The KS Librarians loved the idea of the Library Hotel. When we announce what our occupations are to folks, the most common response is: "Betcha know a lot about the Dewey Decimal!". Of course, this tells us that the speaker hasn't visited a library since high school since most academic libraries use the Library of Classification System. Each of the Library Hotel's 10 guestrooms floors honors one of the 10 categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification System and each room contains a collection of books within the class of the floor the room belongs to.

So, what is the Dewey Decimal System? Melvil Dewey, a librarian who began the field of library science when he created Columbia University's School of Library Economy in 1887, is best known as the inventor of what came to be called the Dewey Decimal System of Classification. Devised in 1876 as a system for small libraries, it contained subject categories and short call-numbers. The system is based on ten classes of subject (000-999), usually used with the Cutter system developed by Charles Cutter. The cutter number for a book usually consists of the first letter of the author's last name and a series of numbers. This series of numbers comes from a table that is designed to help maintain an alphabetical arrangement of names.

OCLC, the Ohio-based Online Computer Library Center,is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to furthering access to the world's information and reducing information costs. More than 45,000 libraries in 84 countries and territories around the world use OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend and preserve library materials. OCLC filed trademark infringement suit against the Library Hotel in Southern District of Ohio on September 10, 2003. The docket number for the case is: 2:03-cv-00816-EAS-TPK. OCLC is represented by the law firm, Jones Day.

OCLC's main objection is Library Hotel's use of the Dewey Decimal System without giving OCLC attribution. OCLC maintains that without attribution, it runs the risk of losing the rights to the classification system and libraries would suffer as a result. The complaint filed by OCLC alleges a likelihood of confusion or deceit, false designation of origin of services, implied business approval of the hotel's services and a danger of the Dewey marks becoming generic. See Complaint, pages 9-10. Federal trademark protection could be generally used to designate a classification system when it is used in connection with a product or service in commerce. OCLC promotes goods and service in connection with the Dewey System. See complaint at 6-7. Other registered trademarks exist for classification such as: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). See Reg. Nos. 2320850, 2409877, 2407714 and 2732395. OCLC's use of the Dewey System exceeds five years pursuant to 15 U.S.C. Section 1065. So, the question that faces the Southern District of Ohio, is how will OCLC's intellectual rights be enforced?

The suit is making news headlines. Hopefully, the message won't be lost in these stories that the crux of the argument is the protection of the Dewey Decimal System. Although the System is the subject of many jokes, it serves a valuable purpose in organizing information in a format for users to find data easily.

Check out the current status of the case at:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA338581?display=breakingNews&