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the term muggles....


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Muggle(s) isn't "stolen" from anything. Besides, Harry Potter is not a person therefore you cannot steal from him.

 

Muggle dates back to at least 1920, used in various applications. Muggle is also a maneuver within a game of marbles. I will not say what years I played marbles and used the term -- it was a long time ago.

 

Geocaching was not "invented". It was conceived. Caching itself predates written history.

 

Harry Potter, also was not "invented". He was conceived as a fictional character.

 

Seeings as how there is no infringement, nobody has gotten into trouble about it, there is no "copyright" regarding the term.

Edited by Gitchee-Gummee
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Does Groundspeak officially use the term "muggle" in its literature? Or perhaps, JK Rowling stole it from Geocaching? More likely she took the phrase from the early usage of the phrase from the early 20th century to mean marijuana or musician.

 

But just to ask a simple question, why do you care?

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is stolen from harry potter, is it not?

 

so geocaching was invented when?

 

and harry potter was invented when?

 

have geocachers ever been in trouble with copywrite over this nick name?

 

Are you just trying to stir up stuff?

 

Your short term literature knowledge is ridiculously bad.

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is stolen from harry potter, is it not?

 

so geocaching was invented when?

 

and harry potter was invented when?

 

have geocachers ever been in trouble with copywrite over this nick name?

The term "muggle" was around WAY before Harry Potter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggle

 

Not according to wikipedia. Just checked, all sources legit. Proof otherwise?

 

Yup. Wikipedia is the source of all truth. :)

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The thing about trolling is that it usually works when nothing else will. Throw out a shiney spoon and drag it behind the boat and before long some poor unsuspecting fish will bite on it.

 

It works like that in forums too. Troll a post like the OP and someone is gonna think "Oooh shiney" and bite on it.

 

Our new poster appears to be quite the successful forum fisherman!

Edited by TheAlabamaRambler
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Yeah, muggle was ripped from Harry Potter. It's lame if ya ask me. I prefer the term poachers, but whatever.

As far as I remember "Muggles" are those regular folks who go through life unaware of the magic that is all around them, that's how the term applies to this game, people who are around but unaware of the Geocaches all around them.

 

"Poachers" refers to those who take things when they are not allowed? So Muggles who stael Caches would be Poachers, but I wouldn't apply the term to just anyone walking by, but whatever, it's not really important.

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Yeah, muggle was ripped from Harry Potter. It's lame if ya ask me. I prefer the term poachers, but whatever.

As far as I remember "Muggles" are those regular folks who go through life unaware of the magic that is all around them, that's how the term applies to this game, people who are around but unaware of the Geocaches all around them.

 

"Poachers" refers to those who take things when they are not allowed? So Muggles who stael Caches would be Poachers, but I wouldn't apply the term to just anyone walking by, but whatever, it's not really important.

 

Thats what people tell me when I throw it out there. I agree. But I still prefer poachers to muggles. Poachers just sounds cooler. :)

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is stolen from harry potter, is it not?

 

so geocaching was invented when?

 

and harry potter was invented when?

 

have geocachers ever been in trouble with copywrite over this nick name?

Are you just lonely? Do you need a friend? Would you like to go out for a cup of coffee?

 

:)

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is stolen from harry potter, is it not?

 

so geocaching was invented when?

 

and harry potter was invented when?

 

have geocachers ever been in trouble with copywrite over this nick name?

The term "muggle" was around WAY before Harry Potter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggle

 

Not according to wikipedia. Just checked, all sources legit. Proof otherwise?

Yes, according to wikipedia. Go back to that link and click on the first link in the article - "For all uses of the terms "Muggle" and "Muggles" other than those related to "Harry Potter", see Muggle (disambiguation)" - and you'll find the Wikipedia article about the early uses of the term.

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To prevail in a suit for the use of "muggle", the word would have to be protected in some way. While the Harry Potter books are copyrighted, the individual words within are not necessarily covered. Even for coined usages, as applies to muggle.

 

Ms. Rowling would have to have a copyright, trademark or other protection for the word and be willing to make a public fuss about a her fans making a natural extension of the world she created into the real world. Seems pretty unlikely to me, so I'll keep using the term for geocaching.

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Geocaching dropped "stash" in favor of "cache" to lose the drug connotations, then lots of people started using the term "muggle", which means marijuana, as far as I'm concerned... seemed pretty strange to me, but I'm over it.

 

Also, as the Harry Potter stuff fades away, I keep seeing muggles become mugglers, or mugsters and lately moguls. anyway, I bet it fades from use here over time. I like civilians.

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You can't copyright a word. That's why Monty Python could write a skit about spam, and early internet users could take that skit and coin the word for unwanted email.

 

You can trademark a word, but your trademark rights only go so far. Kleenex and Lego and Xerox write letters saying "please refer to our product as Kleenex brand tissues" etc. No one listens, no one gets sued.

 

If someone wrote a book called Harry Geocacher Versus the Muggles, then Rowling would have grounds to sue, likely. Short of that, nope.

 

IANAL, of course.

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Yeah, muggle was ripped from Harry Potter. It's lame if ya ask me. I prefer the term poachers, but whatever.

As far as I remember "Muggles" are those regular folks who go through life unaware of the magic that is all around them, that's how the term applies to this game, people who are around but unaware of the Geocaches all around them.

 

my 11 yo son sees that.... and is (ashamed... shocked... don't know the descriptor really) that we were muggles for "all this time". however now.... every place looks like a good place for a cache... every car pulling off the road is "going to a cache"... he's turned from muggle to very paranoid in a few short months.

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