This is the same guy who tried to get people to sign up for a $3K/month discussion circle about how to be lean:

http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/08/introducing-lea...

Off the top of my head, one excellent strategy for avoiding distractions and process bloat is to avoid this kind of navel-gazing and just work on your project.

You can PayPal me the $3k at your convenience.

"The Lean Startup is a trademark and service mark owned by Eric Ries"

His ideas sounds awfully similar to YCombinator's.

Grounds for a patent dispute?

Does pg really own Lean Startup?

A trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator [1]. It has nothing at all to do with patents [2] or "ideas."

Coca Cola and Pepsi each own trademarks for their respective names and likenesses, but neither own patents on the idea of selling sugared water.

  [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark
  [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent

Ok, point taken, I wasn't aware of the distinction between patents and trademarks.

But my point is, don't you find it at all absurd that Eric Ries is trying to own the term "Lean Startup"? It strikes me as being a little ridiculous.

I don't see any indication that Eric Ries himself is attempting such a thing. It seems like a cover-your-ass move on the part of the group originator (Rich Collins).

Are we patenting ideas now?