An open letter [from Julian Gough] to Johnathan Ive (and Apple) | Hacker News Reader

An open letter [from Julian Gough] to Johnathan Ive (and Apple)

juliangough.com

4 pointsedoloughlin5 comments

Just change the name, it's not a big deal.

The nerve of some people? Writing an open letter because they want to piggyback on somebody else's good name, and claim it is in the name of universal design principles (not money?).

It's not simple nerve, it's marketing. No one asked for the name change. You're permitted to use the names of real brands and famous people if your story is unambiguously fictitious (see: Mad Men).

This open letter is just promo for himself and his writing. Perhaps it was planned all along. It might even be why he wrote the thing the way he did in the first place.

I'm sure he'd be delighted to receive a friendly letter from Apple or Ive requesting that he please not behave in such a way. O, the drama. O, the pageviews!

It's cynical and a bit repellent, but marketing is often like that when you look closely enough. I try not to judge.

However: anything named "iHole" should be taken out and shot. I don't care what it is.

Quesera; "No one asked for the name change." Not true, I'm afraid. The lawyers for the media organisation that want to use the story asked me to change the name of both Apple and Jonathan Ive. I've been in discussion with them, through my agent and the editor involved, for the past couple of weeks; my agent has been trying to get through to Apple's senior legal people, with no success; and it's only after that process was exhausted and we only had a few days left before the publishing deadline for final version of the story that I wrote the open letter.

Tichy: "...and claim it is in the name of universal design principles (not money?)." As I explain in the post, going public with this could cost me the already agreed publication, and the associated fee.

I'm very fond of Apple, and as I make clear, they have done nothing wrong, and have raised no objection. The problem is with an overcautious European law culture; and I believe this incident it raises wider cultural issues. Also I like my story as it is, and I don't want lawyers to force a rewrite.

If you tried to use my name or company in a story like that, I'd be pretty ticked off. You can like your story all you want, but that doesn't give you the moral right to piggyback off of someone else's fame.

Be first-handed. If you really have great ideas, you won't need to resort to tricks like this to get attention.

Clearly the Banana iHole is the superior name to go with.

Maybe call it a Banana Macinhole instead.

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