Be careful what you call Web 2.0

Here is a warning to travel companies desperate to talk about the next stage of the internet’s extraordinary growth – one particularly company will try and stop you.

The internet has been heaving with comments from irate folk in the last day or so after it emerged US firm O’Reilly attempted to stop the IT@Cork event in Ireland from using the phrase Web 2.0 for one of its half-day conferences.

O’Reilly claims it “coined” the phrase during a brainstorming session in 2003 and is now trying to protect it from use in other conferences through a so-called Service Mark [read Wikipedia definition]

Cue much mirth in some quarters and incredulity in others about how a company can attempt to stop organisations using the name of what is actually just a concept, rather than brand or product name.

[Read O’Reilly’s explanation on its Blog and the dozens of – often hilarious – comments]

In the meantime O’Reilly has relented somewhat, “agreeing that IT@Cork can use the Web 2.0 name this year”.

It will be interesting to see if 1) the application for a Service Mark is turned down by the US authorities or 2) O’Reilly quietly withdraws the application in the wake of the verbal thrashing it has received in the past few days.

Right, time to continue proof reading the next edition of Travolution, number 4.0. [We’re allowed to call it that]

[More Web 2.0 on the Blog here]

Kevin May, editor, Travolution