Paradise Copyright Contested

(Crested Butte) It appears that another nasty fight is in the wings regarding copyright violations connected to the use of the term “paradise”. The squabble centers around who, if anyone, owns the standard and how and if any restrictions can be enforced.

In Colorado alone over 2,000 locales claim to be “paradise” but most have never filed for the copyright. Here in the Slate River Valley, Crested Butte has been employing the name/identity since Chuck Wirtz was a boy. Now, due to newly introduced litigation the town may be banned from using the description.

Yesterday attorneys at Morstern, Hamill and Glick filed suit in district quart claiming that their client, Emil Turlo, of Maybell (Colorado) owns sole rights to the above said concept. Furthermore, they insist, communities and organizations currently infringing on his property are liable for fines and penalties so as to be determined by the findings of a judge and jury.

Turlo, a retired physician who once lived in Crested Butte, would not return phone calls because he is too old to operate the dial.

“Anyone can clearly see that Crested Butte, and not Maybell, is paradise,” said a BOZO member who pledged to fight. “We won’t take this matter lying down,” she said. “The matter has already been handed over to our attorneys. I can’t believe someone could be so self-absorbed that they would make a big deal out of this.”

The unidentified BOZO member then rushed off to oversee the construction of what has been described as a system of trenches, built around her home aimed at keeping local bears from peeing on her skunk cabbage and blue bonnet bushes.

In last night’s town council meeting a proposal that the town save attorney fees and let Turlo have the rights to paradise was vehemently shouted down.

“Why should we relinquish our right to the concept? Isn’t there something about grandfathering in the state code. We’ve been paradise for a long time,” explained one councilperson who favors a confrontation. “Can you imagine how much it will cost to print new stationary and ski brochures? What are we going to call Paradise Divide?”

Attempts to provoke a class-action suit against Turlo have yet to pick up steam. Many of the 2000 plus communities that currently use the term paradise have yet to reply to a questionnaire mailed out Thursday. At present legal funds have been collected at card tables from in front of the post office and private investigator has been hired to dig up some dirt on the 112-year old Turlo, who now lives over in Mack.

“It’s hard to find any dirty secrets since the man has not left his double-wide since 1973,” said the shamus. “We’ve interviewed everyone in Maybell and he’s as clean as a whistle. Besides, paradise is a state of mind and we’re not comfortable walking all over such an ethereal, delicate notion as this.”

Pro-paradise elements in the town say they’ll hire “other investigators if the present one doesn’t have the stomach for the work.”

Although Turlo can no longer use the phone, his attorneys say he is only going forward with the suit so as to ruin other people’s fun this summer. A pre-trial hearing is set for August 3.