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Tech publisher Tim O'Reilly's lawyers C&D'd an Irish non-profit two weeks before its "Web 2.0 half-day conference" for violating a pending trademark. Sure, Tim O'Reilly (pictured and also happy to see you) may have every right to register the mark "Web 2.0" for the use of conferences — he did popularize the phrase, and he has been running Web 2.0 Conferences for two years. But dudes, if there's anything to learn from Sensei Cory Doctorow, it's that reality doesn't apply to the blogosphere. Thus:

"Tim O'Reilly needs to muzzle his lawyers immediately and respond publicly, personally and immediately to the situation, because I sense that a lynching is about to occur in the blogosphere." — TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, CrunchNotes

"This just has to be one of those bone-headed things lawyers do when no one is looking. If it isn't, than I would predict that O'Reilly has just put himself on the fast track to reputation implosion." — Shel Israel, Naked Conversations

Et après eux, le déluge.

O'Reilly trademarks "Web 2.0″ and sets lawyers on IT@Cork! [IT@Cork]