It’s owned by Paper Man, LLC, according to the U.S. Trademark Office records.

I do not believe in a god either.

Ironically this years green man theme is just that are we slaves to ourselves or nature.
Man kind has traded I belive as long as we have existed.
Money does not makes the trade worse or better.

The only non profit organization event or happening would have to be organized
by individuals that do not eat or get old in order to be a true non profit.

Everybody is always looking to have fun with out paying for it and there
is the contradiction.
In this world there is always a cost.

I have to say that I think one can enjoy it for what it is a reason to
go out and do your thing.

I think giving the trademarks back could actually prove to be the most effective
PR campaign EVER !

Imagine the snowball effect on people getting the word out since there is actual profit in it for themselves.
I be the first to put up a banner on my Office and sell little twig men or matchstick men for $50.

“Burning Man” is still hot property. Hard to see from within the insular San Francisco scene. What to do? Let it go and change the name? Speaking from experience, naming is really really difficult. And more important than a lot of people realize.

YES on the above comment from Rob. Let’s SEE the REAL accounting numbers. They hide too much and THAT makes me suspicious. HAVE Larry and M2 (and the rest) been actually profiting the past few years from this arrangement, or are they just granting themselves a living wage? If they aren’t profiting, then why hide? What’s to be ashamed of if $200,000 goes to ammo, steak, whisky and rent on the heavy hydraulic machinery for the cleanup crew? The truth is far more amusing than the omissions. I’d feel a lot more comfortable paying my $250 knowing that they piddled the money away in drunken revelry rather than each bought themselves new condos and RVs.

Oh, yeah, speaking of the $250. Wouldn’t it be a whole lot less money and effort for everybody involved if EVERYBODY had to buy a ticket (even the organizers)? Tickets would cost 1/2 as much and we would ALL be participants again, on the level, no special privileges, but also no need for begging. Just think, no botched lists, and the organizers can get some rest at night again rather than being harrassed by 10,000 “artists” all screaming for freebies. It’s embarrassing. Can’t you all go somewhere ELSE for your Welfare Checks? No, getting free entry doesn’t make you any more special. Sorry. It just means that you are better (and louder) at begging and cajoling than somebody else. I know a lot of overqualified individuals who paid for their tickets AND made great contributions on the playa. I’ve got a lot of friends who would like to come, but can’t afford it anymore; people who are still living outside the consumer society and not working for money.

BM is starting to stink like Country Fair, like a country club for old punk-rockers (rather than old hippies). It’s not too late to turn it around. Stop yer grousing and get on with it!

Burning Man being public domain sounds great in theory, but if anyone can use the title Burning Man that also means nothing can stop Burning Man Girls Gone Wild hitting your local video store. Videos exploiting our community have already been stopped because of trademarks/copyrights in the past. Imagine nudity being taken out of context. Imagine you lose your job because your employer sees the video. Imagine what happens to the event if people feel less free to radically express themselves.

There is also more ability to control the message. To a lot of outsiders Burning Man is still a big party where people get naked and do drugs. The message of community, gift economy, etc. will be diluted if insiders aren’t the ones controlling the message.

Webdaddy

I believe myself to be an oddtimer. Not an oldtimer. First burn was in 94. I recall those days well. I recall the meeting at Somarts in 96. I recall Flash jumping you. I also recall a love for the freedom that the event represents. Having the name in the public domain is inevitable, in my opinion. In the end, what is there to protect?

You make the case, when you say that any true “burners” know what the event is really all about. They wouldn’t accept any false substitutes. Let someone highjack the name and sell underware with it. I think it would be a great experiment in our culture to make the name public and then see where it goes. It’s like raising a child and sending them off into the world. If you raised them right, they’ll take risks, but the rewards will be great. What could Larry and Michael really be afraid of?