The income derived from Pridefest & the Dance pay for the The Rally and The March. HOP produces 4 events: The Rally, The March, a street festival called Pridefest and the Dance on the Pier. A/k/a ‘The Center.’Īt some point in time prior to 1990, the committee spun off into it’s own organization (with The Center’s blessing): Heritage of Pride. That event was codified and eventually became a committee of the New York City Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. If I remember my NYC gay history correctly…after the riots in ’69 there was an annual commemoration. (I realize that derailed into a rant quickly my bad). If we were to compare ourselves to the struggle of Black Americans, then where we are is where they were in the 70s – the era of rampant exploitation and faux “acceptance” (that word, again!)īut hey, it makes straight people feel good, so what’s the harm? All it means to me is grotesque displays of a sexually obsessed culture, headed by individuals who think they’re being empowered, but in actuality are simply buying into the increasing corporatization of queer culture. “Pride” is the ultimate display of this – this lawsuit, that is, an attempted monopoly on a word, is simply a logical extension of something we’ve been so complicit in.įuck ‘Pride’ – they can have the word. LGBT culture, at least, the G and the L part, have been completely co-opted by heterosexual-driven corporate capitalism, under the guise of “acceptance”, and such poison has spread and infiltrated many within the community. Anyone who reads the court’s opinion will immediately see what is really going on in this case.Īs of June 21, all materials related to the Matinee event had been altered to include the words “Matinee Pride” in place of “NYC Pride.” Matinee’s claim that we are trying to own ‘Pride’ is false, and a distraction from their unlawful, misleading conduct. The fact remains that Matinee was blatantly misrepresenting their relationship with the organization and brand ‘NYC Pride,’ which we have built over many years. NYC Pride is a non-profit organization that’s entire mission is to empower, enlighten, engage, and help to commemorate how far the LGBT community has come. Per public court filings, that amounted to only a few thousand dollars in 2012.Ĭhris Frederick, managing director of Heritage of Pride, Inc., disagreed, saying in email to Queerty:
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The facts are that while Heritage of Pride touts itself as a non-profit and charitable organization, it has publicly admitted that it gives only 10% of net income to charity. Especially one that is using this as a tactic to funnel revenue to itself by demanding fees for the right to call themselves ‘official’ events. It is absurd that any organization should own the word Pride used next to the name of our city.
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In a statement regarding the preliminary injunction, Matinee co-organizer Brandon Voss said: In the original lawsuit filed in a Manhattan court June 10, Heritage of Pride claimed it owned “the rights to several NYC Pride trademarks” and alleged that Matinee’s “use of ‘NYC Pride’ in connection with concerts and events that they were promoting for Pride Week infringed on its trademarks and related rights.” Heritage of Pride believes they own exclusive rights to use the words “NYC Pride” and filed a lawsuit when Voss NYC began promoting Matinee as happening during the week of “NYC Pride.”
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Two of New York City’s most influential event organizers are asking “Who owns the words NYC Pride?” this week after a New York judge awarded exclusive ownership of the words “NYC Pride” to Heritage of Pride, the nonprofit organization that plans “official” New York Pride Week events.Īccording to court documents obtained by Queerty, Judge Colleen McMahon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction against Matinee NYC (the week’s largest outdoor event) and the event organizers at Voss NYC, effectively barring them from using the words “NYC Pride” or any similar combination of words on advertising materials or event invitations.