what is the thought on this...

[Baddaz]

i dont think you fully get the point... its not just the music, its the association with the brand jamaica... anyway respect sed speed...

[Assasin]

yeah but what exactly(in specific term) are you going to sue for?

[Bricktop]

Well they lock down reggae parties in Jamaica and diss up rastaman all di while...yet JTB use both in their commercials

[Assasin]

they are using their own sites, a generic music genre, with their own song. WE have some similar people living on both island.

[Willi]

Stay deh, is USD$100 fi ah visa and dem keep yuh passport fi a week while dem mail it to the CI fi processing.

What a prekeh! No way dat worth nuh $100. Joke bizniz.

[Willi]

Dont forget dem is Jamaican light. The 2 places are closer than people like to admit. We use to run their affairs. Essentially it is the same country, but now dem ah pop style pon we...plus we messed up ourselves to cause others to tek step.

OTOH, RSA can use Lucky Dube reggae, no?

[Historian]

Excellent Points, 'Sass

The brand needs protection but Reggae is not a Jamaican trademark, and what would America do if we use R&B? The lyrics in the song is just generic and unless they use a beat that is already trademarked nothing can be done.

The rest of the ad is just displaying things Cayman. While the format may seems somewhat similar to ours I can't see any lawyer can do anything. If you notice how many companies use Reggae and sky in their ads and associate it with clean air and healthy lifestyle etc. I think there is even another caribbean ad with a Rastaman in it.

Excellent points, Assasin.

I was on the verge of typing a response to the opening comments in this thread when I came across yours. You’ve summed up the situation perfectly, so there’s no need for me to try and add anything else .

Sometimes we Jamaicans tend to let our emotions override our commonsense.

[Baddaz]

since you think it's about emotions, and i think you are a reasoned individual, i'll leave you this shortened narrative for your perusal... my larger point lies within... no need to thank me for the enlightenment... respect...

Trademarks and service marks make up nearly all forms of protectable marks. The same principles govern protection of both kinds of marks.

Although the most common trademark and service mark formats are words, trademarks and service marks can take other forms as well. These alternate formats include:

• Packaging design and artwork.

• The overall appearance of a product or service, such as the look of a restaurant or the layout and colour scheme of a website.

• A distinctive, unique sound.

• The shape of a product or its package.

Whatever form a trademark or a service mark takes, it is vital to the mark’s validity that it identify one and only one user. In this respect, trademarks and service marks are unlike other forms of property, such as real estate or personal property, that can be jointly owned. In contrast, multiple users of a mark, in the absence of a licence, strike at the heart of a mark’s significance because the mark no longer identifies a single source.

[Gamma]

we jamaicans?!! you tend to do it too?

[Time]

couple nights ago while watching tv, i saw an ad with reggae being played... i thought it was a jamaica tourism ad, only to find out at the end that it was a cayman island tourism ad... frankly, i do take offense to that as i believe it is infringing on brand jamaica... reggae is associated with jamaica and for any other island in competition with jamaica tourism should not be using reggae to compete against us... thoughts and opinions please...

Reggae bigger than Jamaica and Bob Marley was or is the most known Jamaican. By the way, I am yet to see Jamaican reggae in the reggae band on a cruise ship. If they paid the royalty to use it then its all good. LOL

[Assasin]

Did you read the judge ruling on the "Reggae Reggae Jerk Sause"? Although they caught Levi Roots lying that it was his Granny's orginal recipe and the guys at sometime worked with him on the project. The fact is nobody can trademark "Reggae"

[Baddaz]

assassin, you are missing the larger point... it's not the word 'REGGAE'... it's the unique identifier... the unique sound, that's associated with brand jamaica... it doesn't have to be licensed... would you identify soca with switzerland... reggae sound is identified with jamaica... for another country to be using reggae to sell a similar product as jamaica using jamaica's unique identifying sound is an infringement on jamaica's brand...

[Bricktop]

uhmmm...no...

[Baddaz]

what does 'reggae bigger than jamaica' have to do with infringing on jamaica brand... the mere thought that reggae bigger than jamaica supports my argument of trademark infringement... the reggae sound is known to the world as being jamaican... that's the association... it should not be allowed to be diluted by others usagage in their marketing campaign... yuh kno what, mi dun wid it yassuh... mi gwine send off an email to the tourism minister...

[Baddaz]

no, what...