Niklas Kühn couldn't believe his eyes. A few days ago, the operator of an online shop received an email from one of his suppliers indicating that one of his items with the inscription Hardcore "likely violates commercial protection rights or the personal rights of third parties." If the shirt did not disappear, he could face "significant warning costs" starting from 1,000 euros, the letter stated. Kühn investigated the matter. Through the German Trademark Register, he found out the name under which this term has been registered since January 2009: Timo Schubert. Kühn was appalled: "When I read online that this guy is a hardcore Nazi, I almost fell off my chair."
This is now written in the online edition of taz. The full report can be read at http://www.taz.de/1/leben/alltag/artikel/1/hardcore-begriff-ist-jetzt-rechte-marke/. Only a few comments remain.
This registration applies exclusively to clothing items; a detailed list of what is included can be found on the NPD Blog. Therefore, the term Hardcore does not have to be completely removed from our vocabulary; it can essentially only affect merchants who sell clothing printed with this sequence of letters.
Why the patent office repeatedly feels the need to protect terms of common language is known only to the officials themselves. However, it should not be surprising anymore, considering that, for example, Telekom has managed to protect the color magenta, and the word "Explorer" was registered. This registration did not last long; it remains to be seen how long the brand "Hardcore" will last. Various groups have already announced their intention to take legal action against it.
So, soon left and right groups will likely be arguing before legal institutions over a term that should actually distinguish them from ordinary citizens. Ultimately, it should not go unmentioned that Joachim Hiller, better known as the boss of the Ox-Fanzine, is fighting at the forefront against this registration. He is the same person who not too long ago made many enemies in the Antifa when he defended the registration of the term Hate-Core from a textile label operator also associated with right-wing circles and ultimately managed to rehabilitate its reputation. However, with the argument of fundamentally rejecting the protection of terms of common language, he can no longer score points.
This is now written in the online edition of taz. The full report can be read at http://www.taz.de/1/leben/alltag/artikel/1/hardcore-begriff-ist-jetzt-rechte-marke/. Only a few comments remain.
This registration applies exclusively to clothing items; a detailed list of what is included can be found on the NPD Blog. Therefore, the term Hardcore does not have to be completely removed from our vocabulary; it can essentially only affect merchants who sell clothing printed with this sequence of letters.
Why the patent office repeatedly feels the need to protect terms of common language is known only to the officials themselves. However, it should not be surprising anymore, considering that, for example, Telekom has managed to protect the color magenta, and the word "Explorer" was registered. This registration did not last long; it remains to be seen how long the brand "Hardcore" will last. Various groups have already announced their intention to take legal action against it.
So, soon left and right groups will likely be arguing before legal institutions over a term that should actually distinguish them from ordinary citizens. Ultimately, it should not go unmentioned that Joachim Hiller, better known as the boss of the Ox-Fanzine, is fighting at the forefront against this registration. He is the same person who not too long ago made many enemies in the Antifa when he defended the registration of the term Hate-Core from a textile label operator also associated with right-wing circles and ultimately managed to rehabilitate its reputation. However, with the argument of fundamentally rejecting the protection of terms of common language, he can no longer score points.
