No Bullshido, the Trademark Violation
A few months ago I posted about a short film named "No Bullshido" that used our dojo as the set for a scene. It was an amusing little piece thrown together in just a weekend for the "48 Hour Film Project."
I had always wondered what reaction the folks at the message board Bullshido.net (famed for calling traditional martial artists LARPers) would have to the film, given its name and the theme of making fun of ego-inflated martial arts. I was expecting them to slag on it, but I didn't expect them to be quite so upset about the name as they are in this thread. The owner of Bullshido.net stated that the film committed "[t]rademark infringement, and we're pursuing options."
This is quite staggering to me… a few non-martial artists make a short film for a competition that coincidentally has the same name through the obvious combination of bullshit and bushido (together at last) and they are talking about legal actions?
I often tell people that as passionate as I am about the martial arts, I really can't stand most martial artists. This is a prime example of why. You collect a bunch of people who love to fight together and they attack everybody else. After all, you cannot win unless others lose.
Given that most folks practice the martial arts for love not money, why would anybody possibly take this issue so seriously?
I had always wondered what reaction the folks at the message board Bullshido.net (famed for calling traditional martial artists LARPers) would have to the film, given its name and the theme of making fun of ego-inflated martial arts. I was expecting them to slag on it, but I didn't expect them to be quite so upset about the name as they are in this thread. The owner of Bullshido.net stated that the film committed "[t]rademark infringement, and we're pursuing options."
This is quite staggering to me… a few non-martial artists make a short film for a competition that coincidentally has the same name through the obvious combination of bullshit and bushido (together at last) and they are talking about legal actions?
I often tell people that as passionate as I am about the martial arts, I really can't stand most martial artists. This is a prime example of why. You collect a bunch of people who love to fight together and they attack everybody else. After all, you cannot win unless others lose.
Given that most folks practice the martial arts for love not money, why would anybody possibly take this issue so seriously?
Labels: Essays, The Martial Arts
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