[Infowarrior] - The Pics the NYSE Doesn’t Want You to See

[Richard Forno]

The Pics the NYSE Doesn’t Want You to See

	• By Ryan Singel  
	• May 26, 2011  | 
	• 5:28 pm  | 
	• Categories: Commentary

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/05/nyse-trademark-silliness/?pid=369

The New York Stock Exchange wants its trading floor to be the place where slices of the nation’s biggest public companies are bought and sold, but the syndicate isn’t too keen on the idea of public.
Commentary

The NYSE sent a legal nastygram Thursday to the news site Talking Points Memo, demanding that it take down a picture of the trading floor the site used in a news article, claiming that the exchange has trademarked the floor.

“NYSE owns Federal Trademark rights in one depiction of the Trading Floor and common law rights in the Trading Floor viewed from virtually any angle,” the letter from the NYSE’s general counsel Kendra P. Goldenberg claims. “Accordingly, NYSE has the right to prohibit unauthorized use of its Trademarks and reference to the NYSE by others…. Your unauthorized use of the images of the Trading Floor tarnishes NYSE’s Trademarks.”

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And if the NYSE wants to do something to prevent “tarnishing” of its image, it can start by explaining why there has been not a single prosecution of anyone involved in the machinations which brought on the Great Recession of 2008, or why after receiving bailouts and other government protections, bonuses are back at pre-meltdown levels, or why hedge fund managers are still taxed at a lower rate than the minimum-wage delivery people who bring them their croissants.

Because you’re unlikely to see that, enjoy the gallery of pictures of the NYSE’s trading floor, which we bring to you here without any permission from the NYSE — because neither Wired.com nor TPM (nor any other news site) needs it.