Topic Twelve: The trademark of the Shaolin name

[xing_jian108]

Can you guys see the Chinese characters on the page? If not, oh well. What the hell. You get the idea.

a mi tuo fo
-Xing Jian

[xing_jian108]

http://www.shaolinwolf.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/15/173.html#000000

Ok, I hope that link works. That is a post of mine over at shaolinwolf.com. There I believe everyone should be able to view the characters. And more of an explaination.

a mi tuo fo
-Xing Jian

[Edge]

I can see the kanji if I switch my browser's character encoding to Chinese simplified.

[xing_jian108]

OK, good good

[doc]

Yongxin has not only attempted to extend his hold on Shaolin by exporting some of his monks to Europe (a failed attempt, from what we've been told), but, recently, with his visit to San Francisco, which I've mentioned before (sans the US "grandmaster" visit, which I kind of expected). He has been in touch with a prominent local San Francisco politician, with the goal of creating a "Shaolin Temple" in northern California. In fact, when I was there a while ago, there is a school in San Francisco that calls itself a "Shaolin Temple" already. Without monks, at least, at this time.

Yongxin is planning on seeding some of his people to the west coast of the US.

And, other places internationally.....

[cassius]

Oddly enough this topic was on national news in the UK (Channel 4), yesterday.

[doc]

Got any more details?

[cassius]

It was a short piece but very odd and unexpected to see on a channel like that.

Just said that the trademark of the 'shaolin' name was to be trademarked by the monks, as it has been used for everything from school names to beer. Along with some footage of head smashing.

[agreenknight]

Sounds like doc you could use as many marketing guys as you could get. Shaolin Do was brought up. If the shaolin abbot is successful, would they need to change their name? I can see why he doesn't want it as name of soap, yet also the people who teach. Or is it just Shaolin Gung Fu?

I don't know if alot of people could do Gung fu. You have said yourself, that after someone has worked in a factory they aren't wanting to hear it. So american kempo might do some good. As it creates a market for people who are interested in Shaolin, who might read martial arts magazines.

For example, the school, I got to doesn't use Shaolin, in it's name.

The way I think of tradional:

When I was in class sometime, we were talking about tournaments. It was said in a tournament if the judges were more contempory if they might light you throwing your bo staff in the air, and catching it. If they were tradational, mark that down. I think of traditional as if you had to use it, would it be practical?

Someone told me, he was showed a form, once for tournament, then differently for practical use by the same instructor.

I think, I can learn from everyone, regardless there style. From someone who has never studied martial arts, to a shaolin monk. Perhaps, I would disagree with them. If I can do that, then I incorporate their strengths and make them my own.

The main thing I think is a devolution is not necessarily Shaolin Do, if someone really makes an honest effort to teach martial arts, then I think that is good. If someone with no training, opens a school, and only wants money, well...

This of course, is only my opinion, it's not really that important.

[doc]

Stay tuned. The Shaolin abbot has not yet finished...

[shaolinstylee]

Doc, he's been here twice now... It was on Yahoo News also. Your brother Gene has remarked on his latest visit, along with the possible Temple in N. Cal. I can't find the thread now over on the Kung Fu magazine forums.. I'll keep looking though.

[doc]

It's in Gene's latest magazine I think. Small article. The one with Shi De Cheng on the cover. Not sure what this temple is in California though.

[agreenknight]

hmm, well, if the abbot starts suing martial arts schools for their name, I can see alot of people going to American Kempo, European kempo, European Kung Fu, or American Kung Fu. Opps, someone might go copyright American, hmm or then again Kung Fu. Darn,

[Uwe]

Re: Translation of above documents

The case was dismissed, not "won". It is therefore open for re-submission and further action.

Right you are and here we go for round two.
My friend Wilfried is now being sued by the abbot himself, since Mr. Deyhle does not own the domain anymore but rather the abbot.

I am including the information forwarded to me by Wilfried.

As you know, I have some legal discussions here in Germany about the existance of my url

www.shaolin-tempel.de.

In order to win that battle, I need some support from my friends - the more, the better. So I added a testimonial to this e-mail which says, that friends have known and visited my website between march and november 2000. If I can get enough of these, my url will be untouchable in Germany. So may I ask you to think about it and, if possible, send it filled with your data and signed to my address:
Wilfried Scholz
Am Schimmelsbusch 25
D-41517 Grevenbroich
GERMANY


I am attaching the document, for people willing to help.

I can tell you right know that I will be sending mine tomorrow evening CST, because I know him and his website since before this time.



This is going to be a close one to watch.

[doc]

Wilfried wrote to me with some more information.

Hi Doc,

I want to tell you the next episode of the "trademark story" going on here in Germany. But first let me apologize for answering that late. Although I'm in a fight here, I have to spend some time working on my job as a business consultant. To learn more, just have a look at my site www.wilfriedscholz.de, where you'll find some pages in english, too.

My opponents have changed their tactics and handed over the "shaolin"
trademark, which was by fault registered by a spanish EU staff member, to Shi Yong Xin and the Songshan Temple. Still they are fighting me, but now in the name of Songshan Shaolin, which causes me some emotional problems. I don't want to fight against the friends in China, but I have to be aware of who is the driving power in the dark - some really suspicious German business men. So I'll go on defending me and my url www.shaolin-tempel.de (and I will add some english pages soon!!).

The story can now be told in short: At the beginning of the year 2000 I asked the German patent's office, wether shaolin can become a trademark in Germany. I received an official document that it could not, as it is undiscriminous. This is what all of us say and so I was content, saw no problems to name my website and started. In November 2000 the named German business men registered "Shaolin" in Alicante, Spain, where the patent's office for the European Union is located and - what a miracle - they did.
This decision would criminalize thousands of schools all 'round Europe that wear Shaolin (Shaolim, Shorinji...) in their name. So what I will have to prove in the judical hearing is, that my homepage url had spreaded and was acknowledged in the martial arts world from March 2000 until November 2000.
If I can show evidence for this, my url is a trademark itself and I can go to Alicante and eliminate the Shaolin trademark - it would then violate my rights; so following this way, the trademark Shaolin (Shaolim, Shorinji....and related) could become free again in Europe.

I now want to ask you (and I hope Uwe Schwenk from Chicago will support my
wish) to let the big Amercian Shaolin community know, that I need some support in my struggle. I have set up a form both in German and English (see attachment)in a ms-word format and ask the friends, that have known and visited my homepage between March and November 2000 to sign it and send it by mail or better via fax until august, 24th to me to help me and the European schools to win the fight. I already have lots of confirmations from German schools and some coming from France, England, Poland, Hungary and some more European Countries. But I'm quite sure that I had advertised my url on russbo.com in some way in that time and hope that my Amercian friends want to stand by my side.

O.K., maybe this wasn't that short. But I hope, things have become more clearly now. I was a little bit anxious to take the hand you had reached me when my first law suit agains Rainer Deyhle began in February; this one ended with a court decision I had won, but now I see no other chance than to go public and I really would appreciate your support.

Thank you,

Wilfried