From: Hank Roth <odin@world.std.com>
Subject: ADL sues Native-American ADL
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: ?
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 20:13:41 GMT

>From: milo@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM (Michele Lord)
>Newsgroups: alt.native
>Subject: Press Release - AIADC
>Keywords: Anti-Defamation Council
>Date: 20 Dec 92 00:12:29 GMT
>Organization: Alpha Institute, Aurora, CO.

             American Indian Anti-Defamation Council
           215 West Fifth Ave., Denver, CO (USA) 80011
           (303) 892-7011          Russell Means
                                 Chairman and CEO
******************************************************************

                 PRESS CONFERENCE - DEC. 16, 1992

   We have called this press conference to announce that the
Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith has sued the American Indian
Anti-Defamation Council in Federal Court for the District of
Colorado.
   First of all, we do not yet have a lawyer retained to represent
us in this lawsuit, so I will avoid any technical questions that
might arise.
   So far as we can determine, the Anti-Defamation League is suing
us because the name of our organization - The American Indian
Anti-Defamation Council - uses the words "anti-defamation" in its
title, and the Anti-Defamation League claims trademark protection
of the words "anti-defamation." It also claims that it relies
"almost exclusively" on private contributions and donations from
individuals and organizations who wish to promote the
Anti-Defamation League's goals through the services which it
offers. The Anti-Defamation League claims that it coined the term
"anti-defamation" to serve as its distinctive name, and that it ha
proprietary rights to those words, and uses them in connection with
its services, which include combatting racial prejudice. It
believes it is protected by federal law from anyone else using the
words "anti-defamation," that it was, in essence, here first.
  My comment with respect to that is that had we American Indians
been more careful with our immigration policies 500 years ago, it
would have prevented those people who are racially prejudiced from
entering this continent which would have obviated the need for ant
kind of Anti-Defamation Council or Anti-Defamation League.
  We fail to understand how the Anti-Defamation League can take two
words commonly used in the English language and appropriate them
for their own use. This is nothing more than the corporatization of
the dictionary, a practice which, I would hope, the federal courts
will reject out of hand.
  At the Anti-Defamation League's request, we removed the word
"League" from our title, but we do not believe that anyone,
especially those who lavish contributions on the Anti-Defamation
League, will send us their checks by mistake. If that unlikely
event should happen, we will immediately forward them to the
Anti-Defamation League.
   Speaking of contributions, as this lawsuit progresses, we will
use legal discovery procedures to determine the exact source of the
Anti-Defamation Leagues contributions and the exact nature of its
services. I know of one book, for example, the Anti-Defamation
League has published which actually defames anyone who disagrees
with American policy toward Israel. I believe it is entitled "The
Enemies of Israel", and it is essentially a black list of Americans
who disagree with our own government's policy of voting the
billions of dollars out of the United States Treasury to Israel
each year. We will, of course, seek to determine if such a black
list is legitimately a part of the protective services the
Anti-Defamation League refers to in its lawsuit. We will also put
the Anti-Defamation League on its proof that, according to its
allegations, the alleged confusion in the names of our two
organizations will impair the Anti-Defamation League's continuing
ability to raise funds. Since we are virtually penniless and the
Anti-Defamation League is quite wealthy in money and in property -
it owns a large eight-story building in Washington, D.C. - we want
to be advised as to how we have prevented it from raising money. We
have noted the Anti-Defamation League's complaint that it has
received phone calls from people trying to find the American Indian
Anti-Defamation Council. This seems to refute their point and to
make our point that the Anti-Defamation League itself has confused
people, and not the American Indians, since I know of no one who
has called us looking for the B'nai Brith Anti-Defamation League.
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