Posted on 04/21/2004 8:56:40 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
A western German businessman who bought the rights to the official emblem of communist East Germany defended his move Tuesday, saying critics were jealous they hadn't thought of it before he did.
Manfred Jansen paid the German patent office $330 for the right to demand royalties from anyone who puts the emblem -- a hammer and compass set into a wreath of rye -- on T-shirts, cigarette lighters, belts and a host of other products.
"I'm just a businessman with an agency dealing in nice logos. I have no political motives," Jansen told Reuters as news of his purchase sparked criticism that he had no right to cash in on a national symbol.
Jansen said even though no one can claim a patent on emblems of countries that still exist, there was no such protection for the emblems of defunct states, such as East Germany, which vanished with German unification in 1990.
"I have good friends from the east and we laugh about this," Jansen said. "I'm sure there are people in the east who would have done the same thing if they had had the idea."
East Germany, formally known as the German Democratic Republic, ceased to exist in October 1990, 41 years after its foundation under Soviet influence, when it was reunited with West Germany, formally known as the Federal Republic of Germany.
Recent years have seen a flowering of nostalgia for East Germany in the east where high unemployment and a declining population have prompted many to recall fondly the advantages of life under the communist regime.
The nostalgia wave has been spawned by several best-selling books, popular TV shows and films, including "Good Bye, Lenin!" which won numerous German and international film prizes last year and has been a box office success across Europe.
Matthias Oehme, director of an east German publishing company, plans to launch a legal challenge against the sale of the emblem, arguing that it contravenes the rights of the late Heinz Behling who designed the East German symbol in the 1950s.
"What the f*** is wrong with German people??"
-- Kyle from "South Park"
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