It’s my day off (from Sourcing Innovation), so I’d like to quote from a ZDNet article:

Barney, the plush purple saurian, likes to sing about love, hugs and kisses. But the dinosaur’s lawyers have taken precisely the opposite view when threatening Web sites that display less-than-flattering images of the plump T-Rex–a legal tactic that finally led to a lawsuit on Wednesday from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The suit, filed in federal district court in New York, argues that trademark claims by Barney’s owners have threatened “free expression rights” by trying to rid the Internet of Barney parodies and negative depictions.

With the exception of lawsuits against unauthorized wiretaps and lawsuits against the RIAA, I think this is probably the most worthwhile lawsuit the EFF has undertaken in a while. After all, anyone who sends threatening letters promising immediate legal action as the result of a free expression parody deserves it in my book. Yes, I have a vindictive streak, but everyday I read about another software patent pirate suing someone because the pirate just happened to be the first person to be issued a patent on yet another obvious unoriginal idea (of which at least 95% are, see my previous posting on TRIZ in the Purchasing Innovation Series over on eSourcing Forum) under the assumption that it’ll be cheaper and easier for the sued to pay up than to fight it.

So visit the Source of All Evil site (and check out the original version of the page), applaud their bravery, and let me know if you believe there is a connection between Barney and the RIAA. (And I promise to post any threatening letters I get as a result of this post!)

You can support the EFF here.