Dewey Decimal System Sues Hotel
Well, the trademark holder of the Dewey Decimal system is suing a hotel for copyright infringment, anyway.
According to this article on Newsday, the Online Computer Library Center, who holds the trademark on the Dewey Decimal system, is suing the Library Hotel which overlooks the New York Public Library. The Library Hotel apparently uses the Dewey Decimal system to label floors and rooms. They even go so far as to match the books in the rooms to the Dewey Decimal system category that mark the rooms. Frankly, I think it’s a neat idea. Unfortunately, they didn’t get a license for the system before going into operation.
And this is the bit that surprised me when I first heard it on NPR, the Online Computer Library Center, who is non-profit, charges libraries a license fee that starts at $500/year to use their system! Who knew! Not my wife, who, ironically, is distantly related to Admiral Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal system. What a racket! I really need to invent a system like this…
