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What in the world are they doing? CEDIA is a non-profit org. trying to promote audio in which they are a member, doesn't make sense..
Follow Ups:
where's the highs-where's the lows?- goodness gracious must be bose...a little dittie learned in my younger days from a bose factory rep. I only have consumer equipment experiance with them gained when I was an unskilled salesman I think they make some nice speakers with good price points. I think they fall down with the way they market the product-causing some people to not like the company. its pretty easy to make a good 4.5 inch driver for not much money. so they take a pile of 4" drivers hook 'em to an eq box and presto-top of line bose901.the company staged "events" with audio video presentations supported by very strong company sales people. That's fine for them -but most audio is traditionally sold by comparison. i think if the 901's were as good as some of bose's other products people would have no problem. But they pitch them as a product of genius -the ultimate speaker at any price- becuse dr. bose is so smart he could make the ultimate speaker. then they used almost the same pitch with the lifestyle system(sounded real bad when it first came out) . salespeople were expected to support this dog and pony show-but some obviously would feel the money was spent on promotion -not value to the customer-or spiffs to the salesperson-and resent it. thus the negitive feeling about bose. a fine capitalist company
Bose-bashers are no different than those individuals who look at successful people in life and hope they fail miserably. Dr. Bose built the company from the ground up and still continues to put his heart into his work with only one goal - to create the most "lifelike" speakers he can to allow people to enjoy their music and thereby enjoy life with the ones they love. If you envy Bose and how successful the company is then just say so, but don't disguise your true hidden agenda through a legitimate lawsuit that Bose has a right to fight. That's my 2 cents and I'm sticking to it.
Why do people feel the need to publicly slam a particular company for simply selling a product. Bose does not use abrasive or dishonest marketing tactics; and they don't seem to have a history of poor customer service; so why do so many people make a big fuss about "hating" them?I wouldn't buy their speakers, but there are hundreds of other companies whose products I'm not interested in either. So what? I don't publicly criticize them.
Actually, there is nothing illegal about the kind of resale price maintenance I understand Bose to use, i.e., what is referred to in antitrust law as a "Colgate policy," but I personally think it abrasive marketing.I rarely ask for discounts on high-end stuff, in part because it often is pointless and in part because I am willing to pay full freight to get something that I perceive in having value. Should I decide, however, that a product is of interest to me only at a more realistic price point, usually, because I have alternatives, I might indeed explain my reasons for thinking a price break is fair.
At that point, it is one thing for my retailer to tell me that he or she doesn't want to give me a discount because someone else might be willing to buy from inventory for more, because he or she doesn't agree with my analysis, or for some reason suitable to him or her. It is quite another to be refused because the retailer has been told he will lose the line if he discounts by so much as one penny.
Again, done properly, there is nothing illegal about a manufacturer's choosing to browbeat its retailers like that. I just take manufacturers like that off of my radar screen because I personally find that kind of marketing repulsive.
The problem for me is that not only do people slam Bose, but they do it over and over and over and over and over, ad infinitum! I think the issue is that Bose has been so successful compared to many other companies considered to be more deserving. Polk and Klipsch, along with virtually every major Japanese manufacturer, seem to suffer from the same thing, albeit to a lesser degree.Just for the record: I not only have no connection to Bose, I've never even owned one of their products. Simply a matter of personal choice.
While there may be a personal reason for not buying Bose, there are many scientific reasons for not buying them.
There is no mystery to my personal reason for not buying Bose, which is pretty much the same as the reason I've never bought anything from a multitude of manufacturers: Their products simply don't turn me on. There could be other factors, I suppose, but none would be remotely "scientific".
There's usually more to these actions than meets the eye and I'm sure that BOSE probably did ask or tell CEDIA to withdraw the trademark before starting any action.The 'non-profit organisation' description doesn't mean that along with many volunteers there aren't board members on fat paycheques - salaries will be classed as expenses and even charities have directors on megabuck packages.
Perhaps I am a dummy, but, who held the trademark first (or should I say, who held the similar sounding trademark)?Or is it he who has the best funded legal department?
> The 'non-profit organisation' description doesn't mean that along with many volunteers there aren't board members on fat paycheques - salaries will be classed as expenses and even charities have directors on megabuck packages.Good point. United Way is an example.
That said, Bose is seen as the schoolyard bully and deserves its sour reputation.
Hasn't Bose sued them yet? After all, both companies are involved with screwing people, so wouldn't there be some confusion?
does bose think they can copywrite the word 'lifestyles'? jeeziz, i hope not.i, for one hope they lose this suit miserably.
......regards.....tr
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marc g. - audiophile by day, music lover by night
Who trademarked the phrase "Freedom of Expression". Then AT&T used that very phrase in a series of TV ads, and the artist sued. This is culture jamming; Bose is toe jamming.This link says he's a professor, but he's an artist:
http://www.fota.com/sub/dix.htmlThis link, with an excerpt below, says he's a professor, and that he says he's a prankster:
http://www.uwire.com/content/topnews012403003.html
The self-proclaimed prankster has used the media for gags before, but he insisted Thursday he wanted to prove a point.McLeod sold his soul to more than 300 people on eBay, ran for student-body president at James Madison University on the promise that he would make its president wear a rubber lobster costume to all public events, and tried to change his alma mater's mascot from "The Duke Dog" to a three-eyed pig with antlers -- a joke that landed him on national television.
Despite his prankster past, AT&T officials aren't laughing.
McLeod's letter is "frivolous and totally without merit," Gary Morgenstern, an AT&T spokesman, said in a statement. "Should he choose to pursue legal recourse to protect his trademark covering booklets in the field of creative writing, we feel confident we would prevail."
The phrase has also appeared in ads for clothing, snowboards, liquor, perfumes, and fragrances, Morgenstern said. There's also a Web site -- www.freedomofexpression.com -- using it as a domain name, he said.
AT&T said McLeod was using the dispute to draw attention to an art show that opens in Chicago this weekend. The show, "Illegal Art," highlights art on the legal fringes of intellectual property law and features McLeod's framed "Freedom of Expression" trademark certificate.
McLeod said he sent a letter to AT&T because its ad was the first he had seen use the phrase. The ad, which appeared in the Sept. 10, 2002 issue of The Daily Iowan, shows a college-age woman talking on the phone in a plush chair above the words "Freedom of Expression."
As a communications professor, McLeod's work focuses on popular culture, music, and the cultural effect of intellectual property law. He has worked as a music critic for Rolling Stone and SPIN, as well as VH1.com and MTV.com.
His office resembles an offbeat toy store: Items surrounding his desk include a Jesse Ventura doll, an all-white "Albino Mickey Mouse," a sign that reads "Hulk Hogan Avenue" above his window, PeeWee's Playhouse trading cards, a book about break dancing, a Vanilla Ice Electronic Rap game, a dusty record player, a giant Pez candy dispenser, and a Jesus Christ action figure from a Christian novelty shop.
McLeod's Web site -- www.kembrew.com/index-1.html -- also details his accomplishments as both an academic and a prankster. In one section, he solemnly swears to "put the 'ass' back in assistant professor."
- This signature is two channel only -
I forget my right brain completely
Bose is biting the hand that fees them. Bose has HUGE business in the pro sound realm for resorts, casinos and theme parks, not to mention tens of thousands of clubs, golf resorts, banquet rooms, outdoor portable sound et al.Most installers of their equipment be it MUZAK (yes muzak uses pro bose products...exclusively) are CEDIA members.
It seems like a win/win game. CEDIA using the "lifestyles" platform...bose having "lifestyle" branded equipment.
Realize that consumer audio is a water drop in n ocean compared to the pro/bose division where installers use their products by the millions. The local MUZAK here has purchased well over 1000 of the "model 16 loudspeaker" within the last 3 quarters and installed them all. That is one product of several "dosen" they use.
Bose should come to a truce on this...a raw lawsuit serves no purpose...as they should go after health spas (which mind you use MUZAK systems and pro/bose products and use the name "lifestyle" as well.This is utter bullshit if you ask me.
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