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Re: permaculture trademark alert
- To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
- Subject: Re: permaculture trademark alert
- From: Martin Grosskopf <martin-g@iafrica.com>
- Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 10:45:45 +0200
- Newsgroups: permaculture
- References: <LYRIS-132766-54518-2001.07.11-03.12.54--martin-g#iafrica.com@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
The term "permaculture" was coined by Bill Mollison, which
has a far wider significance as a word in our common language than it has as a
proprietary trade name. Toby wrote:
>But what disturbs me, as it does Robyn, is that this
goes counter to the
>many recorded statements Bill has made to "give
permaculture away" (friends
>have a tape of him saying this at the
Bioneers conference),
As far as I know the term itself has never been registered
as a trade mark, and the Mollisons can argue that they have indeed given
permaculture away. They are just not giving away "Permaculture Design" and
"Permaculture Design Course". Be that as it may, the Mollisons are reducing the
significance of their great contribution to the world from a widely accepted
practice to merely a limited branded product. It's like the difference
between the terms "architectural design" and "architectural design course"
and the name of some lesser known architectural practice or school
which will fade into insignificance when the owners die or the company goes out
of business. Why would the Mollisons do that? It cannot be for
recognition, as I have just argued. As I see it, it can either be to
ensure a stream of revenue or to ensure that there are no wayward teachers and
practicioners. I would hope that it is the latter. But if it is the
latter, then I would think that a fixed set of permaculture design principles
would suffice. Obviously some of the principles would be misinterpreted by
some and corrupted by others, but as in any practice, there will be debate about
when this occurs and when it doesn't, to the benefit of growth in the
understanding of the practice.
What would happen if one called one's course "Permaculture
Course"? That won't be registered as a trade mark.
Martin
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 7:15 PM
Subject: Re: permaculture trademark
alert
>What are the policy changes you refer to?
what do you think might be the
>implications for PC teachers/designers
worldwide?
the Permaculture institute now only issues certificates to
teachers who
are registered with them. to register the teacher sends in a
course
outline which is checked against the full table of contents of the
designers manual (you'll need to have Science and Thousand Names of
God
and every other section, large or small, of the manual in your outline)
then if you're accepted then you have to pay, was initially $45 but i've
been told it's now over $100
Appently to be a registered teacher with the
pc inst you need to parrot
the entire content of the designers manual - no
more - no less, Bill &
Lisa state the book is the curriculum and the
total definition of what
permaculture is
Other changed policies:
the Pc Inst used to issue diplomas gratis to third world PC practitioners
but now they have to pay full fee which can mean the equivalent of
several months wages
could say more but it gets too depressing - the
implications are huge and
undermine the core agreements and rights of PDC
holders and teachers that
have been restated and reaffirmed for the past 20
years
Robyn
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