June 13, 2007 | Sex & Society

More 'fucking' problems ...

Peter Acworth, owner of kink.com, has run into a little problem with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They refuse to approve a trademark for his website fuckingmachines.com because of a 1905 law against anything that "consists of or comprises immoral or scandalous matter." Simply put, the word 'fucking' is too vulgar.

Acworth's attorney, Marc Randazza, filed an appeal arguing "this much maligned four-letter word has no intrinsic meaning... It is a word of force that can assist us in our expressions of joy when used as an infix, as in 'abso-fucking-lutely'. 'Fuck' helps us express rage when we scream 'fuck you' at a football referee... 'Fuck' can help us express pain... 'Fuck' is an old friend, who can always make us laugh."

He has a fucking point.

• Patent Office refuses porn site trademark due to 'obscenity' [AVN Online]