EAA suing the SOS Brothers?

[Kyle Boatright]

I don’t post often, but this warrants taking time to do so.

EAA, I wish you’d hear your members. This is wrong, petty, and unnecessary.

I cannot believe how far this corporation has come from its roots. I vote with my dollars, and you’ve lost mine. Wow.

Robbie Culver
Naperville, IL

Exactly. I get the trademark and copyright thing. EAA need to walk away from 3 of their four gripes (Beer, girls, "Airventure"). The logo thing, I think they may have a leg to stand on. That said, Pelton himself (or some other high ranking EAA'er without a history with SOS) asking politely would have probably gone a long way towards dealing with that. Even better, Pelton having a beer and a brat with the SOS brothers during the convention would be a great way to mend fences. The old "you catch more flies with sugar than vinegar" philosophy at work.

I hope it isn't too late for cooler heads to prevail.

[FlyingRon]

The beer and girls things are just red herrings. The lawsuit is not (and legally can not be) about that.

[Airmutt]

Am I the only one who finds it ironic that in the state of Wisconsin they’re fighting over beer???
Maybe there needs to be a brat summit. Oh wait, that might start a fight over the correct condiments to go on a brat.
Thank goodness Kringle and roasted corn aren’t involved. Just sayin.

[DaleB]

As EAA members, we have to ask ourselves: Is this action beneficial to the membership? Whether or not they can bully SOS into compliance? Is this what we want our dues spent on?

In my humble opinion, absolutely not. And I believe I'll spend part of today writing to EAA management to let them know that, and I would encourage others to do the same.

EAA, I wish you’d hear your members. This is wrong, petty, and unnecessary.

Amen, brother. Now go tell them somewhere other than this forum, which management can claim not to have read.

[Dana]

The late great Jerry Pournelle talked about this.
Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy states that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people:

First, there will be those who are devoted to the goals of the organization. Examples are dedicated classroom teachers in an educational bureaucracy, many of the engineers and launch technicians and scientists at NASA, even some agricultural scientists and advisors in the former Soviet Union collective farming administration.

Secondly, there will be those dedicated to the organization itself. Examples are many of the administrators in the education system, many professors of education, many teachers union officials, much of the NASA headquarters staff, etc.

The Iron Law states that in every case the second group will gain and keep control of the organization. It will write the rules, and control promotions within the organization.

EAA, alas, is no exception.

[rwanttaja]

Amusing bit of research. I looked at the back issues of EAA Sport Aviation magazine, looking for the first mention of "Airventure." I found it in May 1993. In an article about the Spruce Goose, written by Penn Stohr.

Of the Evergreen AirVenture Museum, in McMinnville, Oregon.

It isn't until 1998 that "Airventure" comes up with a lot of hits in the magazine. A google search for "Airventure '97" comes up blank (no '97), while "Airventure '98" gets lots of hits. Now, of course, EAA could have filed for the trademark several years before and just not used it until '98.

Interesting coincidence: The Evergreen Airventure Museum changed its name in 1997, dropping "Airventure." And EAA started USING Airventure the following year.

Makes you wonder: Did EAA buy the rights to "Airventure" from the Evergreen museum? If so, I wonder how much EAA had to pay for that single word?

Ron "But they're MAGIC beans" Wanttaja

[robert l]

So....where IS this SOS thing anyway? Perhaps I've driven past the place without it ever registering, but I dunno.

Randy, if you Google Earth it, you'll see where it is. It's right accross the street from the Sleepy Hollow Camp Ground. I'm supprised EAA hasen't tried to acquire Sleepy Hollow.
Bob

[FlyingRon]

I always thought AirVenture was a dumb name anyhow. The EAA was already using "Air Adventure" for the museum. It took the PA announcers almost four years to stop insert "Ad" or another extra syllable in the name.
Of course, nobody outside of the EAA management calls it that. To most of the country it's still Oshkosh. To those from Wisconsin, it's "Da EAA."

[Airmutt]

Depending upon your time with EAA, myself included, occasionally refer to the show as convention. And I still think of Class B airspace as a TCA . That which is learned first is best learned.
I’m not particularly keen on the swoosh airplane logo because to me it doesn’t represent the organization or it’s divisions. Looks too much like a aerospace company logo. Would be interested to know how the merchandise sales with the legacy logo compares with the current logo. I would bet it matches or beats it.

[CHICAGORANDY]

Randy, if you Google Earth it, you'll see where it is. It's right accross the street from the Sleepy Hollow Camp Ground. I'm supprised EAA hasen't tried to acquire Sleepy Hollow.
Bob

Thanks, SOS is listed with a pic on Google Earth too. Yep....WAY too far for me to schlepp just to drink a beer in Wisconsin - LOL