The smell of strawberries and freshly cut grass
Capitalism is mad. Mad mad mad. It suggests that we can somehow own everything, and somewhere, someone is trying to. Even smells. A French firm has just failed to trademark the smell of strawberries. What sort of kook thought that one up? This is right along side trying to trademark a color (as that firm Orange tried to do several years ago) or trademark words, never mind Monsanto trying to own all the world’s food and just give it to pretty people with enough money. How can reasonable people even let this come to court? How can they seriously discuss trying to own something like that? As insane as this is, apparently someone does one the rights to the smell of freshly cut grass. They put it on tennis balls to make people think of summer. It makes me think of revolution.
Funny that no one has trademarked the smell of armpits or skunk. There might be an opening there.
Paris Hilton attempted to trademark her phrase, “That’s hot”.
You know, it started with the colonials. They came and started divvying up the land and stuff, and the Native Americans didn’t really freak out, because the Native Americans didn’t think THEY owned the land. Land was something that kinda ‘owned’ you, in that it provided you life and resources. But then, the Native Americans were like, “Um. Wait a minute. Now we’re in Oklahoma when we come from New York.”
I tell you: it’s the fault of real estate. And western Europeans. And corporate conglomerates. I don’t know.
And wouldn’t skunks own their own scent?
Owning things I don’t mind — particularly real estate — no gun-toting smallpox carrier can send me packing for Oklahoma as long as I pay the mortgage. But smells? That’s stupid. And it’s not even like it’s a *new* smell. Invent smell X43Z, that smells like nothing in nature, and *maybe* I’ll accept it. But strawberries? Grass? That’s dumb.