

Boycotts on their digital properties and physical goods will commence until the trademarks are legally cancelled by the Corporation.

P.S. Feel free to copy the letter below and email it to info@urbanhomestead.org if you wish to bypass the log in.

P.S.S. Please go and support the comapnies that were harmed in this fiasco. Visit the Take Back Urban Homesteading page on FB for details.

Source: http://www.change.org/petitions/cancel-trademarks-on-urban-homestead-and-urban-homesteading

 

[Buster]

Another avenue:

"Take Back Urban Home-steading(s)" on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Take-Back-Urban-Home-steadings/167527713295518?sk=wall

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Ah, well, if those things are true ... Then they were wiser than my one-time adversary by waiting until after it was a done deal before pressing the issue -- or advertising it.

If MEN published an article with that term pre-dating their use of it, then shame on them.

I wonder if there is an appeals process? I never got that far. But definitely not "in the spirit" of the movement. And since information is so freely available online, I suspect it may hurt them in the end. Besides being very difficult/expensive to enforce, if they are employing an attorney.

That falls under the category of sad news then.

 

[JRmom]

Granted, some of the phrases I can see being copyrighted, but no matter what their true intentions were/are, I think they made a very bad move (and pissed off a whole lot of people!).

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Here is the MEN article.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1980-09-01/Community-Homesteading-Programs.aspx

Here's the email I sent.

I am not signing a petition to get you guys to remove the trademark on Urban Homesteading. I am not blasting anyone on facebook or anywhere else. I have gleaned a LOT of useful information on your site and I hope to continue to learn from your efforts.

However, I do think that your trademarking the words Urban Homestead and Urban homesteading were misguided. The other terms you have trademarked are YOURS and no one else should be allowed to use them. This is not the case with Urban Homestead(ing). These words have been in use since the 70s, and they are in such common usage today that I don't feel any one group can claim ownership of the terms. Urban homesteading is a movement, sparked by many and followed by thousands. The Dervaes have certainly contributed to the movement in meaningful ways, but you are not the only ones.

I feel that it does nothing but hurt the (to date) good image of your family & corporation and I urge you to rescind your trademark. Or at least not pursue people who use the terms to describe their own urban homestead. Even if it is with a polite and well worded letter.

Thank you for reading and thank you for all you have done for the urban homesteading movement.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Good letter. And it didn't take much looking at all to find the term "Urban Homestead" to predate their work.

I have to agree with you 100%.

 

[Buster]

Interesting item to throw into the mix...

http://www.uhab.org/history

1970s???

 

[BeccaOH]

Here is the MEN article.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1980-09-01/Community-Homesteading-Programs.aspx

Here's the email I sent.

I am not signing a petition to get you guys to remove the trademark on Urban Homesteading. I am not blasting anyone on facebook or anywhere else. I have gleaned a LOT of useful information on your site and I hope to continue to learn from your efforts.

However, I do think that your trademarking the words Urban Homestead and Urban homesteading were misguided. The other terms you have trademarked are YOURS and no one else should be allowed to use them. This is not the case with Urban Homestead(ing). These words have been in use since the 70s, and they are in such common usage today that I don't feel any one group can claim ownership of the terms. Urban homesteading is a movement, sparked by many and followed by thousands. The Dervaes have certainly contributed to the movement in meaningful ways, but you are not the only ones.

I feel that it does nothing but hurt the (to date) good image of your family & corporation and I urge you to rescind your trademark. Or at least not pursue people who use the terms to describe their own urban homestead. Even if it is with a polite and well worded letter.

Thank you for reading and thank you for all you have done for the urban homesteading movement.

Very good letter Noobie. I have followed their blog and only learned of there being such issues from their recent blog posts. It would appear that they rightly wanted to protect their intellectual property, but it also appears to have gotten out of hand. Sadly I believe they'll lose a lot of respect over this, which will hurt their ability to support their urban farm.

 

[Icu4dzs]

Frankly folks, it appears to me that this is essentially a "tempest in a teapot."

I read the MEN article. I was in fact, one of the URBAN HOMESTEADERS in Baltimore in the late 1978-79 time frame. I will admit I approached it somewhat differently in that I paid $3500 for a house on N. Calvert Street (a block from the train station as I saw that being a good thing for commuting in the future).
I also decided to do the work myself instead of hiring contractors whose work is not always the best and whose material prices are inflated to an unimaginable degree.

I was teaching school for the City of Baltimore at the time and was only making $10k. (teachers in the Catholic School system were making $7k to give you an idea of the times.)

After putting huge amounts of time and personal funds into the project, subjecting myself to all manner of violence and racial attack (needless to say I was the only guy who looked like me in about 28 square blocks of that city) I ended up having to leave because the US Army (in its infinite wisdom) saw fit to re-call me to active duty and I ended up leaving my house and going to Texas.

While I was not all that able to complete my dream of having a beautiful Urban Homestead, it was and still is true for many who have gone to Baltimore to do it. There is the downside of dealing with the racial predjudice because the "po'folks" in Baltimore are angry about "Gentrification" of THEIR neighborhoods. Needless to say, none of the ones who complained were home-owners, but they were "renters" who were subsidized by the government to live there. Baltimore was smart enough to design a program to attract home BUYERs with JOBS and who PAY TAXES to the city and make it back into a good urban environment once again (yes, it had been a wonderful city till some forms of migration occurred.)

On the other hand, I have studied the Dervaes urban homestead web site extensively. They live in California and have done some remarkable things with what they have to work with and develop.
If they have been clever enough to "register" their term as "intellectual property" they were simply the first to do the paper work and those folks who are upset about it should have done it first. That seems to be what is going on in our nation. Get there first and it's yours. (staking claims is a very old human behavior which seems to be supported by the prevailing legal system of the place/time).

To expect those folks to "repeal or relinquish" their trademark appears to be an expensive exercise in futility and what's more it appears to be something that will only increase rancor and disharmony between otherwise intelligent, law abiding, G*d-fearing citizens which will end up making a handfull of lawyers filthy rich and gain nothing in general.

My advice FWIW...drop it and put your time into becomming more SS for yourself and family and community.

Just my opinion.
Trim sends

 

[abifae]

*pictures the conversation*

-we need to get some more funding so we can get out from under The Man!

-yeh! we need more money for our homesteading and education to teach those to escape stupid society!

-how can we earn money?

-hey! i know! let's trademark urban homesteading and sue the crap outta everyone!

-woot!