Free the Words! - The Impact of #Cockygate
Disclaimer - This is a lengthy read. There is a TL;DR version near the bottom. For a good chunk of the month of May I have been diligently - and at times not so diligently watching the #cockygate drama unfolding on Twitter. I've probably neglected a few things in as this battle began and continued to unfold. What is #cockygate? An author - who shall not be named - decided to trademark a word for her ebook series of ... romance novels. Once the mark was approved she sent cease and desist letters to a handful of authors testing the waters before going after her real target, Tara Crescent, a menage MFM erotica book author. *Note* These other authors, with similar titles - NOT series titles as the trademark pertains to, Titles - either had to pull their books, retitle their books, or face the wrath of #CockyAuthor and her *ahem* lawyer. Now, while all that seems within her legal rights, #CockyAuthor forgot a few things. Her series title (what was trademarked) was not