Commentaries

LEONARDO, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 239–242, 2000 239© 2000 ISAST COMMENTARIES Many readers of Leonardo and website visitors to Leonardo On-Line will be aware that the Leonardo network is currently being sued by Transasia Corp. in France for trademark infringement. Transasia claims to have recently trademarked in France the names Leonardo, Leonardo Finance, Leonardo Partners, Leonardo Invest and Leonardo Experts. The suit asks that the Association Leonardo be forbidden from using the word “Leonardo” in its web site projects or any other products or services. In the wake of this trademark dispute, we have been deluged with letters of support from many corners of the globe, for which we extend our most heartfelt thanks. We wish to share some of these letters in this space. The letters appear here in raw, unedited form. Readers who would like to add to this growing body of support for Leonardo and/or express the need for freedom and democracy on the Internet are invited to send letters to . For more information please visit Leonardo On-Line . Thank you. Received 16 March 2000 Dear Leonardo, The Board of ISEA (the Inter-Society for the Electronic Arts), representing 210 artists, organizations and academic institutions in the domains of art, science , and technology around the world, strongly supports our sister organization Leonardo/ISAST in affirming its right to use the name Leonardo in all publications , both electronic and print. We recognize that Leonardo has been a leader in promoting the open exchange of research and ideas within the international artistic and scientific communities for 30 years. To infringe upon Leonardo’s rights to use its long established identity restricts the rights of all of us who believe in the inherent benefits of open dialogue within our global community. Sincerely, Alain Mongeau President Director, New Media Section Festival international du nouveau cinéma et des nouveaux médias de Montréal Montreal, Canada Kathy Rae Huffman Treasurer Associate Professor Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, U.S.A. Amanda McDonald Crowley Secretary Director Australian Network for Art and Technology Australia Nina Czegledy Artist, author and curator, Canada Cynthia Beth Rubin Artist, U.S.A. Thecla Shiphorst Artist, Canada Atau Tanaka Artist, guest professor Keio University, Japan Wim van der Plas ISEA co-founder Director, Education Dept. Utrecht College, Netherlands John Hyatt Ex-Officio ISEA98 Professor, Manchester Metropolitan University, U.K. ISEA/The Inter-Society for the Electronic Arts Complexe Ex-Centris 3530 boul. St-Laurent, #305 Montréal, Québec, H2X 2V1 CANADA E-mail: http://www.isea.qc.ca Received 23 March 2000 The art department of the University of Paris 1 has voted unanimously the following support message for Leonardo: Le conseil de l’UFR des Arts Plastiques et des Sciences de l’Art (Université Paris 1) réprouve l’assignation en justice de l’Association Leonardo/OLATS par la société TRANSASIA. La revendication exclusive d’un nom commun en invoquant la propriété intellectuelle est inacceptable, car elle privilégie une situation inégalitaire contraire à l’esprit du Web. Nous craignons qu’à plus long terme, cela revienne à exclure du Web ceux-là mêmes qui l’ont créé: les artistes, les chercheurs, les organismes à but non lucratif. Best wishes, Karen O’Rourke Received 20 March 2000 Dear Leonardo, I am writing to support Leonardo in the current problems with trademark. I run a new media program at San Francisco State University that has been preparing artists and media professionals to work with emerging technologies for the last 20 years. Leonardo (including its various journals and on-line resources) has been a major resource for news and analysis about artistic innovation during that whole time. It is the main place artists, historians, professors, students , curators, and scientists have looked to find essential information about art and science. It published authors from around the world when few journals would risk it. It is one of the few truly international resources in the arts. Its linkage to the name Leonardo has helped to convey its aspirations to bridge art and science just as DaVinci did and is part of its philosophical core. Its bicultural heritage in France and England is part of its unique identity. I...