The good news is, the next announced sketchcrawl is October 16th. I may organize one around Salem, MA. It could be cool.
Well, maybe.
Right now, I’m on the fence. The email I rec’d from SketchCrawl.com was very different from the fun, wide-open, no-rules announcements of the past.
First, there was this:
– A key thing, help us spread the word!
If you are reading this, we are sure you have a number of friends that might be interested in this as much as you are. Tell them about SketchCrawl! Let’s share this idea with the rest of the globe. No borders.
“No borders.” I like that reminder. The idea of a global, art-based event always delights me.
So, I was in a happy mood, already thinking about where I’d like to organize a sketchcrawl in October.
Then, I reached the list of rules that weren’t on previous SketchCrawl announcements. Here they are, cut-and-pasted from the email.
When you participate, please remember to:
-Notify us of any sketchcrawl events (as applicable)
-Link back to sketchcrawl.com
-Give credit to Enrico Casarosa as the founder
-Must be a non-profit event
-Include sketches in sketchcrawl.com/forums and Flickr pool (as applicable)
-Try and time your sketchcrawls with the World Wide dates we promote at sketchcrawl.com
Those sound reasonable enough, individually, but — in combination — they seem a little too much like corporate rules.
I did a quick check. So far, the U.S. Trademark Database doesn’t show anything when I search for “sketchcrawl,” so the term “sketchcrawl” is still free to use without trademark-type restrictions.
However, it bothers me that I even thought to do that.
I may have to come up with a new word for these kinds of adventures. I’m fine with giving the founder credit voluntarily, linking back to the official site, and so on, but… I dunno about this email from them. Something in those rules feels a little hinky*.
Maybe it’s just the times, y’know? Maybe I’m being hypersensitive. I’m seeing people staking out their own territory, trying to make money off things that were initially created to be free, fun and cool. I don’t want to see SketchCrawls edging in that direction. It’d be like someone slapping a trademark on Earth Day.
I’m watching what’s going on, cautiously.
*”Hinky” is a reference to a term used by one of my favorite characters in the TV show, NCIS, to indicate something that’s not quite right. (No, I don’t usually watch NCIS. I don’t like crime shows. However, the character in the show… she’s truly cool.)
Fresh from the 