Hugh Lovel wrote: Snip - To me the best thing that has happened to Steiner's work is that Demeter (Anne Mendenhall) has said "We own the term biodynamic and we control its use." Now if you want to really use Steiner's ideas in freedom you have to go beyond the term biodynamic.
I do not understand under which Legal System, Demeter or anyone else can claim ownership of either the name or the concept. Once something has been put in the public domain (published) it is not able to be Patented. Even if something is Patented, an individual can make one for one's own use, but not to sell the actual item, but I believe one can use one's own replica to make something else and sell that. Example: you access the Patent of a device to cut holes in reinforced concrete and make your copy of the device, you can use that s part of your business, but not sell the actual device. I do not believe Demeter can claim any contribution to the intellectual property. I do not think that RS claimed that anything he offered was uniquely his original work. I understand that in the "Agricultural Lectures", he was reintroducing old customs, that had been lost through changing practises and offering some explanation as to how they may function, as he encouraged us to innovate. Gil
